The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks is a thoughtful and atmospheric exploration of utopian ideals set in 1970s Florida. The novel follows a man reflecting on his experiences in a communal Shaker settlement and the complexities of human relationships within it. Banks masterfully combines rich historical detail with deep character introspection, offering a subtle yet engaging narrative about faith, idealism, and the fragility of utopia. Though the pacing can be slow at times, the novel’s reflective tone and vivid setting make for an immersive read. Fans of character-driven stories with philosophical undertones will appreciate its quiet depth.

Shaker Community Rise and Fall

The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks is a historical fiction novel that explores the rise and fall of a utopian Shaker community in early 20th-century Florida. The story is narrated by Harley Mann, an elderly real estate mogul, who recounts his childhood experiences within the Shaker settlement. Through a series of recorded tapes discovered years later, Mann reveals the community's ideals, struggles, and ultimate demise.

The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks is a masterfully crafted novel that weaves together themes of love, faith, memory, and betrayal within the context of a historical Shaker community. Banks' nuanced characters and melodic prose make this a standout work in contemporary fiction. Whether you are a fan of literary fiction or historical narratives, this novel offers a rich and engrossing reading experience that will leave a lasting impression.

A man's life story movingly described. We are intrigued to follow a young man whose life in a religious cult shapes his relationships with his family and with his career.. A very well written, meaningful and enjoyable read.

Harley Mann believes that the Shaker elders will help provide his family with the love and structure they need to survive his father's death. It is gratifying to have food and a reasonable place to sleep after becoming nearly enslaved on a plantation before being recruited by the Shakers. Harley is learning to be a beekeeper, leading him and the readers to believe he will eventually become a leader. The Shakers engage in communal living, and they share all property. Additionally, they remain celibate, do not procreate, and must adopt and recruit new members to survive. Harley lived the Shaker life in good faith until he desired a relationship with a woman. Banks describes in detail Harley's inner turmoil and emotions. This includes unresolvable conflicts that lead to anger, regrets, betrayals, and hypocrisy. The pacing was a big slow at times, but I felt engrossed in the story. And I gained new insight into the various groups that settled and played a role in the development of our nation. And we can't forget the-essential-to-the-story setting, the rustic beauty of Florida's nature/land.

This had the potential to be extremely interesting and insightful but unfortunately was a bit dull for me. I needed a bit more excitement for this topic

Loved this book. I would be hard pressed to come up with an author whose books I have enjoyed more than Russell Banks. He writes stories that are very compelling in prose that is compulsively readable--to me at least. Plus, I learned quite a lot from this novel. This comes with my highest recommendation and I encourage everyone to pick it up.

This book was terribly dry and dull and I couldn't get into it, despite being a Florida native with an interest in Florida history.

This book was nothing like what I expected it to be. It told the story of a Shaker colony in the early 1900s and I learned more than I could ever want to know about their ideology. I felt the story was pretty flat and drew on for ages. I honestly had a hard time finishing it.

Some writers may fade as their bodies begin to fail them, publishing books that aren’t quite up to their usual standards; Russell Banks, on the other hand, seems to have saved one of his best for last. The Magic Kingdom tells the epic tale of Harley Mann, a boy that spends most of his boyhood on a Shaker plantation in Florida, and then becomes a real estate mogul later in life. My thanks go to Net Galley and Knopf Doubleday for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Harley’s father dies when he is young, and his mother is forced to take him and his many siblings elsewhere. At first, they land in a religious cult on a plantation that works them like slaves; then Elder John, the head of a Shaker Colony in Florida, rescues them. Harley’s mother and most of his siblings become Shakers and remain with the colony until its eventual demise, but Harley has his doubts.

Nobody can craft character the way that Banks has, and he has melded a fascinating setting, one which begins over a hundred years in the past and follows Mann into his dotage in 1971, and which also incorporates a fair amount of Florida geography and history. Most of the story centers around Harley’s deep and abiding love with Sadie Pratt, a young woman being treated for tuberculosis in a nearby sanitarium. Sadie is not a Shaker, but is friend to them, and visits often when her health permits; Harley, just coming of age, falls for her hard. There’s a good deal of tension between Harley and Elder John, who despite all of his adherence to Shaker beliefs and practices on the surface, is also privately building himself a personal stake that only Harley knows about. By the time the book is over, I find myself wondering whether Harley’s character represents a real historical figure. No indeed; this is just the kind of magic that one finds in Banks’s novels, his capacity to build characters so real that they are nearly corporal.

The little shots off the bow that are fired at the Disney Corporation—by Harley, of course, and his representative after his demise, not by Banks—add a tinge of edgy amusement.

Because I had fallen a bit behind, I procured the audio version of this book from Seattle Bibliocommons, and so I can tell you that the narrator does a fine job, and it’s as easy to get lost in this story listening to it as it is reading it from the text; I did some of each.

This novel is brilliant, and all that love excellent literary fiction or historical fiction should get it and read it.

The only think I knew about the Shakers before reading this wonderful novel is that they were a utopian religious community who made furniture. Banks sets his last novel in St. Cloud, Florida in a Shaker community in the early 20th century. The story is a transcription of tapes recorded by Harley Mann, a real estate speculator, nearing the end of his life in 1971. His 15 reel to reel tapes are discovered in the basement of the public library many years later and transcribed by the author. Harley arrived with his family to New Bethany at the age of 12. His father had passed away and his mother was left to raise 5 children. During his time in New Bethany, Harley fell in love with a woman a few years older than him, Sadie. Sadie had consumption and her death created a major investigation. The novel looks at various utopian communities. I found it fascinating.

The quest for a perfect society is woven into the American experience. Through his bittersweet novel, Banks explores the flaws in the design of an early 20th-century utopia—and by extension, perhaps all utopias—through one man’s mournful regrets. The premise is that the author discovered a collection of reel-to-reel tapes in a dingy Florida library basement and transcribed and edited their forgotten narrative: the confession and catharsis of Harley Mann, an elderly real estate investor, who speaks in 1971 about his long-ago past.

As a twelve-year-old boy in 1902, Harley is eager to please but has an independent mind. After his father dies, his mother moves the family from their secular Georgia commune to a plantation whose cruelty becomes apparent. Rescued by the charismatic Elder John, the Manns head south to abide with the Shakers in his community, New Bethany, in central Florida. The children, too young to formally become Shakers, all learn the ways of the oddly compelling religion. Harley trains in beekeeping and becomes Elder John’s protégé, though his obsession with Sadie Pratt, a tuberculosis patient seven years his elder, threatens his devotion to his Shaker family—who are celibate—and the group’s very stability.

The Shakers are industrious, but their focus is neither charitable nor commercial, and the plot evokes these tensions. While The Magic Kingdom is an engrossing morality tale, Banks is equally concerned with how the characters live day-to-day alongside their beliefs and nature. The land and waters—which intermingle in this swampy country—are gloriously described, as are the native birds and other animals. Contrasts with the profitable artifice of the Walt Disney Company, which we’re told eventually purchased the Shakers’ land, quietly underlie the entire novel. It all leaves the reader, like Harley, yearning to return to this unspoiled, vanished paradise, imperfect as it was.

DNF at 25%. Unfortunately, this book didn't have enough plot for me to continue reading. The writing style was beautiful, but I wasn't the right reader for it.

Thank you to Knopf for providing an e-ARC and PRHAudio for providing a complimentary audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This read is particularly meaningful to me. Please read a short review in the publication where I recently reviewed it.

https://www.fyi50plus.com/pleasure-reading-florida-love-letters/

Thanks to Knopf for providing this outstanding title to me.

Difficult to get into at first but a truly beautiful story for Disney world fans. Once I got into it I really loved it, but this did take a while

Well, I loved this. The imagery in it was on point. I felt like I was there. I loved the story line and the characters.

I feel bad writing this when the author just passed away, but this book really wasn’t for me. I had never read any Russell Banks before this. Seems like a real treat for Russell Banks fans though! Giving 5 stars because I don’t feel like my rating is a fair representation of the book (and I didn’t finish).

Russell Banks is one of my all-time favorite authors. I have never read a book of his that I didn't love and I am adding this latest to the list.
The premise of the book was fascinating in itself. The author wrote of uncovering the tapes from which the story derived. It revolved around Harley Mann, who led a complicated, tragic life primarily growing up in the Shaker community of News Bethany, FL, which eventually was incorporated into Disney's Magic Kingdom.
The plot was so brilliantly created. To even begin to give details regarding its intricacies and complex twists and turns would do no justice to the story. The characters have such depth and conflict abound. The writing is so thought-provoking. There are so many layers of thought. The world of the Shakers is so thoroughly dissected. So many other subjects are brought up which further brings up so many other points of discussion. How Disney and its environs are creatively interwoven in to the story further proves Banks's masterly writing skills.
Great storyteller!

Magic Kingdom centers on central Florida, an interesting previous attempt at a very different type of utopia that a religious, celibate, communal group known as Shakers built and thrived on the land now inhabited by the eponymous theme park.
It takes the form of found audio reels recorded by Harley Mann, who was adopted into the Shaker community as a 12 year old boy with his mother and siblings after having lost his father and left 2 other failed communities -- one a communal one, and one of servitude on a wealthy family's plantation where workers racked up insurmountable debts to keep them there. As an older man, Harley was one of the first visitors to the Disney World Magic Kingdom to bring the story full circle.
Although a twin, Harley is the clear choice of his father to assume the head of household status, and despite all of the narration being from Harley's perspective, we see his studious nature also endear him to a second father, the male Elder who is coleader of the Shaker community. He learns from him and grows to get great trust and power and learns of the outside World through books and excursions. All the while, he is also obsessed with Sadie, a frequent visitor and eventual resident of the community who is 7 years older than him and stricken with tuberculosis or some similar illness.
Although it is very slow in some ways getting to the heart of the story, it vividly captures the life and role of the community, and how Harley's mixed motivations and loyalties drive him to drastic actions. Some very compelling characters and interesting perspectives of life and history of Florida development are both present and could be fleshed out more, especially in the years following the main focus of the story.
Especially interesting are the various roles of both the Shaker community and the other ones around, and the ways powerful leaders could attract many desperate or lost people to follow them whether their intents and message are beneficial or not.

I am usually a fan of Russell Banks's work, but this one was a miss for me.
It is well-written and full of vivid imagery. I can see other fans of his work and the type of story enjoying this work.

The plot seemed to drag a little more than one that can keep my interest. I didn't really care for the main character. I tried rereading, which is why this review is a bit late, hoping I would feel differently after the second read, but I didn't really change my mind. The work is not inherantly bad, this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars

There are spoilers in this review unless you are aware of scandals about the Shaker colony in Florida from the early 1900s which I doubt any of you are so you have been warned.

First of all, this is not a book about Disney World. At least, not in the way one would expect. I picked this book up because, as a native Floridian from the part of the state the majority of the book takes place in, I was interested in seeing how it would be represented in a historical fiction book. What made it fascinating to read was the grounding in reality of the real events (from what I saw stated elsewhere - this was based on a real scandal in the real Shaker community here) and the real places in old Central Florida. It kept me engaged as the narrator dragged on and on to avoid revealing his guilty conscience or whatever.

Side note, I looked up the Shaker settlement in Florida and saw an article in the Florida Historical Quarterly from 1959 and many of the details about the colony, and about Sadie, are in this article. Of course, the dramatique narrative about the narrator, Harley, and Sadie having a love affair and Harley's subsequent life long guilty conscience over her death is the fictional part. Anyway, point is, grounding the fictional story in real historical events and real places is a fascinating way to structure the book.

My favorite part aside from the looming presence of Walt Disney World and how overdevelopment will change central Florida is the other looming presence of the sink hole in Harley's driveway. Perhaps the moral is one day if we continue to build where we shouldn't then the sinkholes will open up and swallow us whole.