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jbojkov's review against another edition
4.0
I like historical fiction in general and particularly set in the Civil War. This was a fascinating book well worth the read. In fact it's worth a re-read!
sapphic_summer's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Great for fans of Civil War history, but not for relationship- or character-driven story fans.
tenisonpurple's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Superb, powerful story telling. Mixed letters, modern day recounting of events and ‘normal’ narrative, set in different places and following key characters. Brilliant!
librarianonparade's review
3.0
Reviews I read of this compared it to Gone with the Wind and Cold Mountain, and whilst I wouldn't rate it as highly as either of those, I did thoroughly enjoy it. I would have liked the story to continue beyond the end of the war; I would have liked more of a bridge between the story during the war and Midge/Maggie/Margeurite in the 30s, but I can understand why the novel just pertained to the war years. I loved all the characters - Jesse and Midge, Duncan and Sallie, Uther and Opal - and genuinely cared about them. So yes, a good book, wonderfully researched and fantastically detailed, but not a great book, I wouldn't say.
ibeforem's review
1.0
Actually, I didn’t quite finish this book. But I invested so much time in it, I’m counting it, dammit. I was disappointed in it — I was looking for much more story about the people, and much less descriptions of battles. I expected it to be a story about Duncan, Maggie, and Jacob. And since Maggie was essentially the narrator, I was disappointed that there were large stretches where you just didn’t read anything about her. What it comes down to is that I just lost interest in the story.
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