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stevendedalus 's review for:
Burr
by Gore Vidal
Vidal does a brilliant job of bringing Burr's story to life, using and fleshing out real historical characters to ground his story in a dirty and treacherous America. The fictional narrator is sympathetic, and Vidal's wit and dry humour shine through the 19th-century style and prudish attitudes he delights in mimicking.
The novel is mostly a deconstruction of the mythical founding fathers, whom Vidal portrays as all too human, and all too political creatures. Mostly through Burr's narration, Washington is portrayed as vain, Jefferson a hypocrite, Hamilton a pompous boor, Burr a sympathetic rascal more than an amoral villain.
The frustrating, though no doubt intentional, aspect of the work is the novelization of history which injects bias and motives that non-fiction histories rarely do. It makes for a compelling story, but one is always aware that the narrator is exceedingly unreliable, which is frustrating if you want to learn history.
No doubt one can point out that no history is unbiased, but a historical fiction is more biased than most histories. It's a challenging genre that Vidal pulls off exceedingly well. I normally dislike historical fiction, but it works in Vidal's style and careful research.
All in all, the book works as a deconstruction of myths and a vivid portrayal of 19th-century life, and as a serviceable and lively history, which is probably Vidal's intent.
The novel is mostly a deconstruction of the mythical founding fathers, whom Vidal portrays as all too human, and all too political creatures. Mostly through Burr's narration, Washington is portrayed as vain, Jefferson a hypocrite, Hamilton a pompous boor, Burr a sympathetic rascal more than an amoral villain.
The frustrating, though no doubt intentional, aspect of the work is the novelization of history which injects bias and motives that non-fiction histories rarely do. It makes for a compelling story, but one is always aware that the narrator is exceedingly unreliable, which is frustrating if you want to learn history.
No doubt one can point out that no history is unbiased, but a historical fiction is more biased than most histories. It's a challenging genre that Vidal pulls off exceedingly well. I normally dislike historical fiction, but it works in Vidal's style and careful research.
All in all, the book works as a deconstruction of myths and a vivid portrayal of 19th-century life, and as a serviceable and lively history, which is probably Vidal's intent.