This satire was too
heavy-handed for my delicate taste. I find it hard to laugh about the Civil War.
Even the historical literary satire James by Percival Everett was nearly
a step too far for me. No surprise--The Red Badge of Courage came to
mind, with cowardice in the face of cowardice as the theme of this book. I struggled
from the beginning as the teenage protagonist, Anders, comes to grips with his dysfunctional
and abusive mother – the cartoonish depiction fell flat. The over-the-top interactions
with Confederate generals prior to the Battle of Gettysburg also failed to
amuse (although that certainly puts to rest the ‘statuesque’ veneration of
those traitors). Anders switching from the Union side to the Confederate side
and back to the Union was another disappointing trope. His chaotic move into a
black army unit felt forced and the ensuing hijinks (humor in war?) put an end
to this read. I did jump to the last few pages but the conclusion was more of the
same – state the obvious and hope being clever will make it poignant. I’m a humorless
cynic so take my review with the proverbial grain of salt.
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