book reviews

Always a happy day. :)

Anne Perry, The Hyde Park Headsman. Sllooowwww starter. Took me forever to get into it. And I'm finding Perry's writing is so dense and stylized that even though I enjoy the books, they tend to bog me down reading them so close together.

Elizabeth D. Leonard, All the Daring of the Soldier. Initially, my reaction to this book was that it read strongly like someone's thesis expanded. I think that's still a strong possibility, but having looked at the publication date (1999), I think it's equally possible that the scholarship is just dated. Study of women's roles in the Civil War has expanded so much in the last 10 years that what would have been a good basic overview in 1999 is too simplistic in 2009. I didn't think it added anything to the books I already have on the topic.

Charles Bracelen Flood, Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War. Masterful. (What seemed to me to be) an entirely fresh look at these two men and the impact that their mutual trust in and support of each other had on both their personal lives and on the fate of our country. Their personalities emerged strongly from the pages, the writing was passionate and eminently readable, and the closing chapter one of the most lyrically moving it has ever been my privilege to read.

Jane Finnis, A Bitter Chill. A nice sophomore effort. I didn't love it as much as I did Get Out or Die, but I think that has a lot to do with already knowing the characters - their solidity and vibrance were no longer a delightful surprise. I did like that this one had a more solid and complex plot, and that the sister got to do more than just hang out at the inn waiting for the heroine to come back from her many adventures. I did not enjoy the trite "lovers misunderstanding" plotline, but I'll give her a break ... maybe it wouldn't have been so obvious in 91 A.D., when presumably it wasn't already a cliche. Definitely looking forward to the next one.