Cease Firing Book

I have  mixed emotions about this book.  In the first place, I feel as though I read it somewhat under false pretense, since I definitely thought that it was a book by British Prime Minister and all around notable quotable Sir Winston Churchill.  I had read and greatly enjoyed his History of the English Speaking People (am I misremembering the title?) several years ago, and assumed this was a book about World War II or somesuch.  It is not.  In fact, it is a novel, written by the American author of the same name, about the American Civil War.  Apparently it was a phenomenal best seller when it came out.

So here's what I disliked:
- In the first place, the way the story was written strongly echoes some other narratives about the CW from that time (think D.W. Griffith, for ex.)--the characterization of the conflict as being primarily about state sovereignty, rather than being about the question of slavery, the ineffable pride, gentility and nobility of the southern landed aristocracy, in contrast to the mean, somewhat petty mercantilism of the northerners, the great (and, importantly, ennobling) sacrifices made by the South.  While I have no doubt many white Southerners performed individual acts of nobility, valor and courage during the war, I cannot dissociate those acts from their goal--the ability to continue the chattel enslavement of fellow human beings.  This makes their position, in my opinion, morally untenable, no matter how romantically they buckled their swashes during the conflict.
- Secondly, the whole story was quite melodramatic for my taste, like an antebellum soap opera.  I get that it's a reflection of the writing of the period, but it still annoys me a bit.  How many fluttering hearts and manly gazes must one endure?
- Thirdly, although the individual women in this story were capable of independent thought, action &c, only one (The Heroine) actually drives the action in any meaningful sense. And, predictably, her main struggle is over...wait for it...whether to marry the Yankee or the Reb!  Yawn.
- Finally, the characterization of black people in this story is, shall we say, as less than equal partakers in society, history and, frankly, humanity than are white folk. They are, to an individual, caricatures--again, think D.W. Griffith.  That part is pretty damn hard to stomach.

OK now the good parts (yes, there are some):
- The best part of this book is its locational perspective.  I've never read a serious account of this period of US history from a Midwestern perspective.  You hear plenty about the battles that took place in Pennsylvania, Virginia and the other Southern states, and you hear plenty about the political events in Washington and Richmond, and overseas.  But this was a wholly new, and fascinating, perspective to me, especially since St. Louis was in many ways a major point of confluence between the two systems that fought this war.  So, kudos to the author, who saw an oft-told story from a different angle and shed some really interesting new light on it.
- So, it would have been great if The Heroine had been a bit more of her own person.  However, given the social realities of the period I think the author was reasonably forward-leaning regarding the characterization of at least that female character.  It would have been great if there had been at least one more woman who was an actual, well-rounded human being in this story, and if the women had had some interactions that were not completely driven by the romantic subplots.  Perhaps a bit much to ask for 1904 or whenever it was written.

Oh, one other kvetch.  The whole Abe Lincoln as a type of Christ thing did not work for me, at all.  Didn't work for me in Ben Hur, didn't work here.  It was just annoying.  I longed for him to make a sexist joke, or act rudely to a subordinate, or steal a napkin from a restaurant, just so we would know he was human.  He didn't.

So all in all, not my favorite book, but an interesting lens on a story you already know. If that's what you're into.