“The March” by E.L. Doctorow FIC DOCT (also LARGE PRINT, CDBOOK)
The Contemporary Books Discussion Groups will be reading at least one book a year (till 2015) in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. “The March” refers to what happened in 1864 when Union General William Tecumseh Sherman burned Atlanta and marched 60,000 troops east through Georgia to the sea and then north into the Carolinas.
This is a novel but, according to reviews, Doctorow did a lot a research to be as accurate as possible with dates, places, and attitudes. There are many fascinating characters from both North and South, from historical to purely fictional, from slaves to plantation owners, from committed troops to deserters, from nurses to photographers, from Generals to conscripts, all with their own unique stories. What a chaotic, complicated, tragic time period this was!
A couple of my favorite characters were the Union doctor from Germany, Wrede Sartorius, and the southern aristocrat, Emily Thompson, who worked for a time as his nurse after her home was destroyed. Many people at the discussion loved reading about the evolution of Pearl, the young mulatto slave girl. And some liked Will and Arly, the Southerners condemned to death because one “just wanted to go home” and the other fell asleep while on guard duty. And then there was the unforgettable Albion Simms who lived with a large stake jammed in his skull.
For those of you who think history is dry and just want a good story (but still want to learn something), this may be a book for you. Doctorow’s plot is complex but compelling. Some may be put off at first when they realize that quotations marks are never used to designate dialogue. But most readers quickly get used to it. Think of all the ink that was saved! And if you’re in a book group, contemplating why Doctorow specified no quotation marks is a topic for discussion.
I’ve encountered some readers who want to read only nonfiction about the Civil War. I like to quote from Wallace Stegner: “In fiction I think we should have no agenda but to tell the truth.” There is much truth to be learned from both fiction and nonfiction. These days I definitely like to embrace both and encourage fans of both to periodically try the other. That’s just part of my job as an information librarian.
We have an annotated Civil War fiction bibliography available and for browsing the Civil War nonfiction, the Dewey Decimal Number is 973.73.
This is the first title in the Sister Frevisse Medieval Mystery series. It takes place in 1431 at St. Fredeswide’s Priory in England. The frail and saintly novice Thomasine is close to making her final vows, but her aunt, the blaspheming, hard-drinking Lady Ermentrude has other plans for Thomasine. When Ermentrude dies suddenly, Sister Frevisse, the hosteler of the priory and an amateur sleuth, fears murder and the most likely suspect is Thomasine.
