Gods and Generals

Staying within the realm of the Civil War, but jumping to a non-fiction book, I just finished Gods and Generals - the saga of the war in the Virginia area during the first couple years of the war (when the South was still winning). It was excellent. It did take a little while to get into it as the beginning starts off with some background history of four different Generals. Each chapter is about a different man and at that point in the story their lives are not at all connected, so it is essentially like reading four different books at the same time (which I do frequently, but for some reason, this threw me off). Anyway, once I got to the part where their lives start to interact with each other, the story also became much more interesting. This in-depth look at the events behind the battles brought to ask many questions.
Growing up in California, far away from "The North" or "The South," I had only thought about this part of history as some abstract concept of a nation fighting over slavery. Furthermore, knowing that the North won and that slavery was abolished made it easy for me to assume that the cause of the North was obviously the right and just cause and that those fighting for the South were all misguided or ignorant. As I read about the lives of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and Robert E. Lee and their complete devotion to God and all things true and just, I had to reconsider my previous notions. I began to ask myself, what were these two righteous men fighting for, if not for slavery? As I further read about the inner struggles they faced about the idea of secession, I began to realize that their conviction was founded in the concept of state's rights. It's a fact that it is unconstitional for the federal government to make laws that can and should be made by the states. This realization led to a discussion between Chris and I about what was more important, the country following the constitution, or following just and virtuous principles. We finally concluded that although the states should have individually abolished slavery, Lincoln knew they never would and he knew that slavery, not being a virtuous principle would most certainly tear this nation apart. So, at the risk of deviating from the nation's standard, he chose the higher law of virtue and took the chance at war to eradicate slavery from this land and eventually it worked.
Going back to the book, just when I told Chris that it wasn't about specific battle details, the content of the book changed as the battles of Fredicksburg and Chancellorsville were described in minute detail. However, even being a woman who is proned to enjoy things soft and kind, not bloody and mean, I was enthralled by every single detail and hung on every word until the very death of General Jackson, at which point I bawled like a baby in true female fashion. Now I look forward to reading the book's sequel, Fallen Angels, in which the victory will turn from the South to the North and I hope I will continue to re-evaluate the notions that I had previously formed about this part of our nation's history.
As a side note, Chris and I also watch the movie God and Generals and although I enjoyed the movie, as is usual, it was not nearly as good as the book and Chris actually fell asleep several times during the viewing.

Across Five Aprils

This Newbery Honor book written by Irene Hunt is a historical fiction novel written during the time of the Civil War. It is excellent. I would recommend this book for ages 9 and older (having said that, I'm not sure I would have a 9 or 10 year old read it on their own, it might be a good read-together book just so that things could be discussed). Although any book about war is going to have some dark details, I think this book does a great job of dealing with the heavy issues surrounding the war and yet does not go into the gory details of battles. This is written from the point of view of a boy who is 9 years old at the beginning of the war and follows the hardships and growth that he experiences as he comes of age during this difficult time. It is set in Southern Illinois which setting promotes views from both the South and the North to be explored. I enjoyed how real the characters in the book were to me as I read it. I could feel the pain and the confusion of Jethro as he struggled with the issues at home while his brothers were off fighting. The historical details also seemed to be rather accurate and the author writes in the back of the book that most of the family events are true stories that were related to her by her grandfather. One of the things that really stands out for me is the sense of how far away from the rest of the world people were during the 1860's. With today's technology, we really do take for granted how difficult it was for families back then when it was months before they might hear news of their family members who were off in the war. Ultimately, I appreciate the authors reverance for an event that has affected Americans so deeply and took the lives of so many who fought for what they believed was right, in a time when it was difficult to tell which side was right or which was wrong.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy

My friend recommended this book, otherwise I never would have found it as it's not on any of the reading lists I look to for book recommendations. This is a children's novel that my three oldest really enjoyed. As the title suggests, it is about four sisters and their adventures while on summer vacation with their father. I was a little nervous that Jared would not like a book that has four sisters in it since he often has his hands full with three, but he loved it. The setting is a quaint cottage that is owned by the heartless Mrs. Tifton and shares the same land as her mansion, Arundel. Thank goodness for Jared, the "Very Interesting Boy" is introduced in the first chapter and plays an integral part in the story. While talking about this book to a friend, she asked me what genre it was and my answer was, "It's like Family Fun and Values". While I'm positive that's not an official literary genre, maybe it should be, because I've found that books that fit into this category are often the ones my children enjoy the most. Although there are some hints at fairy-taleish comparisons like: the prince, the wicked step-parent, the witch, and the impoverished townsfolk who eventually find themselves in the castle - this is a modern day story filled with things kids can relate to. My kids especially enjoyed the adventure with the bull, not that they have ever had a close encounter with a bull themselves, they just liked the suspense. A bonus for me is that I only got choked up once toward the end. It's so difficult to do a read-aloud when you're crying all the time. I recommend this as a fun summer read, or maybe a good winter read to chase away the blues. Oh, and as for the "Two Rabbits" mentioned in the title, I barely even noticed they were there, but it makes for a fun title.