Civil War Fiction

Occasionally I find that reading nonfiction books on the Civil War a little "heavy". I LOVE Civil War books. I read them constantly, but every once in a while, I need to read something....light....some world that I can fall into just to forget the things that cause my day to day life to become unbearable at times.

A friend of mine gave me some books the other day and in the pile of books was a book called "Jacob's Ladder" by Donald McCaig. Well, I looked at the pile of books that I'm reading (I always have at least 4 books going at once....and I've learned to read different genres when reading all these books....reading two biographies at once can become EXTREMELY confusing) and I just couldn't pick up any of those books. I needed a break. Not a big break....just a break. So I grabbed this novel and started to read.

At first, I found it boring. I don't normally read fiction and I have a difficult time getting into some of these books....I don't know the characters....or the locations. So, trying to figure out who was who and what was what made me a little confused. When you read a Civil War book, you know who the main characters are. When you read a Civil War book, you know the locations. Non-fiction, especially on a subject that you enjoy, can be easy to slip into because you know what is about to happen....its like an old friend....you just don't know the details. So I started reading this book. AND I haven't been able to put it down.

This book is the story of a couple of slaves who get married. One is in love with the other, but the other doesn't love this person back. The wife is sold away. But it doesn't stop there, it also tells the story of the slave owners. The reasons for needing the slaves, the reasons that slavery was important in the south. I would never think that Slavery, in any form, is ok....but this book almost makes it sound like it is necessary. My mind will never change about the slavery issue....it's wrong on all levels. But I almost feel sympathy towards the owners.

I'm only about 1/2 way through the book so I can't get into details on what happens...because I don't know. But I find myself sympathizing with quite a few characters in this book...even the "bad guys". Now, as I said, I don't normally read fiction books...only because I have to learn as much about the Civil War as I possibly can in the next 14 months (the Guide test is in Dec. 2010), but once in a while a fiction book is fun to read....and gives me a lot to think about. This happens to be one of them. If you read it, enjoy it. If you don't, then think about possibly reading it.