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5.0 out of 5 stars
Candide, wandering in a strange land, April 3, 2008
This review is from: The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell (Paperback)
This is a meticulous and carefully researched novel of a very specific time, place and circumstances, of belief and prejudice and conflicting obedience to conscience and the law. It follows in plain and unvarnished prose, the journey of an innocent and honest young man of strong ethical purpose, wandering Candide-like through an often violent, sometimes unjust and frequently inexplicable world. This is a world which is just now barely within living memory, the United States during the last year of World War One and the half-dozen years thereafter. We would recognize many aspects of that world; there was electricity in houses, cars in the streets, movies in the picture palace and recorded music on the record-player. Women came to wear short dresses and hair in those years, and got the vote, too.
But there was one element of this world which would immediately strike most Americans under the age of about fifty or so as totally alien, and that would be the display of racial hostility, of segregation, Jim Crow laws and freelance and organized racial violence by adherents of the KKK. To the credit of author Gerald Shirar, this is not one of these angry polemics shouted from the pulpit. This is a careful and evenhanded reconstruction of a time not so long past. Characters - black and white - are finely observed by the author, and even permitted to be ambiguous. Some of them are even as principled and ethical as the times allowed, as regards racial matters generally, and specifically in the case of Charlie Newell.
The case is based on that of a real court-martial, of a Negro draftee in 1918, who was a member of a small sect who observed Saturday as their Sabbath, their holy day, on which no work was to be done. The soldier was charged with disobeying a direct order to work on that day, an order motivated at least as much by racial prejudice as it was by the demand of a military martinet that rules and orders be obeyed, no exceptions, exemptions or questions allowed. This is what befalls Charlie Newell, a young sharecropper with a wife and child, and an unshakeable devotion to the word of God. He will not work on the Sabbath, and so winds his way through the slow-working wheels of military justice and imprisonment, through the military prisons of Fort Jay, and Fort Leavenworth, through hearings that he knows nothing about and understands even less, gaining several kinds of freedom, the affection of friends - black and white alike - who come to know and value him, as well as motiveless rancor of enemies - also black and white - who see only the color of his skin. Charlie is tried severely, has doubts, even wavers once or twice. But although the ending of the book is ambiguous, Charlie is not; he remains principled and in command of himself to the very end. This is a tightly focused and gripping read, at a time not long gone, at once quite strange and yet strangely familiar.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell, February 25, 2008
This review is from: The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell (Paperback)
In the introduction of Gerard Shirar's novel, The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell, a reflective passage about prejudice is cited that includes the statement, "I feed on racial, ethnic, and religious difference, preconceived ideas; mistaken opinion; falsehoods; bias; ignorance; jealousy; and blind hatred." This passage sets the stage for Shirar's historic fictional tale that delves into Man's most prevalent historical demon known as prejudice.
The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell takes readers back to the year 1917 where oppression and bigotry towards Black People in the United States is rampant despite being free. The protagonist, Newell, is a thoughtful black man from Holly Ridge, North Carolina. Charlie is a man with a strong work ethic, deep spiritual faith, and committed family values. As a conscientious objector to war because of his faith, Charlie is forced to enlist in the army. According to his faith, Saturday is the Sabbath where the day is devoted to reading the Bible and spiritual reflection. Because of his faith, Charlie refuses to work on Saturday which leads to a military court martial. The result of the court-martial takes Charlie on a nightmare journey of imprisonment, violent abuse, oppression, prejudice, and a spiritual test of strength and resolve. For Charlie, life becomes a series of harrowing events that challenges his faith.
The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell is a compelling and intense story of relying on faith and hope in order to survive unbearable cruelty. As historical fiction, the author, a twenty year veteran of the United States Army, is able to capture and deliver a detailed account of life in the military during World War I. Readers will feel as though they are traveling with Charlie during a turbulent and difficult time for Black People in America.
Profound themes of faith and spirituality entwined with injustice, oppression, and hate, make for a heartfelt tale that brings out important messages that can be related to current world events. The dialogue is carefully written to depict appropriate language and figures of speech as it pertains to the time period. The events and characters mirror the values and attitudes of the period. As well, settings are detailed and well described. Charlie is a character every reader will become emotionally attached to. His journey is filled with traumatic twists and turns making the story a definite page-turner. Readers will gain insight into a historical period that must not be forgotten.
The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell is highly recommended to readers who love historical fiction. It is a piece of historical fiction that invites all readers to think about the past and reflect on current moral and ethical issues.
Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services
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