Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"His refusal to explain was a kind of pride that only worked against the true understanding he sought.", May 9, 2008
One cannot escape the aspirations of the Civil War-themed novel, Hugh and Serena Hallam settling with their three children in Palmyra, Tennessee, Hugh devoted to a more sophisticated approach to crop cultivation and slave-owning, convinced his more humane treatment and controlled planting will prove an example for future prosperity. A handsome couple with noble ideas, Hugh turns a blind eye to the cruelties of his neighbor, Ross McQuirter. On the fateful day that McQuirter purchases an innocent young slave, Mary Ann, Hugh buys French, who intrigues him, and Adam, Mary Ann's father. Hoping to ease the slave family's grief at their separation, Hallam believes he can prevent any harm to Mary Ann from her new owner. Of course, Hugh is hopelessly naïve in his assumption, but this action is a perfect example of Hugh's dilemma as a born and bred southerner who has made his home in Tennessee: he cannot reconcile the underlying problems of slave-holding with his vision of the South in its most idealized existence.
Hugh honestly believes he can find the perfect formula for working the land while treating his slaves with dignity. It is this stubborn pride that is Hugh's undoing, the beautiful Serena complicit in her own way, too easily denying the ugly realities she witnesses in her neighbor's household, if not her own. While north and south move inexorably toward their historical clash, Hugh and Serena remain cocooned in their fantasies. The war intrudes with all its ugly accoutrements and the McQuirter's mistreatment of a helpless young slave delivers a blow that echoes between the two families and their children. Yet while Hugh and Serena are shocked and dismayed, it is the slaves who continue to suffer the random brutality of the system. Caught up in the southern cause, Hugh fights with the zeal of a true believer, truth only gradually infiltrating the couple's understanding of their passive participation in tragedy.
Hugh learns firsthand the fallacy of a noble war, the valiant efforts of the south doomed as time wears on; left behind to protect home and family, Serena faces her own challenges, an unwitting conspirator in a system that is complicated by the infiltration of northern forces and Ross McQuirter's cynical embrace of expediency. Hugh and Serena face ugly revelations along the way, horrified by their naiveté and pride, confronted with the price of denying principle for the sake of peaceful coexistence. The south's slow slide to defeat is detailed with deadly historical accuracy, adding weight to a family drama writ large. Albeit No Gone with the Wind, Hallam's War yields the particular insights of a personal battle in all its harrowing reality, barely visible against the larger landscape. Such lessons are hard fought and hard won, the cost devastating to a way of life bought on the backs of others. Luan Gaines/ 2008.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning novel about the Civil War, May 30, 2008
Hallam's War by Elisabeth Payne Rosen is an almost epic story of a Southern slave-owning family trying to maintain their way of life as their world crumbles around them. Hugh Hallam gave up a promising career in the military after the Mexican-American War to farm in the wilds of Tennessee with his wife Serena and their three children: Lewis, Kitty, and Sam. He farms in an innovative way trying to bring an end to the classic plantation way of working farmland until it has nothing left to give and then purchasing more land, leaving the rest behind. This type of farming left thousands of acres worthless, and required more and more slaves to work the ever increasing crops of cotton, even when it wasn't profitable. Hallam wants to change the way Southern farmers work to save their lifestyle. He has several slaves himself, but because he houses them well, allows them to work toward their freedom, and treats them with respect, he justifies the ownership. Life starts to crumble with the purchase of an educated slave named French and a laborer named Able. Hallam has trouble continuing to turn a blind eye to the intelligence he sees in French and the love Able has for his daughter Mary Ann. Hallam and Serena live an almost ideal life on their farm, Palmyra. They are deeply in love with each other; they have little debt and terrific children. But when the War begins, Hallam is called away to fight, and Serena must keep up the farm on her own, which becomes impossible when sabotage occurs. Soon the farm is left behind, and the family completely separated by a war based on something they don't know if they believe in any more. This is a beautifully written novel. As I was reaching the end, I found myself lingering over each page, because I didn't want it to end. The characters are fully realized, and the internal conflicts in each are stark and real. Hallam not only wars against the North, but also against his vision of himself as he asks the question: is a Negro a man? Serena struggles to keep the farm afloat and her family together in the midst of heart-rending pain and suffering. Lewis wants the glory that comes with being a soldier and standing up for his countrymen, but he has to be the man of the house when his father leaves. Even young Kitty faces struggles as she watches all the young men leave, including the one who has a piece of her heart. In the end, they are all forced to acknowledge that nothing will ever be the same again. Not their family, their farm, their country, or how they see themselves.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
suzanne reno review of Hallam's War by Elizabeth Rosen, June 30, 2009
Hallam's War Review This book should have an insert saying " not just for Civil War buffs and Southerners. It was beautifully researched and written with conpelling characters who aes smart, couageous and have conflicted loyalties. I was stunned nny how much I learned from the book and how much I liked the main characters .i have every intention of reading it again when it comes out in paperback this summer. And I grewup in New York and now live in New England!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
