Customer Reviews

For the Love of Robert E. Lee

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Was in the authors G thru I section of my favorite used bookstore when the title of this book caught my eye. The description on the back seemed interesting, and it was certainly different from anything I had been reading, so I bought it with a, "Why not?" attitude. I absolutely love this book. I literally wept over Lee's last days in battle, and the book has kindled in me a desire to learn all about the Civil War. I am now deep into Shelby Foote's trilogy and have also purchased a dozen or so other Civil War books recommended by various experts on the net. Also, I bought two more copies of M.A. Harper's book from Amazon so that I could send one to a sister in N.C. and keep one extra to loan to friends. I am an uprooted Southerner (by choice), born the same year as the author, who identifies with so much she has written. This book has caused me to rethink so many things I had stopped thinking about, and has given me new pride in my birthplace and heritage. I may even go back to the South to wind up my days--I understand things differently, now; I no longer feel ashamed of where I'm from. I know I'm laying a lot at this book's door, but it affected me most profoundly, in many different ways. And I am always reading, I'm never without a book--I'm picky about what I'll spend my time reading, and I won't waste my time with junk. Harper's book just blew me away! I hope she keeps writing.

I had heard about this book from somebody who had similary enjoyed the same speculative (not quite sci-fi) novels I like, and was sort of blown away by its oddity and fresh voice. Reality merges with time travel. Or is it all in the mind? What I like is the confusion of past and present, Civil War era with the 1960's. The author questions the nature of time itself, but isn't afraid to write paragraghs almost incongruously funny, especially when viewed against serious and rather tragic historical material. A strange and entertaining read.

I bought this book because I'd been told it provides remarkable insight into the humanity of Robert E. Lee. It does indeed bring him to life, but is this the real Robert E. Lee that's been resurrected? The author certainly takes complete liberty to speculate on his inner thoughts. She no doubt got a lot of it right. But...I took issue with some of her revelations. For example, she suggests in the book that Lee had at least one extramarital affair and that it was known to Mary Lee, who never quite forgave him. There is absolutely no evidence that Lee ever dallied, and to the contrary, all evidence suggests that he never did. I didn't care for this aspect of the book. The man is dead...why sully his character?

The major disappointment for me was that I imagined this was going to be a time-travel story. Since I had enjoyed Turtledove's "Guns of the South" so much, I couldn't wait to tackle this book. It was like an airplane that never got off the ground....just rolled along and along and along. It turned out to be a very unlikely story of a very neurotic and immature girl and some weird supporting characters.

Okay, now that I've bashed the book terribly, let me compliment it. It is highly imaginative. The author is obviously a capable writer, and this is a worthy effort. I just had a different expectation coming in.

I postponed reading it because it did not seem like something male readers would like, even though Civil War historians have praised it. But I received it as a gift and was pleasantly surprised, even intrigued. Robert E. Lee becomes a real person in these pages, with insight that I have never seen anywhere else. Readers who regard this book as a classic are correct.

I think I need to retract the (very favorable) review I just wrote about this book yesterday. The author is a very close personal friend, and believes it unethical for me to submit it. Maybe she's right, because I am partial to her in many things, although my stated opinion of the work is true. In any case, she doesn't want to see her credibility questioned in any way, so please squelch my review, since she's pretty worried about this. Thank you.