Customer Reviews

Savannah: Or a Gift For Mr. Lincoln

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

SAVANNAH or A GIFT FOR MR. LINCOLN by John Jakes
October 22, 2004

I've read a number of books by John Jakes, and this one is definitely going to be remembered as my least favorite. John Jakes is known for his epic-like historical novels that have almost soap-opera-ish story lines, but they are great entertainment and always are known for name-dropping. And while SAVANNAH does include a few famous historical characters, for the most part it is does not compare to the likes of THE KENT FAMILY CHRONICLES or the NORTH AND SOUTH trilogy.

SAVANNAH is a much simpler novel, a story focusing on several people living in the South at the height of the Civil War. It takes place in this famous town of Georgia, and reads pretty much like a Young Adult novel, which I suspect, was intentional. This story line leads to Christmas, and one can imagine that Jakes wanted this book to be read by young and old alike.

One of the main characters is Harriet, a precocious twelve-year old who is outspoken and head strong. She is an endearing character, stands out and helps makes the novel interesting. In fact, the characters are what kept me reading. Jakes has a talent for creating characters that are likeable, and he uses them to tell his stories that are right out of the history books. This book would have been so much better if it were geared towards adults, but it is possible Jakes wanted to try something different. I am not sorry for having read SAVANNAH, but it is not a book I would highly recommend except for the most ardent fan.

I do not review this book as a fan of John Jakes, but as a fan of Savannah. I live just outside of Savannah, and I am a student of history. This is the first John Jakes novel I have read, but I know much about the history of the area.
I found the book extremely accurate in the historical details of Christmas 1864 in Savannah. I would agree with the other reviewers that the plot was not too complex, although in fairness to Mr. Jakes, the plot does have some twists and surprises, especially in what happens to Tybee Jo and an ex-slave named Zip. The book may have been written for a young audience, particularly with the young boy and girl featured so prominently in the story, and the lack of profanity in the book, but I'm 47 years old, and I found the story very enjoyable. There is a lot of humor, such as the feisty little girl, Hattie, who dares to kick the shins of General Sherman. I read the book over the Christmas holidays, which was perfect for the season.
I would recommend this book for anybody who wants a clean historical novel about the South, or desires an entertaining read over the Christmas holidays.

Georgia, November 1864. Sherman's Army has taken Atlanta and is continuing its march to the sea, aiming for Savannah. Residents of the area prepare for the worst, based on the stories and rumors they've heard of the atrocies caused by the Union forces. Twelve-year-old Hattie Lester and her mother Sara live alone on their rice plantation, now that the slaves are gone and Ladron Lester was lost in the war. Hattie is a tomboy and a spit-fire in her own right, and she can often be seen leading her pig Amelia around on a leash. Hattie is convinced that she'll reach out and kick any Yankee that tries to come near her. (And she eventually does!) Much of this story follows Hattie and her mother as they deal with their situation.

Along the way we meet other representative characters who interact with the Lesters and with each other. Legrand Parmenter is a neighbor and friend to Hattie who leaves to join the fight. Captain Stephen Hopewell is a reporter attached to the Union army, originally from New York state. Zip is a newly-released slave who follows the army ranks. Tybee Jo Swett is a prisoner released from the capital city of Milledgeville, and he makes his way back to Savannah to finish his business. Alpheus Winks is a Union sergeant from Putnam County, Indiana, whose small band of men "forage liberally" throughout the countryside. Isaiah Flegg is a New Jersey carpetbagger who kidnaps blacks and ships them north to substitute for Union men choosing not to fight. The Drewgoods are relatives of the Lesters who deem themselves in a higher class. And then there's General William Tecumseh Sherman himself, who makes a few appearances and interactions of his own.

"Savannah" is not as long or as detailed as past Jakes volumes, and it is not the best book he's ever written. It's still worthy of reading, though, especially since it highlights a portion of our history that I suspect is unfamiliar to many of us. And it will surprise those readers who believe the same stories and rumors that Hattie and her mother heard before encountering the Yankees themselves.

If you are a fan of the 1976 bicentennial series by Jakes you will think he has become mentally feeble and lost all writing ability. If you are a history buff you will abhor this book. If you are a first time reader of the Civil War and think darkies sang zippidy doo dah through their slavery you will LOVE this book. I believe Mr. Jakes has lost his perspective on history and is just tired of writing but writes because he has a "name". Sometimes it is just best to stop until you have an epiphany or just stop because the well is dry. I would advise Civil War readers to pass this one by. I am donating my copy to the library.

What a disappointment. Savannah reads as if it were written for ages 12-14. Charleston was superbly done. Savannah doesn't have the depth, the character development of Jakes' other works. It's almost childish....as a history scholar, I can assure you that Cump Sherman had no heartwarming "cute" encounters with children. He was a cold hard man, a professional soldier, doing a bitter job. He spared little in the way of warmth to anyone.

Sure its not perfect but this book is a heck of a lot better then what passes for historical fiction nowadays. While the characters and the resolutions are a little convenient there is still a satisfying conclusion and I can't understand what everyone is complaining about

I wait with anticipation for John Jakes to complete a new book. I enjoyed "Charleston" but "Savannah" is a disappointment. I usually can't put Jakes' books down, this one was hard to pick up. When I retired from teaching in 2001, my first "fun thing" to do was to re-read the Kent Family Chronicles. I accomplished it within a month. It took me almost a month to read "Savannah". It lacked character development and suspense. I will be waiting for his next book though, as I am a life long fan.

Very disapointed. For an author I would follow (buy) anywhere, this book seems like a kids version of what could have been a much more developed and detailed novel along the lines of Jakes other masterpieces. Even paying a discounted ~$15.00, I feel I was ripped off. Hope it is not a portent of things to come.

When writing reviews I usually try to put them at a length of about 500 words, give or take a few. However, upon contemplating this review of John Jakes' latest work of historical fiction, "Savannah, or a Gift for Mr. Lincoln," I think I would find it difficult to find 250 words to say about it much less 500. I anxiously await the release of any new John Jakes novel. I was slightly disappointed by "Charleston" as not meeting previous John Jakes standards, such as "The Kent Family Chronicles" or his masterwork, the "North and South" trilogy. So imagine my surprise when my slight disappointment with "Charleston" turned into extreme disappointment with "Savannah."

I can really say nothing about the plot of "Savannah" as after having read it, I remember precious little of anything that happened between its covers. I dare any John Jakes reader to say that about any of his other books. But what I do remember of the story centers around 12 year-old Hattie Lester's attempts to save her family's plantation, "Silvergrass," from the soldiers of Union General William T. Sherman, who have arrived just outside of Savannah from their march through Georgia in December of 1864.

Only half of my disappointment in "Savannah" lies at the foot of John Jakes himself. It is too simplistically written. His characters are underdeveloped and there is next to no plot. At best "Savannah" should be called a short story. It does not by any means or stretch of the imagination live up to the John Jakes works of the past, in which the writing is good, the characters fully developed, and the plotlines, though somewhat resemble modern day soap operas, are often interconnected. Indeed, "Savannah" seems to have been written for the young reader of between 10 or 12 years old, and if that is the case then Mr. Jakes can and should be forgiven.

I reserve the other half of my disappointment in "Savannah" to the publisher, Dutton. As sited above, "Savannah" is in reality a short story, and the editors of Dutton have done their best to lengthen it into a full-fledged novel, or at least something that resembles a novel.

First I'll tackle the size of this book. All of my other hard cover John Jakes books measure 9.5" x 6.5" while "Savannah comes in at a wimpy 8.5" x 6" and when placed on a shelf next to her sister John Jakes novels, she appears to be slightly out of place.

Secondly, Dutton has succeeded in lengthening "Savannah" to a novel of 288 pages, not only by the reduced size of this book as already stated, but by using a substantial font size and line spacing to give the book lots of "white space," and they also threw in a couple of illustrations for good measure as well.

Thirdly, if my theory of John Jakes writing this novel for a much younger audience is correct, I then fault the marketing department at Dutton for not marketing it as such. Even if this was marketed as a children's book many John Jakes fans, such as myself, would have purchased the book because it was a John Jakes book with the full knowledge that it was written for children and would not have been disappointed at all by it.

And lastly, Dutton further aggravated my disappointment in this book by its inflated cover price of $23.95. I refused to buy it at that price, even though it was a John Jakes book, and waited until it was 50% off to buy it at my local book store, and even then I felt like I had been robbed.

But the question is can I recommend this book. Well that's a tricky question to answer and my recommendation would depend on who was asking me. If you are a die-hard John Jakes fan who froths at the mouth at the mere mention of a new John Jakes book hitting the shelf, then yes, I would recommend it, with the reservation that the book is geared to a younger audience, and as such the characters and plots are much simpler than regular John Jakes fare. If you are 10 to 12 years old with an interest in the Civil War, I would recommend this book for you, as it seems to have been written with younger readers in mind. But if your are an avid reader of historical fiction where fully developed characters struggle to over come adversities of their time, and revel in the detail of such, no I would not recommend this book. And to the casual reader, I offer, "read it. You might like it, but don't blame me if you don't."

Okay so I did have more than 250 words to say about "Savannah." This review came in at 805 words.

I envy those who enjoyed this book for there can't be much that displeases them. The overrated author is way off course in his work. It's another rambling, incoherent work with a massive amount of unimpressive, unsympathetic characters. A novel is supposed to evoke emotion. This book evokes as much emotion as reading a telephone book.

Savannah lost me as I tried to figure out the shape of this thing. I have to say that I started to read it a second time supposing that I surely must have missed something along the way. But after a third, I simply could not go on with the same excruciatingly boring read.

After reading some of the early "Kents" and North and South Trilogy, I have to conclude that the author is one of the most overrated authors of historical fiction of our time.

The author's only works of note in the his entire body of work are North and South Books I & II where the Hollywood miniseries adaptor was able to extract a good story for TV by changing and deleting from these verbose works filled with amateurish prose.

Not only are the stories of these books like Savannah flat, but the structure, like North and South, is "telling" not "showing" and the prose quality is that of a beginning creative writing student, which is why a reader can't "get into" the characters.

It must be that there are people around the author praising him for this stuff, when he should be questioning his failures while seeking to improve.