Customer Reviews

World Enough and Time

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

 

 

World Enough and Time is a real page turner that I couldn't put down until I read it all in only two sittings. It is the best book I have read in the last two years. It is a wonderfully well researched historical fiction novel based on real events that I and most people have not known about previously - the relocation of large numbers of confederate families to Brazil after losing the civil war. In addition to historic events it also contains characters that you really care about with a great love story, lost love, mystery, and wonderful surprises that will keep you guessing. It ends with some delicious twists that I never saw coming. I can hardly wait for any future sequels. This is highly recommended.

World Enough and Time is a story that begins in a Union prison camp with Tom, an imprisoned Confederate soldier, longing to return to Mattie, his love since childhood, in Galveston, Texas so they can be married and raise a family. After the war, Tom, along with a friend, returns to Galveston where the perfidy of the friend, hidden internecine resentments and hatreds and the emigration of Mattie's parents and family to Brazil thwart the path of true love and leave Tom in a Galveston jail. The adventures of Mattie and her family in Brazil, her subsequent return to Galveston with a son, and the experiences of Tom in Galveston have the reader eagerly turning pages to see what tragedy will befall the ill-fated couple next. The end will surprise you. This is a great read--don't miss it! (Review by John Robison)

For Tom Mahon the Civil War is over when he winds up a Union prisoner at Point Lookout in Maryland. Now he counts the days until he can return to his family in Texas and the girl he loves.

When the war does end, he and a friend Randolph Carlilse make their way to Texas and sorrow. Tom's father's business is bankrupt, his father dead, and the family of the woman he loves is considering a move to Brazil where so many unhappy Confederate citizens are going to find new lives.

To add to Tom's troubles, he is betrayed into the hands of the law. And too, he must find a way to care for his mother.

Separated from each other, Tom and Mattie try to make new lives from the unexpected changes in their plans.

Talented author Nancy Madison has crafted a tale of romance and tragedy amid the ruins of a way of life as people struggle to adapt to change and rebuild broken lives. This is a fun read set in a background described to make you feel you are there, sharing sorrows and disappointments and new dreams.

The reader gets a sense of the culture shock facing emigrants and shares their longing for a return to the old life they've lost, even in their determination to start over. You'll admire their courage and hardiness in accepting the unknown in a new land.

I'm pleased to recommend World Enough and Time as a tale well worth the time. Ms Madison crafts a tale that will have you happy and sad in turn. Enjoy. I sure did.