Mr. Lincoln's Wars: A Novel in Thirteen Stories

[Mr. Lincoln's Wars] by Adam Braver I really enjoyed this novel in stories told from various perspectives, set at different times before, during and immediately after the Civil War. Braver is a fine story-teller, and despite what I consider a terrible lapse in judgment (I can't imagine it was just plain ignorance) with regard to some anachronistic language usage and a couple outright gaffs that defy historical fact, I wanted to keep reading, and am quite happy to recommend this book to others. The writing is excellent, the stories are strong enough to stand alone, yet work as a whole very well, Braver has imagined moments I've not seen dealt with in literature before, and made them quite vivid. But then there's this (which I will put show more under a cut, just in case anyone wants to avoid knowing what I found so wrong--it's just possible not everyone would notice or object, I suppose): With regard to the language issue, characters speak in a colloquial fashion that sometimes sounds distinctly out of time; for instance, the frequent use of "okay" in speech and thought was not, I'm fairly certain, common in the 19th century. And surely, surely, Mary Todd Lincoln did not use it. I'm willing to grant that there must have been intimate moments between Lincoln and his wife, and that they may have said things to each other in those moments that would not fit with our image of them as public figures a century and a half hence. Still, I cannot believe that Mr. Lincoln ever actually used the word "sexier" to describe his wife, when whispering in her ear, as Braver has him do. As for the historical gaffs, one story has a man carrying around a letter from Lincoln, purportedly one that notified him of his son's death in battle, and included a typewritten signature line. Typewriters did not go into commercial production for several years after the end of the Civil War, and were not in use by White House staff until about 1880. And there are two scenes, one early and one in the White House, where Lincoln is drinking whisky voluntarily and quite prodigiously. History is mighty clear that he did not like the effect alcohol had on him, and therefore was a tee-totaler. These things grate. And more so because in other instances (a description of part of the autopsy on Lincoln's body, for example) it is obvious that Braver must have done some detailed research. Still, as I said, I do recommend it, and gave it 4 stars. It could have had full five with a stout-hearted editor and a little fact-checking. show less

Very interesting book. I liked how it was told from different characters. It really let you imagine all the different sides of President Lincoln. Very enjoyable, I'd reccommend it to anyone!