Love and War

This sequel was everything I had hoped it would be and so much more. I laughed...I cried...I cried much more than I laughed, but I'm ok with that. One should probably cry more than laugh when reading a book that takes place during the American Civil War. All of the beloved characters from North and South are back, and a few are added to the cast. My personal favorites being Mrs. Augusta "Gus" Barclay and Jane. I love that Jakes can write such strong female characters who can maintain their femininity. The reason I'm giving this book 4 stars as opposed to 5 is that it does kind of lag in the middle. Other than that, it lived up to the first book and I'm looking forward to the concluding novel, Heaven and Hell.

Very few authors can write a 1000 page novel that I just glide through -- John Jakes is one of them. I love his Civil War novels. Jakes states in his afterword that this book ultimately isn't about war or slavery, but about change. This story abounds with it -- some for the better, some for the worse, and some somewhere in-between. There is redemption and loss, and above all, strength and love. Many of the more recognizable features of the Civil War are barely touched upon, such as Gettysburg and the final surrender at Appomattox, but this allows more exploration of the lesser known happenings. I can't wait to watch the mini-series and then eventually move on to the final book.

I did not enjoy this as much as North & South. Up until the last couple hundred pages, it felt more like a non-fiction novel. I do love the descriptions and the history, but it felt like the point was to get the history out, rather than to tell the story of the characters within that history. Nothing happened to any of the characters for the first 700-800 pages, and I found myself skimming a lot. SKIMMING! I hate skimming. I just didn't care about whole chapters. This novel also switched to points of views of secondary characters that I did not care about. Again, this added to feeling like the author used the characters to tell a history story rather than the other way around. Ok, this is the Civil War, with hundreds of thousands of show more casualties, and you've got two characters that are in the war from the beginning to the end - no battle wounds, really, no deaths! I know he killed Orry but that was so sudden-and maybe that was the point? Billy and Charles survive four years of the war but Orry joins and dies almost immediately...maybe this is some statement about fate, or luck, or what have you. The only character I really felt invested in was Charles. His transformation through the war broke my heart, much more than Orry's death did. The loss of Sport was written more heartbreakingly than the loss of Orry. The author did an excellent job of describing the losses and changes of those people that survived, Charles being the best example. His point that the war changed everyone, everything, even those who didn't die or weren't directly involved, was very well driven home. Just like in the first novel, I think he did an excellent job portraying different points of views and the political atmosphere surrounding the war. Villains and heroes on both sides of the line. That's really the most heartbreaking fact of the Civil War...brother against brother, friend against friend, American against American. That sadness was prevalent throughout the novel. show less

The first book of this trilogy is still, so far, my favorite. However, this second book was still amazing. It is exceptionally written and full of emotion of all types. I laughed, cried, smiled, cheered, got angry, loved and hated the characters. It mixes true historical information with the fictional characters so well. I highly recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction or just plain old good story telling.

Among the best historical novels I have read; I appreciate the insights and inclusion of lesser known tidbits in the big picture. It's an immersion experience.

It was slow going at first, but well worth the read.

A little history mixed with a lot of drama in this Civil War epic.