A Hill, A Hill; My Country For A Hill

Reading Westerns is something I have enjoyed since I've been able to read in English. I can't really pin down the whys and whatfors, but I reckon it has a lot do with a forthrightness in the human interaction. With animals too. Over the past year or so I've been immersed in historical fiction primarily set in Europe with the exception of one Western that I had to read to fulfill a challenge. That book reminded me of my love for stories where there were big skies, open plains and honest living, even if that living was violent.

Upon lamenting about the lack of good new Westerns, it was recommended that I read about the American Civil War (ACW). That perhaps I'd find a similar texture and may satiate my need for a purging of modern conveniences. I didn't know where to begin, so I picked up a book by Bernard Cornwell, which I will review at a later date, since I'm familiar with the author. I was told, while good, one needed to read the pre-eminent of all ACW fiction, The Killer Angels by the late Michael Shaara.

I wasn't certain what to expect from this Pulitzer Prize winning novel that's nearly as old as I. First, I've never read a Pulitzer winning novel before. Second, prior to the aforementioned Cornwell novel, I'd never read about a modern battle set prior to WWII. Third, those books about modern battles were all non-fiction. I understand now that I'd set the bar awfully low for Shaara's book, but now it's set the standard - apologies to all other ACW authors.

I had thought George R.R. Martin brilliant regarding how he named chapters depending on which character's point of view (POV) he intended for that particular part of the tale. I now know that this was a device used by Shaara long before Martin's epic series. I am told that Jeff Shaara (Michael's son) continues in this vein with the flanking prequel and sequel - someone please correct me if this is an erroneous statement.

Being able to see the battle and stories unfold from each individual's perspective, which are based on journals, notes and historical documents, is perhaps the most interesting way of truly understanding a soldier's motives. The push and pull of personal opinion, training, beliefs systems and having to follow orders deftly details the complex nature of war and why one chooses not only to fight, but how they decide on a side.

It is a fallacy to assume that all Southerners fought for the Confederacy and the right to own slaves whilst the Northerners were all abolitionist Unionists. War, particularly Civil War is never that simple. Shaara writes a balanced and beautifully nuanced tale of men who must knowingly lead others to their deaths for a 'cause'. That there are differing opinions on what the cause is matters not in the end. They are all both hero and rebel.

While I admit my own grammar to be questionable, even I was able to find a crapload or grammatical issues in this novel. A small criticism really because I didn't actually notice until I was nearly three hundred pages in. This is the sort of thing that decides for me if a book is brilliant. When punctuation and sentence structures that should make me want to pull my hair out don't. This book deserves all the accolades it gets, because even language fails to get in its way.

As a lover of maps, I applaud the author's inclusion of the multitude of maps to aid the reader in understanding troop movement and landscape. This is a gift, one that many other authors may want to consider when writing a fiction that includes battles. The author can see a field in his mind's eye, perhaps some readers with the luxury of being able to visit a field can do so as well, but the rest of us are left bereft. Shaara knew how to bring that final element to his readers and it is greatly appreciated.

I hate ratings, but am told they are important, thus I capitulate: 4.5 rebel yells out of 5