Before I read NEVERHOME, I did not realize that there were
actually women who disguised themselves as men and fought
in the Civil War. NEVERHOME is a fictional account of one
such woman named Constance. When the story opens,
Constance
is living a quiet life on a farm in Indiana but she is
eager to see more of the world outside of her rural farm.
She decides that fighting in the Civil War will give her
the chance for travel and adventure.
Constance wraps her chest to disguise her womanly
features,
wears men's clothes and heads down south to fight on the
side of The Union in The Civil War. Not only does she
take
on a new identity, but she also takes on a new name, Ash
Thompson.
Ash fights very bravely in battle, and she is oftentimes a
better solider in battle than the men. She quickly
becomes a legend among her fellow soldiers, especially
because of her skills as a sharp shooter. But as she
fights, lives with and becomes friends with the other
soldiers, she is constantly afraid that her secret will be
revealed. Quite frankly, I found it amazing that
throughout the entire story only a handful of people
suspect her true identity.
NEVERHOME is a vivid tale of the horror of warfare as we
experience trauma of battle through Constance's eyes.
This
book was also well-researched and Laird Hunt even uses the
correct accents and turns of phrase from someone in this
era.
The dream sequences that Constance has are realistic and
haunting. I suspect that she had what we would call
nowadays PTSD. She is so disturbed by some of the
terrible
deaths that she witnesses that reality and dreams start to
blend together.
I found this story so captivating that I actually read it
in one day. I was eager to find out what happens to
Constance and the ending was definitely a surprise. I
highly recommend NEVERHOME to anyone who is a fan of
historical fiction and especially novels set during the
Civil War.
She calls herself Ash, but that's not her real name. She
is
a farmer's faithful wife, but she has left her husband to
don the uniform of a Union soldier in the Civil War.
NEVERHOME tells the harrowing story of Ash Thompson during
the battle for the South. Through bloodshed and hysteria
and
heartbreak, she becomes a hero, a folk legend, a madwoman
and a traitor to the American cause.
Laird Hunt's dazzling new novel throws a light on the
adventurous women who chose to fight instead of stay
behind.
It is also a mystery story: why did Ash leave and her
husband stay? Why can she not return? What will she have
to
go through to make it back home?
In gorgeous prose, Hunt's rebellious young heroine fights
her way through history, and back home to her husband, and
finally into our hearts.
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