truebookaddict's review against another edition
5.0
Jerome Charyn can always be counted on to put forth an interesting and entertaining work of historical fiction. Like its predecessors, The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson and Johnny One-Eye, Charyn takes a novel told in first person to a whole new level. His first person point of view makes the reader feel as if they are the character...seeing and experiencing everything vicariously.
Abraham Lincoln is a historical figure that I have always greatly admired. In I Am Abraham, the man comes to life. He is not just the illusive and enigmatic figure of history, but a real, flesh-and-blood man with the same fears, worries and loves as other human beings. His stoic nature is ever present and yet he speaks with a sense of irony, seeing situations with an eye for the comedy amidst the ordinary and even tragic.
I am a fan of Jerome Charyn and always look forward to his latest work. His is a unique and important voice in the historical fiction genre. If you have not read his books, you're missing out. I Am Abraham would be a good one with which to start.
Abraham Lincoln is a historical figure that I have always greatly admired. In I Am Abraham, the man comes to life. He is not just the illusive and enigmatic figure of history, but a real, flesh-and-blood man with the same fears, worries and loves as other human beings. His stoic nature is ever present and yet he speaks with a sense of irony, seeing situations with an eye for the comedy amidst the ordinary and even tragic.
I am a fan of Jerome Charyn and always look forward to his latest work. His is a unique and important voice in the historical fiction genre. If you have not read his books, you're missing out. I Am Abraham would be a good one with which to start.
firstimpressionsreviews's review against another edition
4.0
Fond Of
You can't exactly say I am Abraham was filled with twists and turns as Lincoln's story is very well known but the way it was told was interesting. Told in small vignettes that wove seamlessly together.
The novel didn't drag with reminisces from his childhood rather moving to his old years and didn't linger too long on each point. Hitting the major developments at an enjoyable pace.
There was also a focus on his family life and liked the personal touch it added instead solely focusing on the Gettysburg Address.
Not Fond Of
On the same token, as much as I liked reading of the Lincoln family, at times I felt that too large a focus was given to Mary Todd Lincoln and her illness, almost feeling as if the novel were about her instead of Honest Abe.
Final Thoughts
The novel's ending felt cut short which was a bit frustrating but then again so was Abraham Lincoln's life so it felt like an adequate conclusion, all things considering. Overall,with fluid, eloquent storytelling, Jerome Charyn's novel met my anticipation and then some.
You can't exactly say I am Abraham was filled with twists and turns as Lincoln's story is very well known but the way it was told was interesting. Told in small vignettes that wove seamlessly together.
The novel didn't drag with reminisces from his childhood rather moving to his old years and didn't linger too long on each point. Hitting the major developments at an enjoyable pace.
There was also a focus on his family life and liked the personal touch it added instead solely focusing on the Gettysburg Address.
Not Fond Of
On the same token, as much as I liked reading of the Lincoln family, at times I felt that too large a focus was given to Mary Todd Lincoln and her illness, almost feeling as if the novel were about her instead of Honest Abe.
Final Thoughts
The novel's ending felt cut short which was a bit frustrating but then again so was Abraham Lincoln's life so it felt like an adequate conclusion, all things considering. Overall,with fluid, eloquent storytelling, Jerome Charyn's novel met my anticipation and then some.
truebookaddict's review against another edition
5.0
Jerome Charyn can always be counted on to put forth an interesting and entertaining work of historical fiction. Like its predecessors, The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson and Johnny One-Eye, Charyn takes a novel told in first person to a whole new level. His first person point of view makes the reader feel as if they are the character...seeing and experiencing everything vicariously.
Abraham Lincoln is a historical figure that I have always greatly admired. In I Am Abraham, the man comes to life. He is not just the illusive and enigmatic figure of history, but a real, flesh-and-blood man with the same fears, worries and loves as other human beings. His stoic nature is ever present and yet he speaks with a sense of irony, seeing situations with an eye for the comedy amidst the ordinary and even tragic.
I am a fan of Jerome Charyn and always look forward to his latest work. His is a unique and important voice in the historical fiction genre. If you have not read his books, you're missing out. I Am Abraham would be a good one with which to start.
Abraham Lincoln is a historical figure that I have always greatly admired. In I Am Abraham, the man comes to life. He is not just the illusive and enigmatic figure of history, but a real, flesh-and-blood man with the same fears, worries and loves as other human beings. His stoic nature is ever present and yet he speaks with a sense of irony, seeing situations with an eye for the comedy amidst the ordinary and even tragic.
I am a fan of Jerome Charyn and always look forward to his latest work. His is a unique and important voice in the historical fiction genre. If you have not read his books, you're missing out. I Am Abraham would be a good one with which to start.
komet2020's review against another edition
5.0
Rare is it for any reader to chance upon a novel that succeeds beyond expectation in eliciting his/her excitement and capturing his/her interest with the first sentence or paragraph. Well, 'I am Abraham' is such a novel, richly told and largely spoken in Lincoln's own voice.
Lincoln goes on to take the reader back to his humble beginnings in New Salem (Illinois), where he arrived penniless and poor, yet hungry to improve his lot in life. In all, he spends 5 years there, going from serving as a store clerk, postmaster, ferrying flatboats downriver to New Orleans and back, service as a captain in the local militia during the brief Black Hawk War, and work as a railsplitter. Lincoln then moves to Springfield, where he apprentices himself to the law, serves in the local legislature, marries and has a family, serves one term in Congress, maintains a private law practice with his friend William Herndon, and keeps a hand in politics. Though losing the 1858 Senate race in Illinois to Stephen Douglas, Lincoln becomes famous as a result of the 7 debates he had with Douglas. Two years later, he is invited to New York City, where he makes a speech at Cooper Union that leads to him becoming a candidate for President for the new Republican Party, and through a close election, President of the United States. All the while, Lincoln's voice comes alive, so much so that the reader feels very much a part of Lincoln's world in matters great and small.
"I Am Abraham" has all the hallmarks of what makes a novel great. (Next to Gore Vidal's novel "[b:Lincoln|8716|Lincoln|Gore Vidal|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403185993s/8716.jpg|658163]", it makes Abraham Lincoln live again.) It's also one of the BEST novels I've read thus far in 2015 and for that reason, comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Lincoln goes on to take the reader back to his humble beginnings in New Salem (Illinois), where he arrived penniless and poor, yet hungry to improve his lot in life. In all, he spends 5 years there, going from serving as a store clerk, postmaster, ferrying flatboats downriver to New Orleans and back, service as a captain in the local militia during the brief Black Hawk War, and work as a railsplitter. Lincoln then moves to Springfield, where he apprentices himself to the law, serves in the local legislature, marries and has a family, serves one term in Congress, maintains a private law practice with his friend William Herndon, and keeps a hand in politics. Though losing the 1858 Senate race in Illinois to Stephen Douglas, Lincoln becomes famous as a result of the 7 debates he had with Douglas. Two years later, he is invited to New York City, where he makes a speech at Cooper Union that leads to him becoming a candidate for President for the new Republican Party, and through a close election, President of the United States. All the while, Lincoln's voice comes alive, so much so that the reader feels very much a part of Lincoln's world in matters great and small.
"I Am Abraham" has all the hallmarks of what makes a novel great. (Next to Gore Vidal's novel "[b:Lincoln|8716|Lincoln|Gore Vidal|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403185993s/8716.jpg|658163]", it makes Abraham Lincoln live again.) It's also one of the BEST novels I've read thus far in 2015 and for that reason, comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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