A review by zena_ryder
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor
5.0
This is on my list of all time favourite books. It's fantastic. It's very long, but I never felt it needed to be shorter. It's beautifully written, and the characterization is amazing. The author creates so many believable characters, and you feel that you get to know them, even though some are around only for a single chapter. In the book, many characters make short chapter-long appearances - long enough for us to get to know them before they die (usually) and leave the story. It's a very effective way of getting a feel for just how many people were imprisoned at Andersonville and how tragic all that suffering and death was.
If I had to come up with some criticisms, it would probably be these:
1. I didn't quite care enough about Ira Claffey and his family. I needed to love them more.
2. Slaves are largely ignored in the story. In a way, this is a virtue - because slaves simply were just in the background of the lives of many Southerners, just like tools and horses. However, I still felt a desire to hear more from them.
If I had to come up with some criticisms, it would probably be these:
1. I didn't quite care enough about Ira Claffey and his family. I needed to love them more.
2. Slaves are largely ignored in the story. In a way, this is a virtue - because slaves simply were just in the background of the lives of many Southerners, just like tools and horses. However, I still felt a desire to hear more from them.