A review by jlynnelseauthor
Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini
2.0
I received an advance review copy from publisher via NetGalley. A HUGE thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this opportunity to read and review.
This novel is about Julia Dent Grant and her love, support, and sacrifice for her husband, General Ulysses Grant. Its supposed to be about Mrs. Grant and her slave, Jule. And while we do hear Jule's story, it's only an afterthought sprinkled randomly within the story. The two contrasting narratives were not well-connected, and their relationship was never reconciled in the end. Julia needed better closure than what was penned - for half the novel its all Julia longed for.
What an amazing plot idea: A slave owner, married to an abolitionist and Union army general, and her slave who is never set free by said owner. Their arguments about slavery were the heart of this novel, but they never went far enough to challenge both sides of the relationship, only Jule's. Their dichotomy had such potential, but the author never views similar events through their different mind sets. Each narrative shifts through a sequential narrative.
Sadly, the narrative reads more like a text book and less like a novel. It held little to no emotional weight. Major events occured within a paragraph or two, and then the plot moved on. No time was spared over emotional speed bumps. Motivations were not fleshed out, and the author never found a way to let the readers attach emotionally to the characters.
The problem? No internal character dialogue. Sure, the author expresses emotions a character is feeling, but it is written as if the author is describing what the character is wearing instead of letting a reaction be expressed through character monologues. The historical facts and dates come in large quantities, and it's like the author is afraid to leave civil war events out. I can certainly tell there is a lot of research here. Late in the novel, the author even describes what the novel is suffering from through one of the characters: After General Grant is asked to write his own narrative regarding major battles of the civil war, one person critiques: "But there's no life in it, no sense of General Grant - what he felt, what he was doing or thinking. One might almost think he wasn't there." (quoted from Netgalley uncorrected proof, please verify with final version) Exactly! That is exactly how this whole story felt. I was forcing myself to finish the story.
Also, there was no narrative during General Grant's time as president. I was extremely confused by this. More time was spent discussing where he was sitting while writing his memoir instead of the challenges of the presidency. Two terms as elected president, and all that was written was about was Julia furnishing the private rooms when they first moved in? I'm not sure why the author glossed over these significant years yet wrote about almost every... single... battle General Grant fought in. It became too much like a time line and less like experienced events. "On July XX, they moved here..." "On August XX, the army marched there..." "On December XX, it felt like it was going to snow." Very dry narrations.
I had high expectations for this novel. Sadly, the title and novel description was misleading. I think the story of Mr. and Mrs. Grant's love story is a heartwarming one and could have been its own novel. I felt like that was what I was reading. The author did not challenge the readers when it came to Jule's narrative. Jule was supposed to bring a different tone to the story of the Civil War. Instead, she got left at the train station as the story about the Grants seemed to steamroll on without her.
I would like to share a quote I thought beautiful (again, from the NetGalley proof version of the novel): "A family circle was never truly complete except in memories and in hopes for the future."
I think a good idea for the book would be to include maps of the progress of General Grant's army between the chapters. I like maps in historical novels. I mean, if you're going to lose us in a sea of dates, at least give us a guide map. This is a 'tell' type of book vs a 'show.' It felt long and was anticlimactic at the end (again, its supposed to be about two women, and they never reconciled).
This novel is about Julia Dent Grant and her love, support, and sacrifice for her husband, General Ulysses Grant. Its supposed to be about Mrs. Grant and her slave, Jule. And while we do hear Jule's story, it's only an afterthought sprinkled randomly within the story. The two contrasting narratives were not well-connected, and their relationship was never reconciled in the end. Julia needed better closure than what was penned - for half the novel its all Julia longed for.
What an amazing plot idea: A slave owner, married to an abolitionist and Union army general, and her slave who is never set free by said owner. Their arguments about slavery were the heart of this novel, but they never went far enough to challenge both sides of the relationship, only Jule's. Their dichotomy had such potential, but the author never views similar events through their different mind sets. Each narrative shifts through a sequential narrative.
Sadly, the narrative reads more like a text book and less like a novel. It held little to no emotional weight. Major events occured within a paragraph or two, and then the plot moved on. No time was spared over emotional speed bumps. Motivations were not fleshed out, and the author never found a way to let the readers attach emotionally to the characters.
The problem? No internal character dialogue. Sure, the author expresses emotions a character is feeling, but it is written as if the author is describing what the character is wearing instead of letting a reaction be expressed through character monologues. The historical facts and dates come in large quantities, and it's like the author is afraid to leave civil war events out. I can certainly tell there is a lot of research here. Late in the novel, the author even describes what the novel is suffering from through one of the characters: After General Grant is asked to write his own narrative regarding major battles of the civil war, one person critiques: "But there's no life in it, no sense of General Grant - what he felt, what he was doing or thinking. One might almost think he wasn't there." (quoted from Netgalley uncorrected proof, please verify with final version) Exactly! That is exactly how this whole story felt. I was forcing myself to finish the story.
Also, there was no narrative during General Grant's time as president. I was extremely confused by this. More time was spent discussing where he was sitting while writing his memoir instead of the challenges of the presidency. Two terms as elected president, and all that was written was about was Julia furnishing the private rooms when they first moved in? I'm not sure why the author glossed over these significant years yet wrote about almost every... single... battle General Grant fought in. It became too much like a time line and less like experienced events. "On July XX, they moved here..." "On August XX, the army marched there..." "On December XX, it felt like it was going to snow." Very dry narrations.
I had high expectations for this novel. Sadly, the title and novel description was misleading. I think the story of Mr. and Mrs. Grant's love story is a heartwarming one and could have been its own novel. I felt like that was what I was reading. The author did not challenge the readers when it came to Jule's narrative. Jule was supposed to bring a different tone to the story of the Civil War. Instead, she got left at the train station as the story about the Grants seemed to steamroll on without her.
I would like to share a quote I thought beautiful (again, from the NetGalley proof version of the novel): "A family circle was never truly complete except in memories and in hopes for the future."
I think a good idea for the book would be to include maps of the progress of General Grant's army between the chapters. I like maps in historical novels. I mean, if you're going to lose us in a sea of dates, at least give us a guide map. This is a 'tell' type of book vs a 'show.' It felt long and was anticlimactic at the end (again, its supposed to be about two women, and they never reconciled).