By Mary Hill
The infamous prisoner of war camp, Andersonville, lived up to its ugly reputation. Thousands of Northern soldiers died from starvation and disease behind its walls. I read about this place before and learned about it in history class.
When I started Tracy Groot’s book, The Sentinels of Andersonville, I already knew a little about the conditions in prison. I didn’t know what I was expecting from the story; so, at first, I admit I was a little disappointed in how it started. I felt it was too slow and had too many characters to focus on. Plus, the dialogue seemed a little forced and unnatural at times.
I stayed with the book though and kept reading. It did pick up steam toward the middle of the book. The best parts of the book were the poetic narrative she used when describing the conditions inside the terrible prison. She makes you feel like you were there. She shines a cathartic light on the inhumanity and cruelity that happened behind the walls.
As the novel progressed, you begin to like the characters. At first, they seemed like the stock Confederate novel characters: the Confederate widow who would do anything for the cause, the slave who loved her master and was part of the family, and the town who hated Yankees and didn’t care.
Somehow, however, the story turned around and you begin to care for Southern belle Violet Stiles and her family. She wants to make a difference for the prisoners at the prison even though she has been branded a Northern sympathizer for taking up the cause to help the Northern prisoners of war in the camp. She also endangers her family by taking up the cause.
You also care for the Confederate soldiers who join her in the fight to care for the prisoners as well as the Pastor who risks losing his church to speak out against the atrocities he personally witnessed after he is “kidnapped” and thrown in the prison.
I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone, but the ending will also leave you speechless and you will shed tears as you read this novel. I think this book is a must for those who want to learn more about the Civil War and the awful times our country faced.
The trailer for the book is also great. Check it out below:
I have been featuring it in teaser posts all month. Here all the links:
Stopping by from the #atozchallenge !
@JLenniDorner
That does sound like an interesting book- in the middle and end, at least.
Please forgive me if I missed finding your “A” post.
I love history and this sounds right up my alley! =)
That sounds very good. I cannot in good conscience add anything to my to-be-read pile, however. But I can add it to my Amazon wish list so I don’t forget it.
Love,
Janie