Nato nel 1845 in una famiglia di convinti abolizionisti nello stato di New York, Liberty Fish si ritrova a sedici anni con la giubba blu dell'esercito dell'Unione. Sua madre Roxana lo ha educato ai nuovi ideali liberali dopo che lei stessa, ragazza del profondo Sud, era scappata da una famiglia ostinatamente chiusa nella difesa dei propri valori. Liberty attraversa l'immenso Paese a piedi, in un viaggio epico tra fiumi canali campi e pianure, lungo le terre devastate del Sud fino all'antica piantagione di famiglia, dove il nonno di Liberty, schiavista convinto, compie empi esperimenti di eugenetica per cancellare i negri dalla faccia della terra. E il ragazzo sarà costretto a confrontarsi con la stessa maniacale grettezza che qualche decennio prima aveva messo in fuga sua madre.

3.5. The first 50 pages has some of the best writing I've read in years. ( )

I enjoy historical fiction and the cover caught my eye in the book store as did the first line. After that, I admit, I had a bit of trouble getting into the story and getting used to the author's style; however, it didn't take long for me to realize what a skilled writer Wright is. His sentences are way long and sometimes had to be reread, but it was well worth it.

The story has a slightly different look at the Civil War than most novels set in this time. Some of the characters are almost "over the top" but are always believable. The character of Asa Maury is one of the most dispicable I've ever encountered in a book.

Having just read "Team of Rivals" the non-fiction account of Lincoln's cabinet; this book provided another look. "Team of Rivals" examining the "important players" in the War; "Amalgamation Polka" examining the "real people" -- those who only saw their viewpoint of the conflict. It's truly a wonder our nation survived that terrible wound which the Civil War caused. Even though "Polka" ends on a hopeful note, this book gives some insight as to why those wounds are still felt today. A good read -- highly recommended as thoughtful, interesting, and well written ( )

Being a mock-picaresque narrative of the life of Liberty Fish, born just in time to make childlike observations on the race and slavery questions in the antebellum period and serve in the Union army during the Civil War. Liberty is rather fey and his parents, especially his mother, a transplanted southerner, especially so. This novel has some remarkably strong surrealistic passages, especially near the beginning of the book; as the story develops, it becomes considerably more conventional. The author has an unfortunate tendency to lead us down blind alleys; it begins with a marvellous, nearly-incomprehensible scene of magic realism which is, oddly, never returned to or explicated. Similarly, we are sent to Bleeding Kansas for some pages for no purpose that I can see. In other words, like almost all books today, it could have been shortened and better-edited. It is nonetheless memorable and informed by fine writing and thinking. ( )

I was reminded of Grass's The Tin Drum while reading this. A coming of age novel with a war at its center, and a huge number of odd, interesting characters. The role of all these characters is to further the education of Liberty -- the boy we meet at his birth to abolitionist parents.

The prose is beautiful, if sometimes a little overwrought.