Multiple characters' stories are told in different chapters, which can be a bit confusing but, overall, an excellent portrayal of the war from the South's perspective, specifically, Virginia. ( )

Virginia during Civil - praise as storyteller

I'm enjoying this book, although it flips back and forth between the many main characters. Sometimes, I have to stop and try to remember just what was happening to that character the last time we read about them. It's a good book on the life of civilians and soldiers during the Civil War. ( )

Actually, I didn't quite finish this book. But I invested so much time in it, I'm counting it, dammit. I was disappointed in it "” I was looking for much more story about the people, and much less descriptions of battles. I expected it to be a story about Duncan, Maggie, and Jacob. And since Maggie was essentially the narrator, I was disappointed that there were large stretches where you just didn't read anything about her. What it comes down to is that I just lost interest in the story. ( )

A review on Amazon referred to this novel as a result of Margaret Mitchell meets Shelby Foote. The story follows the lives of several different characters including Maggie, a nearly white house slave, who bears a child by the Plantation owner's son and is consequently sold; the plantation owners/family are basiscally good people and we follow the stories of Duncan (the son) & Catesby (a son-in-law) who enlist in the Confederate army. Lots of verifyable history - I know of its truth due to the Ken Burns PBS series. ( )