Helpful Score: 2
"The Black Flower" is NOT for those who are looking for a Civil War read similar to "Killer Angels". This book delves more into the thoughts and emotions of soldiers before, during and after the battle of Franklin Tennessee. The characters are very well developed, the writing superb such that the reader can not help but get emotionally attached.
Brenda R. (bothrootes) reviewed The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War on + 207 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
If you are looking for a very grafic description of the Civil War, this is the book for you. The characters are very realistic and the story takes place in the area of mid south Tennessee.
Helpful Score: 1
This author has evidently been a reenactor in War Between the States battles. Howard Bahr has the commands, the anxious feelings, and all the small excitements one can only get from having "been there". This ads to the authenticity of the book coupled with the romantic feelings between a Southern couple makes it a winner. Read this book!
Helpful Score: 1
I read "The Judas Field" before this one - they will both break your heart.
Bahr is an adept writer who conveys the horror, history and "humanity" of the Civil War with restraint, making it all the more realistic.
I had never read any Civil War related books and especially fictionalized accounts, but these will stay with me for a long time.
Bahr is an adept writer who conveys the horror, history and "humanity" of the Civil War with restraint, making it all the more realistic.
I had never read any Civil War related books and especially fictionalized accounts, but these will stay with me for a long time.
If you were a fan of 'Cold Mountain' or 'The Killer Angels' this is a must read.
Such a beautiful book, I give Howard Bahr a standing ovation for this one!
Alison F. (alisonf) -
This novel, is probably the most poignant look into the mind of a civil war soldier I've ever read. By turns a heartbreaking, funny, quirky, horrifying, and overall realistic story covering the battle and immediate aftermath of the Battle of Franklin. It's difficult to say I loved something so unsettling - but I went right out and bought 2 more of Bahr's books, which says quite a lot.
Sheryl O. (Everett-Reader) reviewed The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War on + 216 more book reviews
Beautifully written. The story of young men of the confederacy in 1864 right around the battle of Franklin, TN.
Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War on + 1229 more book reviews
Excellent civil war novel dealing with the friendships and loves of a Confederate soldier before, during, and after the battle of Franklin, Tennessee in November 1864. The novel delves into the friendship of 3 soldiers from Cumberland, Mississippi, and how the battle devastated their lives and those of others in and around the city of Franklin. After the battle, the soldier is nursed by a young lady, Anna, at a large house near Franklin that was turned into a hospital for the dying and wounded. A great novel that really deals with the effects of war. High recommendation!
Carnton Plantation
The Carnton Plantation served as a medical hospital.
The Carnton Plantation served as a medical hospital.
John A. and Marguerite E. W. (aliennightbird) reviewed The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War on + 40 more book reviews
This is a tragic tale of a war-weary, used-up, half-crazy with post-traumatic stress Confederate private, his two war buddies, a conscripted man who is apparently slightly mentally retarded and should have never been forced to be a soldier, a sadistic psychopathic deserter and theif, and a young woman who is overwhelmed when her cousin's house is commissioned as a hospital for the hundreds of Confederate wounded and she must take on the role of nurse for which she is ill-prepared.
The soldiers, hungry and exhausted by the years of endless, dehumanizing, and increasingly hopeless conflict must once again somehow muster the courage (or nerve) to face another battle, this time in Franklin, Tennessee, which hosted of the Civil War's last big battles before the war ended a few months later. (Historically, in the Battle of Franklin, the Confederate army was just about slaughtered wholesale.)
In the aftermath of the battle, the characters meet, work through their trauma and feelings of hopelessness (well...with the exception of the psycho who is killed when in an attempt to exact revenge on the private, attacts the nurse). I suppose that the main characters's souls heal to a certain extent and even develop a doomed romance before the private dies of infection from a reletively minor wound at the end of the story. and For the survivors, the war goes on and on.
The decriptions and characterizations, including a whole host of secondary characters, each with their often shattered hopes and dreams, are written in beautiful, deep, poetic, and lyrical prose. You don't want to read this story quickly.
Unfortunaely, at least with me, deep, poetic prose often stalls the overall action of the book and sometimes becomes tedious after a time.
The characters are well-developed, complex, approachable, and deeply human in their good and bad thoughts, hopes, dying dreams, and actions. Before the battle, the main character, who was once a rather artistic dreamer, wishes he could meet one of the Strangers (Yankees) as a friend, to talk together about their hopes and dreams. After all, he figures, I am not such a bad guy. Why are you trying to kill me?
(Bu, as my own side note, in battle, a soldier's job is kill or be killed. Nothing personal.)
However, their backstories, told often in sudden flashbacks, become confusing to me. Part of me thinks that the backstories are overworked. On the other hand, it adds to the overall feeling not only of the battle, but the people involved with all their good and bad parts. After all, battles and the aftermath, and indeed any historical event, involve individual men and woman which is something the history books rarely show. The book is excellent in making the characters who participated in this moment in history real.
Another problem is that the author at one point jumped into the future and discussed how Southern women romantisized the soldiers and events during the Confederacy, possibly, the author seemed to suggest, in part as a way of dealing with the Confederacy defeat.
Um...well, unless the guys and gals, the characters, involved in the Civil War, actually developed a means of time travel, they would not have know about modern attitudes. While the comments and ideas are interesting and well-put, they would have been much better served, in my opinion, in the author's afterword or foreword, not in the text of the story itself, where, I felt, it had no place and was, as a matter of fact, a distraction to me.
Another problem I had was that I thought the ending was a bit too drawn out, which took away from some of the emotion.
Still, overall, I would say this was a very good book, but it had too many flaws to be one of my favorites.
By the way, if you want another story involving the Battle of Franklin, you might read "The Widow of the South". (Yes, the Caroline in this story and the use of her house as a hospital were real.) That book, however, also has it's flaws, because, in my opinion, the characters are much harder to like or relate to.
The soldiers, hungry and exhausted by the years of endless, dehumanizing, and increasingly hopeless conflict must once again somehow muster the courage (or nerve) to face another battle, this time in Franklin, Tennessee, which hosted of the Civil War's last big battles before the war ended a few months later. (Historically, in the Battle of Franklin, the Confederate army was just about slaughtered wholesale.)
In the aftermath of the battle, the characters meet, work through their trauma and feelings of hopelessness (well...with the exception of the psycho who is killed when in an attempt to exact revenge on the private, attacts the nurse). I suppose that the main characters's souls heal to a certain extent and even develop a doomed romance before the private dies of infection from a reletively minor wound at the end of the story. and For the survivors, the war goes on and on.
The decriptions and characterizations, including a whole host of secondary characters, each with their often shattered hopes and dreams, are written in beautiful, deep, poetic, and lyrical prose. You don't want to read this story quickly.
Unfortunaely, at least with me, deep, poetic prose often stalls the overall action of the book and sometimes becomes tedious after a time.
The characters are well-developed, complex, approachable, and deeply human in their good and bad thoughts, hopes, dying dreams, and actions. Before the battle, the main character, who was once a rather artistic dreamer, wishes he could meet one of the Strangers (Yankees) as a friend, to talk together about their hopes and dreams. After all, he figures, I am not such a bad guy. Why are you trying to kill me?
(Bu, as my own side note, in battle, a soldier's job is kill or be killed. Nothing personal.)
However, their backstories, told often in sudden flashbacks, become confusing to me. Part of me thinks that the backstories are overworked. On the other hand, it adds to the overall feeling not only of the battle, but the people involved with all their good and bad parts. After all, battles and the aftermath, and indeed any historical event, involve individual men and woman which is something the history books rarely show. The book is excellent in making the characters who participated in this moment in history real.
Another problem is that the author at one point jumped into the future and discussed how Southern women romantisized the soldiers and events during the Confederacy, possibly, the author seemed to suggest, in part as a way of dealing with the Confederacy defeat.
Um...well, unless the guys and gals, the characters, involved in the Civil War, actually developed a means of time travel, they would not have know about modern attitudes. While the comments and ideas are interesting and well-put, they would have been much better served, in my opinion, in the author's afterword or foreword, not in the text of the story itself, where, I felt, it had no place and was, as a matter of fact, a distraction to me.
Another problem I had was that I thought the ending was a bit too drawn out, which took away from some of the emotion.
Still, overall, I would say this was a very good book, but it had too many flaws to be one of my favorites.
By the way, if you want another story involving the Battle of Franklin, you might read "The Widow of the South". (Yes, the Caroline in this story and the use of her house as a hospital were real.) That book, however, also has it's flaws, because, in my opinion, the characters are much harder to like or relate to.
If you are a civil war fan.......great book!
R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War on + 1453 more book reviews
The Black Flower by Howard Bahr is an awesome novel of the Civil War. The author does such an outstanding job of painting a picture of this sad historical event that it left me breathless at times. The primary key character is Bushrod Carter, a private in the Confederate Army, whose experiences mirror those of so many who went to war in this period. His best friends are Jack Bishop and Virgil C. who fight by his side. He sees his friends disappear, die and leave him standing alone.
The author's first novel, it is so well written that the book is hard to put aside. Published in 1997, it was nominated for the Stephen Crane Award by Book-of-the-Month Club, the Lincoln Prize from Gettysburg College and the United stated Civil War Center Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction. The book is so good I have difficulty understanding why I see few reviews. Perhaps many readers search for a book to make them happy. I like happy book, too, but I also enjoy books that give me glimpses of another life at another time like this one did. So if you are searching for a happy book, this is not one of them. It's realistic, sad and portrays humans in all their many facets - the brave, the cowardly, the cruel, and the gentle. I was so glad to read a book that gaves me a well written honest portrayal of what happened during this chaotic time.
The author's first novel, it is so well written that the book is hard to put aside. Published in 1997, it was nominated for the Stephen Crane Award by Book-of-the-Month Club, the Lincoln Prize from Gettysburg College and the United stated Civil War Center Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction. The book is so good I have difficulty understanding why I see few reviews. Perhaps many readers search for a book to make them happy. I like happy book, too, but I also enjoy books that give me glimpses of another life at another time like this one did. So if you are searching for a happy book, this is not one of them. It's realistic, sad and portrays humans in all their many facets - the brave, the cowardly, the cruel, and the gentle. I was so glad to read a book that gaves me a well written honest portrayal of what happened during this chaotic time.
Howard Bahr was born in Meridian, Mississippi. From 1982 to 1993 he was curator of Rowan Oak, the William Faulkner homestead and museum in Oxford, Mississippi. Since 1993 he has taught English at Motlow State Community College in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
"I recommend it highly."--Shelby Foote, author of The Civil War Trilogy
"Writing with eloquence and humanity, Howard Bahr casts a tale of war as powerful as any you'll ever find."--Southern Lights
"I finished it in one long draught, thinking as I read of Crane, Hemingway, Mailer, and Faulkner . . . but realizing at the end that it was altogether original."--Ernest B. Furgurson, author of Ashes of Glory: Richmond at War
"I recommend it highly."--Shelby Foote, author of The Civil War Trilogy
"Writing with eloquence and humanity, Howard Bahr casts a tale of war as powerful as any you'll ever find."--Southern Lights
"I finished it in one long draught, thinking as I read of Crane, Hemingway, Mailer, and Faulkner . . . but realizing at the end that it was altogether original."--Ernest B. Furgurson, author of Ashes of Glory: Richmond at War
This is an autographed first edition copy!
