Anna L. (annalovesbooks) reviewed on
ISBN 034531221x - This is NOT a biography, it is historical fiction - an important distinction if you're looking for facts but not so important if you just want to read a good book. A very well-written book, and far more readable than the size of it might make you think, I found one problem running throughout the book - the lack of dates. Although Vidal periodically mentions a specific date, the lack of them makes for a somewhat odd effect: the war, and Lincoln's political career, seem to last a very short time.
That aside, a wonderfully different look at a Presidency that changed the U.S. forever. Despite the fact that Lincoln never intended to free the slaves, and having done so, didn't want them living in the same country as the white population, his role as hero has always detracted from his human-ness. This book gives that back to him, and to the reader.
Mary's rather loose grip on sanity is almost played for laughs at times, which is a little sad. Other than that, it's hard to find one true bad guy in the book - a reflection of real life that was nice to find in a book that, in the end, is a work of fiction. Unless you're willing to do a great deal of research to verify everything in it, I wouldn't read this as anything OTHER than a historical fiction.
- AnnaLovesBooks
That aside, a wonderfully different look at a Presidency that changed the U.S. forever. Despite the fact that Lincoln never intended to free the slaves, and having done so, didn't want them living in the same country as the white population, his role as hero has always detracted from his human-ness. This book gives that back to him, and to the reader.
Mary's rather loose grip on sanity is almost played for laughs at times, which is a little sad. Other than that, it's hard to find one true bad guy in the book - a reflection of real life that was nice to find in a book that, in the end, is a work of fiction. Unless you're willing to do a great deal of research to verify everything in it, I wouldn't read this as anything OTHER than a historical fiction.
- AnnaLovesBooks
