Fathers

This is quite simply the best novel ever written set in and around the Civil War.

This novel is one of the best written in the United States. While it will delight conservatives for its tender and moving picture of a culture whose traditions and habits are being destroyed, readers of all political stripes will enjoy reading the Greek like tragic victory/fall of the utilitarian 'hero' of the novel. His story is that of modernity, and thus of us all.

This is a tremendous work; I cannot fathom why it is not well known outside literary circles unless it is because it was the only novel of its poet/critic author. The style in which it is written is beautiful. The first person narrator gracefully tells a profound story which (to me) leaves lingering mysteries and does so without "trying too hard" or pretention. The story and the style in which it is written fuse into a haunting masterpiece. I have never sought a literary profession; however, I think that anyone who does so would learn a great deal from this book.