This Side of the River
Travel with an army of widows that waxes and wanes in numbers after the end of the Civil War, as they march to Ohio under the direction of a singular leader, intent on destroying the home of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Captain Cat Harvey is the teenage magnet leading this army, and he is beset by demons that haunt his sleep and emerge in the form of violence towards the women who accompany him. His madness eventually leads the group of widows to banish him and disband their mission. The story ends with Sherman narrating his encounter with the dregs of the group – an encounter that leaves the reader in a state of uncertainty; indicative of the narrative itself.
The tale is told from a number of perspectives in short bursts of chapters, whipsawing the reader through the army of widows and their leader. At first, the sheer number of narrators is disconcerting, but eventually a rhythm emerges – a poetic descriptive tenor. It is as if the Southern mists, the ‘fog of war,’ permeates the story. We are plunged into unexpectedly dark intersecting historical and mythic voices that at times becomes too heavy to be supported by the short chapters. The pace is sharp but winding, and the style is both effective and powerful. It would have been helpful to have an introduction that frames the context of the story and title, provide a simple map, and perhaps a list of characters (this list could perhaps be more suited to an appendix).
A fascinating tale, crafted with a confident hand, This Side of the River will not disappoint the Civil War aficionado. Due to some content, it is not advisable for younger readers.
