The Death of a Child...The War at Her Door....

Title: The Widow of the South

Author: Robert Hicks

Vocabulary Words:
Macadam: a macadamized road or pavement.

Bulwarks: a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart.

Caisson: 1.

a structure used in underwater work, consisting of an airtight chamber, open at the bottom and containing air under sufficient pressure to exclude the water.

2.	a boatlike structure used as a gate for a dock or the like.

Flummoxed
Palimsest
Torpor
Reverie
Abatis
Supplicant
Glibly

Rating: *****

Review: I found this book in a used bookstore in Taylorville. My fiance wanted to take me to the town, and I convinced him to let me wander the bookstore. BIG mistake. I found seven or eight new books while there. This was not, however, at the top of my list. I saw it when the Confederate flag on the cover caught my eye. I detest the flag for what it represents to me. The title intrigued me. Was she widowed by the war? Was she a plantation owner? Would this be a Gone with the Wind type novel? I kept browsing before I returned to it. After reading the back and learning Carrie McGavok was a real person, I bought the book.

I started reading that night, and became apprehensive. This book would not be an easy read. Three of Carrie's five children died before the war started. Carrie was short for Caroline, which is similar to Carolyn, my cousin who died last fall. My other cousin's son died last May, and Carrie's middle child was a boy. Her grief was matched with mine.

According to the author, much of the narrative is fiction. It is fast-paced enjoyable fiction. I wish the stories were true. I almost feel taken, since the cover led me to believe much of it was factual. I wish the story focused more on Carrie, but the other character's stories were interesting. I plan on visiting Carnton soon. I doubt I will make it there this summer, but definitely next. If you only read one book about the Civil War, this should be it. It is an amazing tale of one woman's growth through grief. She found her place tredding the soil of the graves of the Confederates. If only we could all find our place...