Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Crown Publishing, 2014
Pages: 320
Rating: Recommend
Synopsis: Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she's always worked by her father’s side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she's told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier.
With the army desperate for recruits, Rosetta has no trouble volunteering, although she faces an incredulous husband. She drills with the men, proves she can be as good a soldier as anyone, and deals with the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Rosetta's strong will clashes with Jeremiah's while their marriage is tested by broken conventions, constant danger, and war, and she fears discovery of her secret even as they fight for their future, and for their lives.
Inspired by more than 250 documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta’s powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman’s amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life’s challenges side by side.
Review: While I prefer reading non-fiction, the premise of this novel appealed to me; a study and compilation of stories woven into one woman's, one couple's experience during a war that has always captured my interest.
This novel really got me thinking about how women actually pulled off military service during the civil war. Of course records weren't what they are now, and there wasn't the battery of tests and mounds of paperwork that soldiers have to go through today, but it was quite a feat. I guess what they had in their favor was that men did not expect that women would serve and therefore weren't looking or any females among their ranks.
The role of women throughout history has always been downplayed so this was an interesting novel. While the story moved along quite nicely, it was far too predictable and the ending too abrupt for me to rate it any higher than a "Recommend." It fell short of its potential.
This novel really got me thinking about how women actually pulled off military service during the civil war. Of course records weren't what they are now, and there wasn't the battery of tests and mounds of paperwork that soldiers have to go through today, but it was quite a feat. I guess what they had in their favor was that men did not expect that women would serve and therefore weren't looking or any females among their ranks.
The role of women throughout history has always been downplayed so this was an interesting novel. While the story moved along quite nicely, it was far too predictable and the ending too abrupt for me to rate it any higher than a "Recommend." It fell short of its potential.
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