A Separate Country by Robert Hicks - Review and Giveaway

This is a fictional account of General John Hood, who was one of the most respected generals of the Confederate Army. The novel discusses his life after the war.

He was a strong General who made tough decisions. During the course of his time in the Army, he lost the use of his left arm and his right leg. But he kept on with his duties until the end of the war.

John goes to New Orleans where he meets a young woman who is determined to marry him. He finds her attractive and they eventually have a family of 11 children. She is everything he is not - and he finds himself changing with time.

What he thought was important before now seems insignificant, maybe even wrong. Anna Marie's friends all teach him something about a life far different from any he experienced before and, with the passage of time, he begins to change his beliefs.

But he still has to fight for everything he has and wants throughout his life. There are good years, there are bad years, and there are years of no hope. But he keeps on going, motivated by a need to do good to make up for the younger years.

Times were not easy in New Orleans after the war for anyone. The black people living there were viewed as "niggers" and constantly persecuted. Yellow fever was a frequent visitor.

This is a good overview of how life was in New Orleans after the Civil War.

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