The Wreckage of Eden by Norman LockMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed the language and writing style of the books in this series: American Novels. This is the 5th book, I have not read all of them, and do not intend to, they are all standalone books. They all evolve around American writers, so far in the 19th Century. This one has Emily Dickinson as a character.
The book is written like it is speaking to Emily, perhaps as a letter to her. Robert Winter, a US Army Chaplain of the Lutheran faith, who is in love with Emily, although he does not say it so plainly. Winter asked Emily to marry him but she refuses, staying put in her Homestead with her Father. Yet they remain good friends, she writing to Winter, and him visiting her whenever he is in Amherst.
While I do like the language, it is not direct at times. It does obscure meaning occasionally, and yet I feel like this matches the time period a little more closely than our language of today.
Despite all that I do like, a large part of the book is taken up with Robert Winter serving as a chaplain in several wars or skirmishes. First it is with the Mexican War, then The Mormon Rebellion, and finally with Harper’s Ferry. The descriptions of some of these war scenes and what is taken by these periods of violence were not pleasant for me. Otherwise this was wonderful.
So what should have been a quick read, as this was not a long book, for me was not. I set it aside often. Although I also was away on a work trip then a vacation but I could have found time for the book if I found it more engaging. Perhaps the book deserves a bit more than my rating of 3.5 stars, so I’m rounding up.
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