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RATING: |
Date of Release: February 2003 |
Publisher: Allen & Unwin |
Review Source: |
Burke brilliantly delineates the arrogance of power, pride, and prejudice on the home front in places such as New Iberia and New Orleans, La. The battle of Shiloh looms large in this story, but the author's main concern is to describe the effects of the Civil War on slavery, and the flotsam and jetsam created in the war's wake.
As usual, Burke creates colorful characters and superb dialogue. By employing all the five senses, he paints a graphic tableau of time and place.
Some of the stand-out characters are: Willie Burke, who enlists in the 18th Louisiana from duty rather than conviction in the correctness of the cause; Ira Jamison, owner of Angola Plantation and the largest slave owner in the state; the archvillain Rufus Atkins, Jamison's white trash henchman; the beautiful slave girl Flower Jamison, Ira Jamison's illegitimate daughter whom Willie Burke teaches to read; Abigail Dowling, a Yankee abolitionist from Mass., who risks her life freeing slaves via the Underground Railroad; and Carrie LaRose, owner of New Iberia's only bordello.
The conclusion of the novel seems somewhat abrupt, with an Epilogue attempting to tie the many strands together.
Although White Doves at Morning is atypical of Burke's usual work, the quality of his writing maintains its same high standard and engaging style and his fans should enjoy this unusual foray.
