From Publishers Weekly
Returning to an animal protagonist for the first time in 10 years, the author of the beloved Watership Down has come up with an ironic, revisionist view of the Civil War as seen by Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveller. Told as he and Lee live in quiet retirement, in a series of monologues directed at an amiable tomcat, Traveller's story depicts the war's battles, retreats and casualties from the naive perspective of a hero-worshipping servant to a great leader; down to the final surrender, Traveller's idealization of his rider doesn't allow him to recognize or even understand defeat. Fans of Adams's earlier novels will rejoice in his undiminished gift for conveying both the physical life and the interior essence of an animal. He makes Traveller a vivid, touching character, never merely a talking beast. But the author's depiction of human action is less convincing with repetitious, meandering delineations of encampments, advances and attacks that rob the tale of drama, reported in quaint Old South dialect that comes, unfortunately, straight from the horse's mouth. 50,000 first printing; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The Civil War has been viewed from almost every possible perspective, but Adams breaks new ground: a first-person narrative, in dialect, by Robert E. Lee's horse. Traveller's equine memoirs are told to a cat in the stable of the retired general. There is a twist to this central event in American history: Traveller is unaware that Lee lost. Although Adams's five previous novels were well received, the mythic clarity and enchantment of Watership Down or Shardik are missing here. Still, interest in the previous novels should create demand. BOMC alternate. Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army TRALINET Ctr., Fort Monroe, Va.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
