John Jakes

North and South (North and South Trilogy Series)

Jeremy Anderberg

“Could the friendship of men from different regions, a camaraderie born in shared hardships, endure such terrible pressures?”

I bought this trilogy on a whim when it was on a great Kindle deal. It’s normally $30 for all three books but I got it for like $2. I’d read a little bit about it, but honestly wasn’t expecting much. I mean, it’s Civil War historical fiction from the 80s. Has to be high on Lost Cause sentiment, right?

Well, I was immediately drawn in, vastly impressed by the writing and viewpoint, and pretty much didn’t stop until 800+ pages later when it ended — leading right into book two, of course. (I’m holding out on continuing for now . . . )

It starts in 1842 with teenaged Orry Main and George Hazard meeting at West Point — then the nation’s nascent sole military academy. The Mains run a rice plantation in South Carolina — though of course it’s really the slaves who do all the work. The Hazards have made a fortune Pennsylvania in iron manufacturing. At this time, the nation is certainly polarized between North and South, but it’s still easy to make friends and there are still common enemies — namely Mexico and Santa Anna.

Main and Hazard become best friends and eventually serve together in Mexico, along with Ulysses Grant, Robert Lee, and many others who will later makes name for themselves in a different conflict.

After that war, it’s a slow burn to the 1860s, with Main and Hazard aging and having to work harder at keeping their friendship alive amidst growing tensions — both personally and regionally.

As a reader, I really liked both characters, and Jakes gives the looming conflict the nuance and complexity it deserves, without descending into sentimentalism. It’s not just north vs. south — it’s truly friend against friend, classmate against classmate, even brother against brother.

“glory” is nothing but a layer of gilt desperately applied to conceal the rot beneath

I tore through these 800 pages and have heard from others who enjoyed the trilogy as well. I’m holding off on the next title for now; I may save it for a vacation in May that has hours upon hours of travel time. We’ll see if I can wait that long though. If you’re into historical fiction, you’ll love Jakes. (I was very glad to find out he has multiple multi-volume series — yesss!)

“These foul times. We might have prevented all this if we’d responded with the best that’s in us. Instead, we seem to have responded with the worst. I wonder if we’re capable of anything else.”

North and South (North and South Trilogy Series)

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