Paulette Jiles is a fascinating author. This is the second book that she's written that I've read and I'm amazed at how thorough she is in her research. Historical fiction that further enlightens me on actual history is a treat! Much of the story line centers around women who are incarcerated for being related or associated with people who oppose the Civil War (both sides). Adair Colley is the main character and she and her sisters are forced to find refuge away from their home of neutral Missouri because the Union militia has taken their father. In the course of their journey, Adair is captured and taken to jail for mere association. She is thrown in jail with a number of women who share similar stories. The details and dialogue associated with the jail were staggering. Why in the world would someone think it was OK to arrest someone merely on the basis of association? In the book, the reasoning provided is because they might know something because their lovers, brothers, fathers would obviously be sharing war secrets at the dinner table. It's obvious that Adair is a strong-willed woman and she soon becomes a leader among these "enemy women."
Throughout the book, we are introduced to the philosophies of freedom and neutrality. I really enjoyed the way that the author portrayed Adair because she really tried to be a neutral party. She believed in freedom which also meant she believed in racial justice. At the end of the day, she just wanted to be free and able to see her sisters again. At one point she is asked to write a story that would somehow incriminate her father. She can't do it because her loyalty lies with her family and she knows there is nothing to share that will incriminate.
Another aspect of this book that I loved was the fierce honesty and loyalty Adair possessed. At the beginning of the book members of the Union militia steal Adair's family's horses, including her prized horse named Whiskey. She is devastated and later in the book, after she escapes from jail, she finds her horses and rescues them. There is a lot of dialogue about Whiskey and how much she loves him. When they reunite with each other, both are nearly dead, but somehow they get through it all together.
As is par for the course, I'm always a little bit judgy when I read another book by the same author. "News of the World" blew me out of the water. It had such an impact on me because of my professional work. I cried and felt emotionally attached to the characters in that book. This book was still stellar, but I hoped for more. There is a sub-plot-line that leads the reader to believe one thing might happen, but then another happens. Not the end of the world, but I was really hoping for it to go my way. As she did in "News of the World," Paulette Jiles didn't use quotation marks in any conversational writing. Not my favorite style of writing, but I was used to it after reading "News of the World" and did just fine.
No matter what, whenever I read a Civil War historical fiction novel, I always stop and think about which side I'd be on if I was living in that time. Truthfully, I've always pictured myself on the veranda of my peach plantation in Georgia, but I guarantee you, I'd be the liberal who was a stop on the Underground Railroad and harboring fugitives. But, I digress. The Civil War gives us a constant reminder that racial injustice royally rocked the boat in this country and the plague of racism continues. Yesterday morning I shared the following on my personal Facebook page. While it doesn't relate to this book in any way, I feel like it's important for my audience to read and know that "Enemy Women" will connect so much of my point when you read it. I wrote the following,
"Whether we agree or not, this campaign (WATCH VIDEO HERE) was about the minority having a voice. Most of the negative feedback I’ve seen have been from Caucasian individuals. Until we’ve been on the receiving end of racial injustice we have absolutely no room to bitch and moan about Nike’s decision for this campaign. Do I think our military heroes are heroes? Hell yes. Why wouldn’t I? Am I incredibly grateful and fiercely supportive of law enforcement? ABSOLUTELY. But, we have to step outside of our white-privileged-bubbles and realize that there is a large population in the world who feel they are sub-par because of their skin color. Pissed at Nike for marketing to this group of humans? Don’t buy their stuff. It’s that simple. There are plenty of people who will make up for your choice to support another company. It’s ok. That’s when our freedom as Americans comes in to play. We can decide. We are LUCKY to decide."
It's my hope that we can read books like "Enemy Women" and see that there were so many who came before us who fought really hard for our freedom to decide. While the characters in this book were fictional, I guarantee you there are countless stories of men and women who damn-near died in the name of protecting their family's good name and their passion for freedom of all races during one of the bloodiest wars ever. Let's not forget what has been accomplished before us and continue to fight on for racial equality.
My recommended reading group would be age 16 and above. It's a PG-13 read with heavy themes based around the Civil War.
The moral of the story: Freedom to decide is never, ever free and still a pipe dream for many. Don't be the person who makes it worse for someone hoping and praying for racial justice. Just don't do it.
Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R
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