Some novels capture a time so vividly that they become seared into our consciousness as if we were actually there. Phillips has managed to do this in this novel about the aftermath of the Civil War with characters so vivid and descriptions that are detailed and realistic. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book invites us to consider the aftermath of war in all its futility and horror.

ConaLee is not sure when they lost hope, she just knows that at some point they did. Now sitting on the buckboard with her mother, Eliza, who has not spoken in more than a year, she wonders what will become of them. They are being driven to the Trans-Allegeny Lunatic Asylum by a war veteran who used them for a time and now wants to be rid of them, uprooting them from their home and from their family. ConaLee must act as if she is her mother’s maid while she and her mother try to heal from the loss of their husband and father, and the trauma that occurred during the war.

At the Asylum they first meet the Night Watch who lets them into the facility when they arrive early in the morning. Next they meet the doctor who takes an interest in “Miss Janet” as Eliza is now known and she begins to slowly heal. ConaLee, acting as her maid, begins her own training to be come a caretaker and nurse at the facility. But the aftermath of war still reaches out to disturb and upset their lives, in ways they had not imagined.

Phillips has clearly researched this period and particularly the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum which is located in Weston, West Virginia. Grounded in this research she has created characters who feel authentic and real. Her prose is captivating and many of the scenes are so vivid that they stay with you long after you have read them. Although the book jumps back and forth in time making it a bit hard to follow, by the end you realize it was a purposeful and appropriate choice. This is one book that I will not forget for a long time!

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to : Everyone!  Some portions could be triggering, however.

Book Study Worthy? Yes!

Read in e-library format.