Hamilton often took Eliza’s advice but, the authors imply, not often enough.
Eliza Hamilton claims her own place in American history.
This latest in the recent onslaught of Hamilton novels (The Hamilton Affair, by Elizabeth Cobbs, 2016, etc.) is narrated by the great man's wife, Eliza, also known by her childhood name of Betsy. Since Eliza is telling the story after her husband’s death, her mature perspective often casts doubt on her youthful one, as when she views her initial assessment of Hamilton’s loyalty against her later experience of his infidelity. If readers aren’t already familiar with Hamilton’s imbroglios, his widow's rueful recollections would guarantee spoilers galore. Eliza, the tomboyish daughter of pioneer, planter, slaveholder, general, and politician Philip Schuyler, sets male hearts aflutter, including that of future president James Monroe. Her reputation as “the finest tempered girl in the world” attracts more financially secure suitors, but she chooses Gen. Washington’s aide-de-camp, Hamilton, and marries him in 1780. Through Eliza’s eyes we are treated to an in-depth portrait of Hamilton, not to mention forward-looking psychoanalysis of his genius and personality defects. With his formidable intellect and powers of concentration, he is able to almost single-handedly shape the new democracy’s economy and tax structure. On the other hand, his hypersensitivity due to his illegitimate birth and hardscrabble childhood seems at regular intervals to unravel his best intentions. Episodic rather than plot-driven, the novel suffers from Dray and Kamoie's (America's First Daughter, 2016) seeming inability to choose what to summarize and what to depict as scenes in the book. Cliffhangers introduced very early are dropped, such as the first time Hamilton rides off to quell a mutiny, or take far too long to pay off, like a hinted-at romance between Hamilton and Eliza’s sister Angelica. Still, the novel is unflinching in detailing Eliza’s reactions, for example in her fraught encounters with Monroe throughout her life, her pre-duel compassion for Aaron Burr, and her many frustrations as Hamilton’s helpmeet, moral center, and de facto literary executor.
Hamilton often took Eliza’s advice but, the authors imply, not often enough.Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-246616-7
Page Count: 672
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Hoffman (The Red Garden, 2011, etc.) births literature from tragedy: the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple, the siege of Masada and the loss of Zion.
This is a feminist tale, a story of strong, intelligent women wedded to destiny by love and sacrifice. Told in four parts, the first comes from Yael, daughter of Yosef bar Elhanan, a Sicarii Zealot assassin, rejected by her father because of her mother's death in childbirth. It is 70 CE, and the Temple is destroyed. Yael, her father, and another Sicarii assassin, Jachim ben Simon, and his family flee Jerusalem. Hoffman's research renders the ancient world real as the group treks into Judea's desert, where they encounter Essenes, search for sustenance and burn under the sun. There too Jachim and Yael begin a tragic love affair. At Masada, Yael is sent to work in the dovecote, gathering eggs and fertilizer. She meets Shirah, her daughters, and Revka, who narrates part two. Revka's husband was killed when Romans sacked their village. Later, her daughter was murdered. At Masada, caring for grandsons turned mute by tragedy, Revka worries over her scholarly son-in-law, Yoav, now consumed by vengeance. Aziza, daughter of Shirah, carries the story onward. Born out of wedlock, Aziza grew up in Moab, among the people of the blue tunic. Her passion and curse is that she was raised as a warrior by her foster father. In part four, Shirah tells of her Alexandrian youth, the cherished daughter of a consort of the high priests. Shirah is a keshaphim, a woman of amulets, spells and medicine, and a woman connected to Shechinah, the feminine aspect of God. The women are irretrievably bound to Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Masada's charismatic leader; Amram, Yael's brother; and Yoav, Aziza's companion and protector in battle. The plot is intriguingly complex, with only a single element unresolved. An enthralling tale rendered with consummate literary skill.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1747-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
A little-known story that will have special resonance for today’s resisters.
Based on an actual incident in Nazi-occupied Belgium, Ramzipoor’s debut is a tragicomic account of fake news for a cause.
Structured like a heist movie, the novel follows several members of a conspiracy in Enghien, Belgium, who have a daring plan. The conspirators do not intend to survive this caper, only to bring some humor—and encouragement for resisters—into the grim existence of Belgians under Nazi rule. To this end, the plotters—among them Marc Aubrion, a journalist and comic; David Spiegelman, an expert forger; Lada Tarcovich, a smuggler and sex worker; and Gamin, a girl masquerading as a male street urchin—intend to...publish a newspaper. And only one issue of a newspaper, to be substituted on one night for the regular evening paper, Le Soir, which has become a mouthpiece for Nazi disinformation. Le Faux Soir, as the changeling paper is appropriately dubbed, will feature satire, doctored photographs making fun of Hitler, and wry requests for a long-overdue Allied invasion. (Target press date: Nov. 11, 1943.) To avoid immediate capture, the Faux Soir staff must act as double agents, convincing (or maybe not) the local Nazi commandant, August Wolff, that they are actually putting out an anti-Allies “propaganda bomb.” The challenge of fleshing out and differentiating so many colorful characters, combined with the sheer logistics of acquiring paper, ink, money, facilities, etc. under the Gestapo’s nose, makes for an excruciatingly slow exposé of how this sausage will be made. The banter here, reminiscent of the better Ocean’s Eleven sequels, keeps the mechanism well oiled, but it is still creaky. A few scenes amply illustrate the brutality of the Occupation, and sexual orientation works its way in: Lada is a lesbian and David, in addition to being a Jew, is gay—August Wolff’s closeted desire may be the only reason David has, so far, escaped the camps. The genuine pathos at the end of this overdetermined rainbow may be worth the wait.
A little-known story that will have special resonance for today’s resisters.Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7783-0815-7
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Park Row Books
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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