Book #170: I Shall Be Near to You

Book #170: I Shall Be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

March 4, 2015

Today is an unprecedented triple entry day. I kind of set myself up for this yesterday, since it was a snow day. This particular book is a newer release, and while it wasn't super long, I breezed through McCabe's first publication. 

This book is based on the true stories of women who disguised themselves as men and fought in the Civil War. Rosetta did it for love. Prior to her man Jeremiah enlisting in the Union army, she got him to marry her so that, as she put it, he could leave her as a widow, not a spinster. Their first days together as man and wife are so sweet that it makes his departure all the more painful.

Now, Rosetta was always a tomboy. With no brothers, she helped her father on their rural New York farm. She and Jeremiah planned to get their own place in Nebraska and work it together when the war is done. But living on her in-laws' property, they expect her to be a proper farm wife. From her view, life isn't worth living without Jeremiah. And so, she cuts off her hair, puts on his clothes, and goes to join his regiment.

Jeremiah's feelings over Rosetta's presence are complicated. He's never embarrassed that she's not a proper lady; he is proud of her for being a fighter and for being stubborn. But his worry over her causes him to be angry at times, sometimes not sticking up for her when their friends from home give her shit. But they are able to be intimate in a way that would have been impossible without her deception.

Will, a new friend who comes to learn the truth about "Ross," is interesting. He's attracted to Rosetta when he thinks she's a man. Religious as he is, he expresses some guilt over his homosexuality, though not as much as you'd think. He and Rosetta become good friends, guarding each other's secrets. 

The ending to this story is not happy. I mean, we're talking about the Civil War here. First off, Jeremiah fucking dies. But in his wife's arms, and that alone justifies her actions. Oh yeah, and she's pregnant at this point. After coming clean to her captain (with the aid of his wife, who figured out Rosetta months before), she's allowed to accompany an injured friend, Sully, to D.C., and will undoubtedly make her way home from there. Her alter ego, Ross Stone, died in the same battle as Jeremiah Wakefield.

The voice of the first person narrator is what drove the story. At times plain spoken, at other times cryptic, it is what kept me reading a bit more than I intended to each day. Plus, this book just gave me the feels too much. I would be eager to read more by McCabe, and will be keeping an eye out for any future releases from this new author.