Requested as background reading for an editorial feature on BookBrowse. Our review is at https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3556/days-without-end#reviews

An entirely believable look at the life of the American soldier in the 1850s and 1860s, this novel succeeds due to its folksy dialect and a perfect balance between adventuresome spirit and repulsion at wartime carnage. While it shares some elements with Westerns and Civil War fiction, it’s unique in several ways. Though thrilling and episodic, it’s deeply thoughtful as well. Thomas writes semi-literate English but delivers profound, beautiful statements all the same. Lovely metaphors and memorable turns of phrase abound. Finally, this book is the most matter-of-fact consideration of same-sex relationships I’ve ever encountered in historical fiction. Heart-breaking, life-affirming, laugh-out-loud: these may be clichés, but here’s one novel that is all these things and more. Truly unforgettable.

(My full review is on BookBrowse, a subscriber service.)

A fascinating story of two friends who fight in the army before and during the Civil War. It's narrated in a very conversational style, and I think perhaps it would have been better for me to listen to the audiobook version of this, as I find "all tell, no show" narration off-putting after a while. I need action and dialog, don't just tell me about the action and tell me what people said. Recommended for anyone who likes realistic historical fiction or anyone looking for LGBTQIA historical fiction.

"Then do we praise the world for having good things in it." Sebastian Barry's newest novel, "Days Without End" is both gritty and lyrical. Set in the years surrounding America's Civil War, the book is narrated by Thomas McNulty, a young Irish immigrant. McNulty not only witnesses but participates in some of the most brutal and violent events of his time. Volunteering in the Indian Wars, fighting for the Union in the American Civil War, McNulty allows us to see how easy it is to be caught up in the bloodlust of hating those who are different. Moral decisions come in a multitude of shades of grey, and allegiances to people and to causes are tangled webs that can paralyze action as easily as inspire it.

Complex characters, a page-turner of a plot, and sentences to savor: this may be one of the best books of the year.