Another magnificent novel from an American treasure. Burke's civil war novel boasts an unforgettable cast of characters as he delineates every social aspect of the war's struggle. His depiction of place is a sensory treat and unrivaled in its immediacy. The man is the best writer we have. This is a great book..

I believe I've found me a new Civil War author to read!
Wow! Just some amazing stuff going on and the writing is is excellent!
Burke will take you on a roller coaster ride in this fast paced novel for sure!
I was invested since the beginning and couldn't put it down until I was finished!
Lots of cool characters and some bad ones too.
The historical aspects are described spot on! Every last detail was accurate.
He really did his research well and has made a great novel!
I highly recommend! Some great reading and action going on in this book!
5 stars for a job well done!
I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love Burke. Have read all of his books and have loved his historical fiction as much if not more,than his crime novels. And I really like this one. Excellent writing and characterization. Excellent imagery and historical verisimilitude. The only problem is the shifting points of view in the narrative. It made the book a bit hard to follow and prevented full blown characterizations. I don’t know why authors do this, as reviewers often. One the confusing nature of the multiple narrators. But it’s still Burke and it’s still dry very good.

The Master takes us to Louisiana past in a remarkable look at the Civil War (AKA War of Northern Aggression, War Between the States). The characters are timeless, but the background provided for their tale is perfect. .

Flags on the Bayou takes place during the Civil War, and the story unfolds through first person accounts of several different people. It is the familiar metaphysical themes from James Lee Burke’s novels about Dave Robicheaux. It has the same rhythms of those novels.

No one paints a picture with words as eloquently as James Lee Burke. No one captures humanity - good and evil - as clearly. Flags on the Bayou may not be easy to read, but it should be read.

4 stars

This book broke my heart.

It is set in Louisiana during the fall of 1863. The Union Army is in control of a large portion of the state and wreaking havoc on the local populace. The Confederates have lapsed into confusion and their largely corrupt government is falling apart. There are rogue groups running about murdering, raping and pillaging their own territory. The Confederate soldiers are largely uneducated farmers who do not know why they are fighting to protect a small number of rich landowners.

The “servants” as the wealthy call them, we know them as slaves, are in upheaval and aer beginning to smell the winds of freedom. They are being abused in all manner of ways, and God help the women.

The devastating things that happened to the people greatly upset me. On an intellectual level, I knew what was happening, but to read it, even in Mr. Burke’s fine prose, was awfully disheartening, It was perhaps Mr. Burke’s unflinching words that tore through my mind. It was so very sad.

The only problem I had with this brilliant novel was the plotting. There were many characters of which to keep track. I also missed Mr. Burke’s usual fleshing out of his characters. I didn’t really know any of the characters, save for Hannah, and I was left almost bereft. It left me feeling that I didn’t like any of them. But then perhaps that was exactly the author’s intent. After all, it was a horrible war.

I want to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Possibly his best yet, even without Dave Robicheaux. His take on Southern history is brilliant, dark and I’m sad to say, very accurate. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this great read.

Flags on the Bayou, the forthcoming novel from James Lee Burke, is a historical novel set in the waning years of the Civil War as Louisiana is occupied by the Yankee armies. Told in a number of different narratives, we learn about the wartime confusion, the armies of the North occupying Lousiana, the renegade soldiers setting up their own rules, and the fall of the plantation way of life. The war will be won we learn by burning the Southern cities, starving the populace, and occupying the estates. Most of the Southerners never benefited from slavery and were fools to fight for the South to begin with. While the slaves are not in open rebellion, word of emancipation has filtered down and, with it, the knowledge that only certain states, not all, have so far been emancipated. Hannah Laveau, who has been enslaved on the Lufkin plantation, has been accused of murder, but she is only one of many who had cause to kill Lufkin, a rapist. Laveau escapes from jail when an abolitionist makes a jailbreak and, in the bloody aftermath, the two women are on the run from everyone. Meanwhile, Wade Lufkin, a younger nephew of the deceased Lufkin, duels another man to his detriment. The novel, with its constantly shifting point of view, gives a glimpse of a time or turmoil and of deeds done in the fog of war and even after that fog has been lifted. It might have been preferable to follow one storyline rather than so many and the shifting points of view are at times confusing as well as the fact that not one single plotline is pursued.