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The Confederate General Rides North
In this richly imagined, utterly original debut a mother- daughter road trip leads a young girl—a precocious Civil War buff—to a hard-won understanding of the American history she loves and the personal history she inherits.
Eleven-year-old Katherine McConnell is so immersed in Civil War history that she often imagines herself a general, leading troops to battle. When Kat’s beautiful, impulsive mother wakes her early one morning in the summer of 1968 to tell her they will be taking a road trip from Georgia to Maine to find antiques for a shop she wants to open, Kat sees the opportunity for adventure and a respite from her parents’ troubled marriage. Armed with a road atlas and her most treasured history books, Kat cleverly charts a course that will take them to battlefields and historic sites and, for her mother’s sake she hopes, bring them home a success. But as the trip progresses, Kat’s experiences test her faith in her mother and her loyalty to the South, bringing her to a dif- ficult new awareness of her family and the history she reveres. And when their journey comes to an abrupt and devastating halt in Gettysburg, Kat must make an irrevocable choice about their ultimate destination.
Deftly narrated with the beguiling honesty of a child’s per- spective and set against the rich backdrop of the South during the 1960s, The Confederate General Rides North gracefully blends a complex mother-daughter relationship, the legacy of the Civil War, and the ache of growing up too soon.
Eleven-year-old Katherine McConnell is so immersed in Civil War history that she often imagines herself a general, leading troops to battle. When Kat’s beautiful, impulsive mother wakes her early one morning in the summer of 1968 to tell her they will be taking a road trip from Georgia to Maine to find antiques for a shop she wants to open, Kat sees the opportunity for adventure and a respite from her parents’ troubled marriage. Armed with a road atlas and her most treasured history books, Kat cleverly charts a course that will take them to battlefields and historic sites and, for her mother’s sake she hopes, bring them home a success. But as the trip progresses, Kat’s experiences test her faith in her mother and her loyalty to the South, bringing her to a dif- ficult new awareness of her family and the history she reveres. And when their journey comes to an abrupt and devastating halt in Gettysburg, Kat must make an irrevocable choice about their ultimate destination.
Deftly narrated with the beguiling honesty of a child’s per- spective and set against the rich backdrop of the South during the 1960s, The Confederate General Rides North gracefully blends a complex mother-daughter relationship, the legacy of the Civil War, and the ache of growing up too soon.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 12, 2019
Really enjoyed this book... I read it at a time when our national cultural and political experience feels more polarized and fragmented than any time time in my life. The story of a civil war buff daughter and her troubled mother traveling north from Georgia toward New England was ideal for challenging the reader to confront the pain of a people separated and viciously fighting one another. Of course we (as a nation) have plenty of historical baggage and distorted memory of past events. How appropriate that this book was set in the late 1960’s.... another time of strife and violence, at home and abroad. Gable addresses all of this in an enjoyable book that I learned from. I would like to read more of her work.
August 31, 2009
A mother and 11-year-old daughter sneak away to take a trip so the mother can buy antiques for a shop she wants to open. The girl, Kat, is fascinated by the Civil War so she plans the itinerary to visit battle fields. Even though the mother is Northern and distanced from the father's family's Confederate leanings, she agrees to Kat's plan. Interspersed is Kat's imaginary General's thoughts that increasingly mirror what's going on with the journey. This is one of those books you take to bed and swear you'll put it down at the end of the chapter -- but you just can't. Her descriptions are so apt -- I've spent time in the Harpers Ferry area and she nailed it. The ending was just what the ending would have to be.
December 25, 2017
I never knew an 11 year-old girl was a general in the Confederate army. This book is her story -- amazing / awesome.
January 3, 2021
Bipolar mother takes her daughter on an unplanned trip. You are just waiting for the crisis point where katherine will stop trying to cope with everything herself.
August 26, 2024
3.5 stars
June 3, 2010
I immediately liked this book because when my daughter was 11 she used to pretend that she was Lafayette and rode around the yard on her horse; and one of my dreams used to be driving with her to all the Revolutionary War battlefields.
The book, however, is much more complex and interesting than that. Katherine (or Kat) is 11 and lives in the south and is fascinated by the Civil War. She has a stable, loving set of grandparents and a wonderful, covetable aunt. Her own nuclear family is less positive. Her mother is an artist and seems to be possibly bi-polar with intense high spurts of energy followed by major depression; she is also quickly angered and self absorbed, although I believe that she does love Kat. Kat has long ago learned to read her mother's (and her father's) moods as a survival necessity.
Kat and her mother set off on a trip to collect antiques. Kat is not aware that this really is a trip so her mother can get away from the south and from her marriage and from her in-laws. Since Kat loves the Civil War she convinces her mother to include visits to many of the Civil War battlefields.
I love the way Kat portrays herself as a Civil War General and how she deals with her real life difficulties through her "General Self." I think the author does a credible job of portraying the trip and the story through the eyes of an 11 year old girl who has had to cope with difficult parents and has had to grow up too soon. I see something of my own daughters in Kat and in their ability to look after themselves long before they should have had to.
The book, however, is much more complex and interesting than that. Katherine (or Kat) is 11 and lives in the south and is fascinated by the Civil War. She has a stable, loving set of grandparents and a wonderful, covetable aunt. Her own nuclear family is less positive. Her mother is an artist and seems to be possibly bi-polar with intense high spurts of energy followed by major depression; she is also quickly angered and self absorbed, although I believe that she does love Kat. Kat has long ago learned to read her mother's (and her father's) moods as a survival necessity.
Kat and her mother set off on a trip to collect antiques. Kat is not aware that this really is a trip so her mother can get away from the south and from her marriage and from her in-laws. Since Kat loves the Civil War she convinces her mother to include visits to many of the Civil War battlefields.
I love the way Kat portrays herself as a Civil War General and how she deals with her real life difficulties through her "General Self." I think the author does a credible job of portraying the trip and the story through the eyes of an 11 year old girl who has had to cope with difficult parents and has had to grow up too soon. I see something of my own daughters in Kat and in their ability to look after themselves long before they should have had to.
November 12, 2014
This book was ambitious and achieved many of its over-arching goals: showing general family dysfunction by keeping some family members' motivations mysterious while simultaneously representing the horror that is a child's view of a parent's manic/depressive disorder with veracity.
As the child of a parent like Katherine's I felt every single nuance very early in her description of her mother. That is the 5-star part of this novel. The way her mother unravels in front of her eyes during their "trip" and her memories of past experiences--learning how to manage her own behaviors even as a first grader in order to manager her mother's moods --all gave this novel a very painful poignancy for me.
Unfortunately, also for me, the novel bogs down way to much in Civil War detail. I get it that it's a crucial part of how Katherine orders her world and appreciate the author for making it perfectly clear that the young girl sees things through a haze of history, both real and imagined. I found the interjections of her imaginary "general self" grating and was skipping over them completely about half way through in order to stay with what was actually happening.
That said, I truly admire this author's talent, especially with the first person POV of a young girl, and would be happy to read something else by her.
As the child of a parent like Katherine's I felt every single nuance very early in her description of her mother. That is the 5-star part of this novel. The way her mother unravels in front of her eyes during their "trip" and her memories of past experiences--learning how to manage her own behaviors even as a first grader in order to manager her mother's moods --all gave this novel a very painful poignancy for me.
Unfortunately, also for me, the novel bogs down way to much in Civil War detail. I get it that it's a crucial part of how Katherine orders her world and appreciate the author for making it perfectly clear that the young girl sees things through a haze of history, both real and imagined. I found the interjections of her imaginary "general self" grating and was skipping over them completely about half way through in order to stay with what was actually happening.
That said, I truly admire this author's talent, especially with the first person POV of a young girl, and would be happy to read something else by her.
May 28, 2013
I have been fascinated with Gettysburg since I was 9 and read a story called Emmeline about a young girl caught on the battlefield. I also have kind of a crush on Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee since reading The Killer Angels and watching Ken Burns documentary about the Civil War. I also loved Allen Gurganus' book The World's Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All. This story was very imaginative and heartbreaking as an 11 year old tries to be in charge of her dysfunctional family on a trip with her mentally unstable mother.
January 9, 2010
A rather poignant story of an 11 year old girl who goes on a "venture" with her mother driving through Civil War historic sites. But is Mom OK? Kat has to be the adult as her mother begins spiraling down. The story of Kat and her Mom is good, but I did not like the interjected portions where Kat is an imaginary Confederate general. As the end of the book I just started skipping those passages.
June 23, 2013
A mediocre and meandering story about a mother who decides to suddenly take her precocious, civil-war-buff daughter on a road trip to New England. This underlying civil war narration is cute and provides an 11-year old's views on the trip and what happens as a result. The only good thing about this novel was the surprise at the end. Otherwise, it's completely predictable and formulaic. Save yourself a credit and look for this at your local library.
November 29, 2014
This is a nicely told story of an 11 year-old girl in about 1968. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam war, the assassination of MLK, etc. In the middle of all this, her crazy mother drags her out of her home in Georgia and heads north to take up the antiques trade.
The interwoven story of the trip, the Civil War history she encounters and her past is charming and sweet.
The interwoven story of the trip, the Civil War history she encounters and her past is charming and sweet.
August 26, 2009
What a great read! I loved how the story of Kat's trip was interspersed with her imaginings of the "Confederate General." This book was great on so many levels. It was historical, a family story, a story of struggle both external and internal and a coming-of-age story all at once. I hope that Amanda Gable writes more novels soon!
April 30, 2011
I really enjoyed this story of a Mother-Daughter trip to Maine that includes stops at the major Civil War battle fields of the North. You are drawn to Kat and watch her grow thorough her fantasies of being "the general". It is not easy having a crazy mother, but Kat does the best an 11- year-old can in difficult circumstances.
November 10, 2009
I would compare this book to The Ya-Ya Sisterhood, only without the whimsey, or maybe just a different kind of whimsey. I was not so entertained.
November 27, 2009
I could have done without the imaginings of the "Confederate General." I am a fan of Civil War literature and this was a definite twist. I'm also a big fan of books set during the time of the Civil Rights Movement... so for me, this hit both interests.
September 19, 2010
Really a 2 1/2 star rating. It is a very creative storyline. I have always been interested in the Civil War but I had a difficult time getting caught up in the present day story of Katherine's dysfunctional family life.
November 4, 2009
Very different!!! Took me a long time to get into this book....not in my taste!!!!
November 15, 2009
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. I'm not a big civil war buff, but the story of Kat and her mother were very well written and believable - I would recommend it.
November 5, 2009
Impressive, but was let down by the ending.
March 8, 2010
It's started out well.... I would have killed for a trip like that at about her age.
June 4, 2011
Finally done. I knocked off a star because it just didn't hold my interest. I liked the parallel of war and the narrator's struggles, though....
August 17, 2011
Set in the 1960s, Katherine, a Southern Confederate warbuff, and her mother embark on a vacation heading north and stopping at Civil War Battlefields along the way. Audiobook.
August 12, 2016
I was drawn into the book with the main character, Kat. I finished because I wanted to know everything turns out alright.
August 11, 2014
Well written and well structured novel using the Civil War to parallel the development of the main character. I loved it.
January 30, 2016
This book was hardly what I expected but was pleasantly surprised by the tenderness.
February 8, 2010
I couldn't finish this book, it just didn't hold my interest.
August 2, 2010
Good, original story.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews