Booth: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Well worth reading, good period piece.
Review: The author skillfully transports the reader to the waning days of the Civil War in Washington DC. The descriptive prose is detailed. The thoughts in Booth's head are well constructed and believable, although Mary Surratt's thoughts are somewhat unbelievable. The side story is a throw way. This novel did much to stir my quest for factual knowledge on this subject.

Rating:
Summary: For Civil War Fans Only
Review: The book opens with a great setting which gives the reader an excellent idea as to what it was like living back in those days. Although purely fictional, it offers great insights to a story that most everyone is familiar with. Overall, I did not enjoy the book simply for the fact that David Robertson's entries are very thrilling, however seem too composed to be genuine. Both diaries seemed like editorial historical fiction than contemporary journals. They were too finished and polished, using italicized flashback phrases and foreshadowing. However, there were some very good points to the story. The upside to the polishedness of the diaries is that it was very easy to follow and it was smooth reading. For those of you who enjoy the Civil War era and are interested in reading a new side of the story, fictitious of course, I recomment Booth: A Novel. Although it did not interest me, it was good writing.

Rating:
Summary: Non-fiction accounts are far more compelling
Review: The only good thing that I have to say about this book is that it led me to re-examine the non-fiction accounts of the characters involved in the assassination conspiracy. The factual material is far more interesting than anything Mr. Robertson twisted around to fit into his "novel." John Surratt's true story as a confederate courier (not photographic assistant to Mr. Gardner as this story has it) would make for a far more compelling story. I found it disturbing that for the story's sake, Mr. Robertson had a sexual affair go on between Booth and Mrs. Surratt. The true story of Mrs. Surratt's probable innocence would itself be worthwhile reading. I could go on with examples (but I won't). Don't waste your time or money on this book. If you are interested in John Wilkes Booth and the story of the assassination conspiracy, there are tons of fascinating non-fiction books out there on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: a perversion of the historical fiction genre
Review: Told from the perspective of John Surratt, perhaps, after Booth himself, the least understood of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, Robertson's John Suratt is very much a fictional Surratt, as are all the historical figures presented in the book. While interesting in its depiction of Civil War Washington, ultimately, the book is a disappointment in that the characterizations are flat and stereotypical as Mr. Robertson dispenses with historical truth in search of a good yarn. The Lincoln assassination and its participants can provide enough grist for an enjoyable and plausible historical novel (as Mr. Robertson describes his work) with only marginal manipulation of history; thus the wholesale manipulation of history results in a work that is, at the end, an unconvincing and uncomfortable perversion of the historical fiction genre.