I Am Abraham: A Novel of Lincoln and the Civil War
Charyn faces the daunting task of fictionalizing the life of an American icon, but does so with aplomb. He traces the course of Abraham Lincoln’s life and times, utilizing the specter of mental illness within his family as a literary device connecting all the dots into a full-bodied portrait of the beloved, reviled, and doomed sixteenth president of the U.S. Beginning with Lincoln’s early years in Illinois, he traces his often tortuous path from the prairie to the presidency. By employing a first-person narrative, he is able to inject Lincoln’s inimitable intelligence, wit, and compassion into every page, as his homespun humor is underscored with his trademark pathos and humanity. As the nation arrives at the brink of destruction and his own family faces their own monumental struggles under the national microscope, the range and depth of his commitment to his family and to his country are revealed. The legend of Lincoln continues to fascinate, and this compulsively readable fictional autobiography approaches the man and the myth from a fresh new angle. --Margaret Flanagan