Leyla Hatfield
Mrs. Bush
US History Period 1
March 12, 2018
Neverhome by Laird Hunt Critique
Neverhome by Laird Hunt was published on September 9, 2014. This novel describes the hardships and lessons the main character, Ash Thompson, otherwise known as “Gallant Ash” had to endure. Ash testifies the norm of females during the Civil War with her brave, fiery soul. The author bases this fictional character’s journey off historically accurate accounts of soldiers. Ash was a female who faces the risk of disguising herself as a male in order to pay her duties during the bloodiest war the U.S. ever faced. Historically, this had been done, however this novel delves into the details of the privation Ash faced. Neverhome is a fictional novel containing mostly historically accurate information, containing nonfictional gruesome details of the Civil War, with many twists that grasp readers attention. It’s estimated that 400 women disguised themselves as males in order to fight in the Civil War (Clark, 1). However, the author uniquely tells the story of Ash and her relentless spirit, who motivated by patriotism and her loved ones, pours her heart onto the battlefield. Laird Hunt accurately represents to readers the prejudice so many females faced during the early 1800’s, yet challenges this with a unforgettable character who represents love, bravery and faithfulness.
“I was strong and he was not, so it was me who went to war to defend the Republic” (Hunt, 3). Neverhome is introduced in this manner, with narrator and heroine a Ash Thompson describing her bravery compared to her dear husband, Bartholomew. Ash left her home in Darke County, Ohio and lover behind in order to mask her identity and prove her loyalty to the north in grisly battles in the south. Ash camped in tents, where she quickly adapted to the routine of sleep, battle, and follow orders by her Colonel who quickly became a companion of Ash’s. Ash fought long and hard, and gained the nickname “Gallant Ash” for giving her jacket to a female who was exposed by her top coming off while watching the soldiers march. Ash had compassion, for her husband she wrote often and her mother who passed, yet she still spoke to her and remained motivated by her. Ash fits in well with the male soldiers, with her wittiness, ability to wrestle, and her shooting aim that was incomparable. Ash’s secret was not unfolded until she was found at her weakest moment. Ash marched, killed men and animals, assisted in laying breastworks, cut logs, and followed any orders she was given. Ash has committed bounty with a few fellow soldiers, who she referred to as Akron boys. She continues her journey as a soldier with these men, with many stops along the way. Days following, Ash describes that these days felt like weeks, and in her dreams, these weeks felt like years. Blood, bodies, weapons and fear surrounded her as her life was changed forever after facing an injury in her arm during the last battle she ever fought. Ash lied in the cornfield, helpless and slept. . Ash was left behind by her army, and hiked along, seeking refuge and a nurse to help her wounds. Ash found a nurse, Neva, who showed a romantic interest in Ash. Ash was welcomed by her, her wounds were healed and she appreciated her hospitality, however Ash wanted to return home to Bartholomew, which angered Neva. The morning of Ash’s planned departure, she was awakened by Union soldiers who escorted her to a holding place full of those who were also captured. Neva turned Ash in, claiming she was a spy for the Union Army. For months, Ash was tortured and punished for a war crime she did not commit. Not even her former Colonel or one of the Akron boys would vouch for her. She was forced to dump slosh, was tied up and under precise watch. However, one night she used mental manipulation to steal one of the Akron boys clothing and escaped the madhouse’s torturous conditions. Ash spent nights on end in different homes and faced threatening conditions in the different homes she stayed in. Ash made it to Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she met her former Colonel’s wife. The Colonel, who was now a General, wrote her a letter, saying his wife should offer hospitality if Ash came to their home, stating her bravery and his remorse for her. The General’s wife introduced Ash to a man named Weatherby, who Ash had met before. She introduced herself with the name Constance, and they shared each other’s stories of the Battle of Antietam and Petersburg. Ash stayed stayed nights with the General’s wife and Weatherby. Ash decided to leave Yellow Springs and continue her journey on, while she could not shake that the General’s wife hummed the tune of “The Ballad of Gallant Ash”, a song her former soldiers used to sing to her. Ash was destined to go home. After a few days of travel, she returned to her farm to see not Bartholomew, but young men who had taken over her farm. She visited a local café to find out information on her former home and husband. She hid in bushes and observed these young men and her husband before approaching him after days of watching. She saw him, asleep in a barn with only hay to cover his body and asked him to say nothing; just to rest. Ash and Bartholomew awakened, and it was proven Ash’s sanity was lost. Ash killed all six of the men on her farm whom Bartholomew allowed to live here. Bartholomew said his last few words talking to Ash about her experience in War and confessing his love for her, then he died in her arms. She tried talking to him, telling him future plans of making a new family and starting fresh, but he was too far gone. The novel closes with Bartholomew dead and Ash, reflecting on her past, still writing to her deceased husband and to the General. Fear had crept on Ash and consumed her, causing her to lose her sanity yet her brave morals still remained within her.
Neverhome was a novel that consumed readers and was nearly impossible to put down. The author was very successful in building the character’s personalities and cohesively tied them throughout the entire novel. The heroine, Ash, was a bold woman who’s character developed as the book went on. The author represents Ash with historical accuracy by basing her off a real female soldier. “In an author’s note, Hunt says he was inspired by the real-life tale of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, who disguised herself as ‘Lyons Wakeman’ and enlisted with the Union Army. Ash, however, is entirely Hunt’s own creation” (Abbott, 1). The most significant scene of the novel would be the closing scene, where Ash kills not only those six men on her former farm, but describes how she threw her own husband down the barn ladder and watched him die in her arms. Ash describes vivid dreams of returning home to Bartholomew and wrote many letters to him during her battles, however she is not phased by his death right before her own eyes. This proves that this novel describes the mental pain endured by soldiers during a war. Ash had killed men and been surrounded by death during war and locked in a madhouse. Hunt’s closing scene proved her sanity was gone. Readers are left questioning how this happened and why the author chose to end the novel in this manner. Personally, I would not change this novel. It’s intriguing plot not only delves readers into historical accounts of many battles such as Antietam and Petersburg, but provides a tale of a brave soldier who interestingly enough, loses her sanity by the end of the novel. The combination of history, love and a change in mentality of the protagonist holds readers interest and makes the novel impossible to put down.
In my opinion, Neverhome is worth the read. I agree with the author and his interesting writing style, describing the protagonists dreams and using immense detail when describing certain situations she had to endure. This book provides insight on historical events that happened during the Civil War, such as on page 24, the author describes soldiers collecting boots from deceased men. On page 45, Ash describes a rebel captain offering rewards for captured Union soldiers. On page 112, Ash describes the scene of the screams from inside the hospitals, and the nurses using saws on bare skin, cutting off limbs by the number. On page 176, Ash encounters another female who had dressed as a soldier for the Fifth U.S. Colored Regiment, a real infantry from the Civil War. I agree with Hunt’s historical accuracy and the way he presented this novel. Overall, I think this novel does an outstanding job describing the hardship a patriotic female who was eager to represent the United States using historically accurate information mixed with a fictional character. The author does just this, which hooks a reader right from the introduction.
Works Cited
Abbott, Karen. “'Neverhome,' by Laird Hunt.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19
Sept. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/books/review/neverhome-by-laird-hunt.html.
Clark, Clare. “Neverhome by Laird Hunt Review – 'a Brilliant and Breathtaking Blaze of a
Novel'.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 Jan. 2015,
www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/30/neverhome-by-laird-hunt-review-brilliant-
blaze-novel.
Hunt, Laird. Neverhome. Vintage, 2016.