Description
In 1861, fleeing a murder charge in New Orleans, twenty-year-old Elias Abrams joins the Confederate Army, where he witnesses the horrors of war and falls in love with Nora Bloom, a young Jewish woman encouraged by her rabbi to correspond with a soldier.
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As fictional characters go, few embody such striking contradictions as cardsharp Elias Abrams: Jewish by birth, he joins the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Indeed, the question of duality runs deep through this novel — not only is Elias a Jew defending the right to oppress a people, but after he helps to commit a horrific crime, he finds himself unexpectedly overtaken by the power of love. Exploring themes of literature, redemption, atonement, and love, this novel delivers a startling dose of moral ambiguity, keen insights into the human condition, and unexpected moments that devastate with their casual simplicity.
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