Thursday, April 26, 2018

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell

★★★★

A cheeky, irreverent book about the Marquis de Lafayette and his role in the American Revolution. I learned so much!

It was a little discombobulating, at first, to be reading a historical non-fiction, and then suddenly see references to modern-day events thrown in for comedic effect. The author makes a lot of self-references, too, regarding events that took place while she was researching the book. So this is definitely not a traditional historical non-fiction book, but it's probably at least as educational because it's so engaging.

The author has a certain kind of roundabout writing style, so very frequently I had to re-read sentences just to get my head around them. The book, too, isn't divided into chapters; it's just one long jaunty narrative, and that took a little getting used to.

Anyway, this book was chock-full of fascinating anecdotes, not just about Lafayette, but French politics and George Washington and other Revolutionary War events in general. A great read for anyone interested in getting their feet wet in learning more about Lafayette or the American Revolution, but not willing to hunker down with a heavier non-fiction read.

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