Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke

Title- Flags on the Bayou

Author- James Lee Burke
Publisher- Grove Atlantic

Expected Publication Date- 11/7/2023

Rating- 3/5

Summary- It is 1863 when the Civil War ravages America, the Union army has occupied the Mississippi River, and Louisiana is about to fall. Enslaved people are beginning to find some hope of being free. When Mr Suarez is found brutally murdered, Hannah Laveau, Mr Lufkin's slave, is suspected. Wade Lufkin was an assistant to a surgeon in the war when circumstances made him murder a Union soldier. When he comes to his uncle's plantation, he is fascinated by Hannah. So, when she is arrested, he fights with the local constable and bears its consequences. With the help of an abolitionist, Miss Florence Milton, Hannah escapes from the prison. On their way, they have to fight people who try to harm them, which include slave catchers and a pimp. Flags on the Bayou is a story of love, of enslaved people who want to taste freedom and of a heartless Union commander. It is about repeated fights with some unruly Confederates led by a diseased colonel.

Review- The story is set around the end of the Civil War. The author has beautifully portrayed the difference between the blacks and the whites, the rich and the poor. It was heart-wrenching to learn about the inhuman torture done to the enslaved people because of their skin colour. While some whites, like enslavers, treated them like animals, others were abolitionists who fought for their freedom. The book also tells us about the boundless love between an unlikely pair.

                The story has quite diverse characters. It is told from the point of view of some main characters that, include blacks, whites, rich, poor, men and women. So, we get an unbiased perspective.
                 I had difficulty getting hold of the story because I was unfamiliar with the Civil War and some terms associated with it. It would have been quite helpful if an appendix had been provided so that non-Americans like me would have a clear idea about what words like blue bellies, red legs, Union leaders, and Confederates meant.
                    It is a beautiful book based on the Civil War, and readers who are interested in reading historical fiction can give it a try.