HOW TO DODGE A CANNONBALL - Dennard Dayle



 Anders is a teenage idealist who enlists to fight for the North in the war between the States. Somewhere, at the heart of it all, there's a Purpose for it all. A reason people want him to die for it. Right?

His enlistment gets him a prime spot as a Union flag twirler - a respected position to announce to the enemy which army is advancing. 'Respected' that is, until he's captured. Still trying to understand just what he stands for and can only find 'staying alive' as a Purpose, Anders becomes a Confederate, willing to fight for his new army. But the Confederates also want him die, this time at Gettysburg.

Nearly succeeding in dying, Anders steals the uniform off a Black Union soldier, he works his way to a Black Union unit, telling them he's an Octoroon, despite his very white appearance. This is when his life truly changes, as he befriends a Black playwright (who's writing odd, science fiction plays and creating a 'new' Black theatre), a Haitian double agent, a former slave, and arms dealers cashing in on the war. Anders learns more about humanity through these people, as a Black man in the Union army, than he ever did back home.

Author Dennard Dale presents us with a biting satire that's part Don Quixote, part Catch-22, part Candide, part Confederacy of Dunces and with a touch of M*A*S*H.

Using the Civil War as a backdrop is a clever convention. It might be easier to dismiss a war (from someone in Anders' position) if it's between different countries, different foreign powers. But this war, essentially in the backyard, between neighbors, takes on a different attitude in Anders' adventures.

This is clever and a bit wild, but the episodic nature of Anders' adventures got a little boring for me. I didn't understand the connections between the adventures (which I understand is probably on me more than Dayle). Sure, Anders probably needs to experience all the different things in order to grow and become the person he does, but I never get a sense of the growth or the recognition of how these experiences have impacted him.

I enjoyed the scenes with the theatre and his playwright friend (which makes sense if you know me), and I'd have been quite happy (perhaps happier) with a book just based on this.

One of my issues with a satire like this (and I had a lot of the same problems with books like Catch-22 and A Confederacy of Dunces) is that the book tends to feel like a long, giant set-up for one joke. Yes, there are moments that are quite funny.  Moments that are clever. Moments that are insightful. But the moments aren't pulled together well.

Looking for a good book? How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle is a satire in the vein of classic satires (ie Catch-22 and Candide) but the episodic nature isn't brought together well.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

How to Dodge a Cannonball

author: Dennard Dayle

publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

ISBN:  9781250345677

hardcover, 336 pages 

 

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