Book Review: The Hornet's Nest by Jimmy Carter

Title: The Hornet's Nest
Author: Jimmy Carter
Year of Publication: 2003
Genre: Fiction
Format: Audio
Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
First Line: "The young girl stood quiet and unseen behind the trunk of a large walnut tree, its leaves and branches scarred on one side by a recent fire."

Summary: The first work of fiction by a President of the United States -- a sweeping novel of the American South and the War of Independence

In his ambitious and deeply rewarding novel, Jimmy Carter brings to life the Revolutionary War as it was fought in the Deep South; it is a saga that will change the way we think about the conflict. He reminds us that much of the fight for independence took place in that region and that it was a struggle of both great and small battles and of terrible brutality, with neighbor turned against neighbor, the Indians' support sought by both sides, and no quarter asked or given. The Hornet's Nest follows a cast of characters and their loved ones on both sides of this violent conflict -- including some who are based on the author's ancestors.

At the heart of the story is Ethan Pratt, who in 1766 moves with his wife, Epsey, from Philadelphia to North Carolina and then to Georgia in 1771, in the company of Quakers. On their homesteads in Georgia, Ethan and his wife form a friendship with neighbors Kindred Morris and his wife, Mavis. Through Kindred and his young Indian friend Newota, Ethan learns about the frontier and the Native American tribes who are being continually pressed farther inland by settlers. As the eight-year war develops, Ethan and Kindred find themselves in life-and-death combat with oppos- ing forces.

With its moving love story, vivid action, and the suspense of a war fought with increasing ferocity and stealth, The Hornet's Nest is historical fiction at its best, in the tradition of such major classics as The Last of the Mohicans.

Review: I first heard of this book when Carter himself mentioned it when he was being interviewed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. It sounded interesting, because I kind of specialize in early American history, and c'mon this is a novel written by an ex President. But to my disappointment, this book sucked. There's way too many main characters that Carter focuses on. And if there has to be a main character, which would be Ethan Pratt, he's absent for good part of the book. The characters all seem to have the exact same personalities as well and are mostly two dimensional. But each character brings a new conflict, a new side to the Revolution. Like Kindred shows the struggles of Indians, Quash shows the struggles of slavery and Brown shows the struggles of being a loyalist. But with a couple of these characters, they seem to be only token characters in order to show us this side of the story. Because once Carter is done showing us this side of the conflict, we never hear of them again. This book focuses on the American Revolution in the southern colonies like North and South Carolina and Georgia. But again, the main character, Pratt, doesn't even get into the war until long after the Congress declares us a Nation. It probably would have been better if the character would have been involved in the war sooner rather than later. This really could have been written better. Like other reviewers says, it really does read like a text book and sounds like non-fiction. Apparently, Carter's actual non-fiction books are good so I don't want to give up on President Carter just yet. But this book was not a good first impression.

Worst part: Just... almost everything writing wise about this book like characterization and plot structure.

Best part: The beginning and the end. Those were the best written parts of the book.

Grade: F

Other Books by This Author: We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work and An Hour Before Daylight : Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood