Lost Thoughts of Soldiers

[Jas. Watson]

Last night I read a short book which leaves me totally mystified.
"The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers" by Delia Falconer

It is a fictional rendition of what might have been in Benteen's mind on the day he died, as he reflects about his part in the LBH battle and the times with GAC in the 7th cavalry. Sounded like it might be interesting speculation and a fun read, so I ordered it.

Yuk! The whole thing was utterly, completely, and totally irrelevant. It could have been jumbled thoughts about any group of men in any time (totally made up fictitious characters). Virtually nothing at all actually relating to real people or real happenings. Has to be the absolute worst book of the entire Custer/LBH genre. Using Benteen's name was a draw gimmick--it could have been about any old soldier from any time as it was all just made up people anyway...and not particularly interesting ones either.
A wasted evening.

Or...am I missing something here? Has anyone else here read this book? Has anyone else even heard of this book?

Jas~

[Melani]

No, but thanks for the warning.

[Diane Merkel]

It sounds like one I purchased, Custer and Keogh by Robert Bruce Baird. Elisabeth tried to warn me gently . . . .

A better title might be The Ramblings of a Schizophrenic Psycho.

[Dark Cloud]

Warning. Authors that use three names: a bad, bad sign. Much worse, if it's a female. I don't know why, have theories, but it's true.

On the up side, novels honestly listed as such leave no room for complaint as to accuracy. The novel mentioned I have not read, probably won't, but it got decent reviews out this way, but I cannot recall if it was a local reviewer, thus making my point totally invalid.

Skipping past that, I would only suggest that the name 'Benteen' cannot sanely be used as a gimmick for book sales. Custer, perhaps. If you think Benteen pulls in the bucks, you need to break free of Custerland for a while. I speak from experience.

[Montana Bab]

jasw said:

Last night I read a short book which leaves me totally mystified.
"The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers" by Delia Falconer

It is a fictional rendition of what might have been in Benteen's mind on the day he died, as he reflects about his part in the LBH battle and the times with GAC in the 7th cavalry. Sounded like it might be interesting speculation and a fun read, so I ordered it.



Jas~

Gee, all she had to do to get around Benteen's thoughts was to read the Benteen-Goldin letters. He covered a lot of his thoughts about Custer and some of the others of the 7th. And didn't leave much to the imagination, especially where Custer was concerned!

B&B

[Dark Cloud]

Picked it up at the library. It's a one hour read, has little to do with reality. It's a prose poem, and she has great descriptive style and an entirely unique perspective, but really, she could have chosen a lot of people not Benteen or American and it would have been much the same. She selects the name 'DeRudio' from the officer and applies it to a bugler because of the rhythm she needs.

It bears no reality to the 7th, as she has officers and men socializing beyond known norms.

She and it are Australian, I guess, and I suspect at some level it is a metaphor for Gallipoli or some national trauma of her own. A soldier who participated in a fiasco, on the last day of his life, considering a letter from some amateur 'scholar' to reupholster his reputation. I have no clue what point, if any, she is trying to make.