Paperback(Reprint)
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Muro's father, believing that the Disagreement will pass, sends his son instead to Charlottesville. Jefferson's forty-year-old University of Virginia has become a haven of rogues and dilettantes, among them Muro's roommate, Braxton Baucom III, a planter's son who attempts to strike a resemblance to General "Stonewall" Jackson. Though the pair toasts lightheartedly "To our studies!" with a local corn whiskey known as "The Bumbler," the war effort soon exerts a sobering influence. Medical students like Muro are pressed into service at the Charlottesville General Hospital, where the inexperienced Dr. Muro saves the life of a Northern lieutenant, earning the scorn of his peers.
As the war progresses, Muro takes up yet another cause — winning the affections of the beguiling Miss Lorrie Wigfall. Here, too, Muro faces a cunning adversary. Just as the fighting is closing in, Muro is forced to make a choice that will shape the rest of his life. In this story of love, loyalty, and unimaginable sacrifice, a doctor struggles to balance the passions of youth with the weight of responsibility.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781416550662 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | 03/24/2009 |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 384 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1
On April 17, 1861, I enjoyed the sensation of one whose birthday falls on Christmas. I woke unusually early, along with everyone in the Commonwealth of Virginia. That day our legislature was to vote on secession — a crisis that had begun as a whisper among gossipmongers not a year prior but had grown with the frenzy of a revival into a statewide obsession. The newspapers had for weeks detailed the debate in Richmond, from the rhetorical thrusts and parries at the statehouse to the curt and somber replies of Mr. Lincoln, whose anointment the previous autumn so inflamed the passions of our men.
As a youth of fifteen, I had not been involved substantially in the secession crisis, but I enjoyed the high drama of the proceedings, and I followed them with a greedy eye. Earlier that spring my father had hosted a meal for our delegate and a dozen men of business. The ostensible purpose of the gathering had been to gauge local support for secession, but these being men of practical appetites, the talk soon turned to the prospect of war and the demands this might place on our local mills and factories. "If there is any fighting," the pompous delegate announced, "it shan't continue long enough to bring any lucre hereabouts, fellows. The Yanks know our purpose, and they know our differences, and they will respect our intention sooner or later. The thought in Richmond, I must tell you, is that they will be too blanched to fight." The men laughed and clapped one another on the back. This I observed from the sanctuary of our kitchen, where I had finished helping Mother and Peg with the service and was eating my share at the kitchen table.
The delegate — his name was Coggin — was distinguished by a pair of unruly snow white eyebrows that sprung from his face like owl feathers. He was a consummate politician — which is to say he was given to expedient speech and lacked even a vestigial spine.
The telegraph from Mr. Coggin, who was in Richmond for the vote, arrived at the Lynchburg post office just after one o'clock. I had spent the morning in the square, pitching horse-shoes with some other boys. Though it was a Wednesday, we had not shown our faces at school, feeling assured that a Special Circumstance excused us from truancy.
The taverns along the square were packed with a rare noonday crowd. Like me, these citizens could not bear to wait any longer for the news than was absolutely necessary. However, decorum mandated that these men not be seen loitering with boys in the street, so they made pretenses at business and meal taking. The tavern doors could almost be seen to bulge with the swell.
At the doors of the town stable, across the square from the post office, a circle of five or six Negroes gathered in idle chatter. As Wednesday was seldom a slave's day at liberty, I assumed that these had been sent by their masters to await the news and carry it back post-haste. Indeed, the animals in the first stalls were ready in saddle, with reins tied quickly to the rail.
Just after the one o'clock bell the post office door swung open and the postmaster — a wasted but well-meaning old man by the name of Tad Keithly — strode out onto the top step. Those of us near enough saw his smile ablaze, and we could guess the news. In truth, though, no one ever questioned what the news would be. "I have word from Mr. Coggin!" the postmaster shouted generally — the taverns having emptied into the square, so that his audience numbered well into the hundreds. "The votes are in, and they are eighty-eight in favor, fifty-five opposed." He paused and let that little bit of silence grow like the drop of melt at the tip of an icicle. "Gentlemen, we have it! God bless the unencumbered Commonwealth of Virginia!" And then Keithly's eyes began to water. Indeed, all around me grown men began to weep and embrace one another. I saw that it was not regret in their tears but rather the opposite. With unbridled joy men commenced to cheer and whoop and fire their pistols into the air. I hollered from a place deep between my lungs, but the crack of gunfire obscured my voice. I did not know if I was creating any sound at all.
The air reeked with the acrid tang of powder. My nose filled up with dust from the street as horses thundered out of the stable. I ran to the door of the nearest tavern to avoid being trampled. A few men remained inside the tavern, and I recognized several as business acquaintances of my father, men who had been present at our dinner with Mr. Coggin. The eldest of these, a man whose mustache puffed out over his lip like a squirrel's tail, stood up to begin a toast. I could not hear his words, but several times he brought laughter from the group and had to pause. At last he raised a bottle of whiskey above his head. As the others cheered, the old man put the bottle to his lips and drank a ten count. When he pulled off, a runnel of brown liquor leaked from the side of his mouth and he wiped it with his starched white cuff.
Taking heed not to fall into the path of a messenger's horse, I picked my way to the other side of the square, beyond which I would hasten home. On Wednesdays the street that led most directly from the square to our neighborhood was filled out with grocers' stalls, and it was in front of one of these that I was stopped by a flat hand in my chest. A white farmer obscured my path. His beard was shot through with petals from the spring lungwort. After a moment's consideration of my face, he lowered his hand and plunged it into a sack hanging at his side, from which he removed a yellow rose. "God bless," he said, and he handed me the flower. Copyright © 2008 by Nick Taylor
Reading Group Guide
The Disagreement begins on April 17, 1861, the day that Virginia secedes from the Union and the day that marks the sixteenth birthday of John Alan Muro. As the Commonwealth erupts in celebration, young Muro sees his dream of attending medical school in Philadelphia shattered by the sudden reality of war.
Muro's father sends him to Charlottesville instead of Philadelphia, where Jefferson's forty-year-old University of Virginia has become a haven of rogues and dilettantes. Soon, the war effort requires that medical students like Muro be pressed into service at the Charlottesville General Hospital, where the inexperienced Dr. Muro controversially saves the life of a Northern lieutenant.
Late in the war, now nineteen and married to his first love, Muro is forced to make a choice that will shape the rest of his life. In this story of unimaginable sacrifice, a doctor struggles to balance the passions of youth with the weight of responsibility.
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Taylor uses the experiences of a country doctor to depict the Southern experience of the Civil War. What unique information about the war was revealed as a result of this choice of narrator? What information about the war was excluded?
2. Discuss Lorrie. What information does the author include throughout the novel to characterize Lorrie? Begin with her first appearance on page 65. Do you sympathize with her situation toward the book's end?
3. Discuss Lorrie's treatment of Lt. Stone during the Christmas dinner. Was this event a momentary lapse in judgment or an indication of her true character?
4. John Alan comes of age over the course of the story. Which moments serve as "markers" of his growing maturity? Are there ever moments when he seems reluctant to grow up? How does the advent of the war effect his growth? Do you think he would be the same person if the war never occurred?
5. How does John's medical training effect his growth and development? What about the lives he saves — what effect do they have on him?
6. On page 211, father and son experience a painful good-bye, during which John Alan's father says very little. What do you think John's father was thinking and feeling during this encounter?
7. What does the novel reveal about the bonds of family? Examine the differences between Lorrie's family and John Alan's family. How does John Alan's relationship with Lt. Stone fit in with these relationships?
8. Why does B.B. go out of his way to include John Alan in his social gatherings? Do you think he deserves what happens to him after the war?
9. Discuss the relationship between John Alan and Lt. Stone. Why is John so fascinated with Lt. Stone?
10. Discuss the difference between how John Alan treats Lt. Stone and how the patients in the hospital treat Lt. Stone. Which treatment is correct?
11. How does John Alan balance his relationship with Lorrie with his professional duties? What sacrifices does he make for the hospital?
12. How did Muro's medical training prepare him for his work at the hospital? In what ways was he unprepared?
13. B.B.'s conversation with John Alan, praising Lorrie's virtues, causes John Alan to question his decision to move to Philadelphia. Why does John Alan choose the path that he takes?
14. What role did the University of Virginia play in shaping the Southern experience of the war? How might life at the University have differed from life in other parts of the South? Examine the presence of the hospital throughout the war and the local reaction when Northerners enter the county.
CREATIVE TIPS FOR ENHANCING YOUR BOOK CLUB
1. Rent a Civil War movie for a closer look at the reality of America's bloodiest war. Glory, Gettysburg, and Shenandoah are a few well-known examples.
2. Head to the web for a look at the specific battles, people, and places of the Civil War. The websites www.civilwar.com and www.civil-war.net are good places to start.
3. Print out a timeline of the war (you can find one at www.civilwar.com) and try placing the events of the book within the timeline.
Introduction
The Disagreement begins on April 17, 1861, the day that Virginia secedes from the Union and the day that marks the sixteenth birthday of John Alan Muro. As the Commonwealth erupts in celebration, young Muro sees his dream of attending medical school in Philadelphia shattered by the sudden reality of war.
Muro's father sends him to Charlottesville instead of Philadelphia, where Jefferson's forty-year-old University of Virginia has become a haven of rogues and dilettantes. Soon, the war effort requires that medical students like Muro be pressed into service at the Charlottesville General Hospital, where the inexperienced Dr. Muro controversially saves the life of a Northern lieutenant.
Late in the war, now nineteen and married to his first love, Muro is forced to make a choice that will shape the rest of his life. In this story of unimaginable sacrifice, a doctor struggles to balance the passions of youth with the weight of responsibility.
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Taylor uses the experiences of a country doctor to depict the Southern experience of the Civil War. What unique information about the war was revealed as a result of this choice of narrator? What information about the war was excluded?
2. Discuss Lorrie. What information does the author include throughout the novel to characterize Lorrie? Begin with her first appearance on page 65. Do you sympathize with her situation toward the book's end?
3. Discuss Lorrie's treatment of Lt. Stone during the Christmas dinner. Was this event a momentary lapse in judgment or an indication of her true character?
4. John Alan comes of age over the course of the story. Which moments serve as "markers" of his growingmaturity? Are there ever moments when he seems reluctant to grow up? How does the advent of the war effect his growth? Do you think he would be the same person if the war never occurred?
5. How does John's medical training effect his growth and development? What about the lives he saves — what effect do they have on him?
6. On page 211, father and son experience a painful good-bye, during which John Alan's father says very little. What do you think John's father was thinking and feeling during this encounter?
7. What does the novel reveal about the bonds of family? Examine the differences between Lorrie's family and John Alan's family. How does John Alan's relationship with Lt. Stone fit in with these relationships?
8. Why does B.B. go out of his way to include John Alan in his social gatherings? Do you think he deserves what happens to him after the war?
9. Discuss the relationship between John Alan and Lt. Stone. Why is John so fascinated with Lt. Stone?
10. Discuss the difference between how John Alan treats Lt. Stone and how the patients in the hospital treat Lt. Stone. Which treatment is correct?
11. How does John Alan balance his relationship with Lorrie with his professional duties? What sacrifices does he make for the hospital?
12. How did Muro's medical training prepare him for his work at the hospital? In what ways was he unprepared?
13. B.B.'s conversation with John Alan, praising Lorrie's virtues, causes John Alan to question his decision to move to Philadelphia. Why does John Alan choose the path that he takes?
14. What role did the University of Virginia play in shaping the Southern experience of the war? How might life at the University have differed from life in other parts of the South? Examine the presence of the hospital throughout the war and the local reaction when Northerners enter the county.
CREATIVE TIPS FOR ENHANCING YOUR BOOK CLUB
1. Rent a Civil War movie for a closer look at the reality of America's bloodiest war. Glory, Gettysburg, and Shenandoah are a few well-known examples.
2. Head to the web for a look at the specific battles, people, and places of the Civil War. The websites www.civilwar.com and www.civil-war.net are good places to start.
3. Print out a timeline of the war (you can find one at www.civilwar.com) and try placing the events of the book within the timeline.
Nick Taylor has received fellowships from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the William R. Kenan, Jr., Trust for Historic Preservation. A graduate of the MFA program at the University of Virginia, he is assistant professor of English and comparative literature at San Jose State University and lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Visit him on the web at www.readthedisagreement.com.