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Title: What's on Mr. Keneally's Mind?
Review: In the first hundred pages of this novel, which is lauded for its realistic portrayal of southeners during the Civil War, there are at least two dozen references to human excrement, and nearly that many to lice. The characters of this book squat behind bushes, discuss diarrhea, foul their water supply, have problems with what they step in, and pick lice. Sort of a scratch and squat version of the Civil War. A remarkable number of the characters are drunks, or thieves, or least liars. We are informed, repeatedly, that they smell bad. Spit dribbles down their chins. The women are loose, or mean. Get the picture? Reality equals ugliness, and this book is about reality.
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