BOOK REVIEW: And the Crows Took Their Eyes by Vicki Lane

And the Crows Took Their Eyes by Vicki Lane is a powerful historical novel set on the North/South border during the American Civil War. The novel brings to life the tragedy of the conflict, showing how it affected two communities in the Eastern Tennessee/Western North Carolina hills where Confederates and Unionists lived side-by-side. It presents a microcosm of the war as a whole. Even those who thought they hadn’t a dog in the fight found themselves caught up in the violence, deprivation, and depredations.

The novel is told from five viewpoints. Five first person voices. This structure is a superb way to show each side of the conflict. Aside the selfish, self-aggrandizing James Keith, a Confederate officer, the characters are all sympathetic to varying degrees. Readers will gain empathy for people’s suffering even if we don’t like their stances on the issues. 

The intertwining storylines show that there are, indeed, two sides to every story. In And the Crows Took Their Eyes that story is of an execution of thirteen men and boys in Eastern Tennessee, Union sympathizers, by a Confederate troop – what led up to it and what happened in the aftermath. It is a riveting account of an actual historical event.