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Title: The Breach by Brian Kaufman ISBN: 0-9720442-0-5 Publisher: Last Knight Publishing Company Pub. Date: June, 2002 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.69 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Dulce et Decorum Est
Comment: Brian Kaufman's The Breach is not your normal book. It's not a "present-tense" action chronology we typically expect to read, but a fictional journal of activity and introspection that will continually have you flipping to the front cover to check if it really is a novel (Kaufman's own mother was similarly taken in)! It is "written" by an unlikely historical hero, Mexican General Manual Fernandez Castrillón, Aid-de-Camp for the Mexican president Santa Anna. The real-life Castrillón was born and bred in Cuba, served with Royal Spanish Colonial Army, then swapped allegiances to the Mexican forces, which earned him some prison time. From 1822, on, he became a close friend and confident to Santa Anna. Not personally an Alamo buff (and it's not just about the Alamo, per se, but more a vignette encompassing the events surrounding and including, the Alamo), yet fascinated with humanity and all its struggles, I was amused at how I was summarily drawn into, not just Castrillón's head, but his acute sense of honor and duty, as well. Being an extremely introspective individual myself, I found myself sympathizing with our Mexican general, as he did and saw things with which he didn't approve, but when things finally became far too corrupt for his concepts of duty and honor, he made his stand. In a sense, you could say Castrillón fought his own, personal, Alamo, against his commander and friend, who had became far too egotistical, or deranged, a force for his own good, and had "surrounded and crushed" Castrillón, as they had both done to the brave inhabitants within the Alamo. The final scene portraying Castrillón, the author has verified as true, and is Dulce et Decorum Est, if tragic. Had we had Castrillón on our side, I'm sure the Alamo's outcome would have turned out far differently!
The Breach approaches this topic in an uncommon way, and I liked that. It's from the United States' 1836 enemy's point of view, it's done in journalistic, after-the-fact fashion, and we're inside this guy's head during the entirety of the story (with one, notable, exception). I like this! I must admit, however, that it did take me a little effort to get into the beginning of the book, but stick with it, and I don't think you'll be disappointed! The Breach shows us that people are people, no matter what side of the border we live on, or which uniform we wear, and gives us a broader perspective on events, when, to us living in the U.S., in high school, we are usually only presented the details of the Alamo's last stand from our country's point of view. We need more works like this. Kaufman breeds empathy for a man who was just doing the best he could, in a very bad situation, and conveyed a sense of how I, too, could very well have been this man, this Castrillón, in another time, at a different fork in the road. Castrillón, as portrayed by the author, is an honorable man, perhaps, as much so as any Davy Crockett or a Sam Houston, but who just so happened to pick the wrong side of the conflict, on which to fight.
Rating: 5
Summary: This is a good read
Comment: ''When the names of Travis, Bowie, Bonham, and Crockett are remembered, let the name of Castrillon be celebrated as well.'' After reading The Breach by Brian Kaufman, I strongly second that sentiment.
This novel is an interesting work written in the style of a daily journal. Kaufman documents the day to day activities of General Manuel Fernandez Castrillon and the Mexican Army as they march to San Antonio, capture The Alamo and continue north to reclaim Texas from the norteamericanos. It is a wonderful documentary of Castrillon's internal conflict with his unwavering loyalty to Mexico and an ever-increasing disgust with his President, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
Castrillon begins this military campaign strongly backing his President and believing that Santa Anna cherishes his military opinion. He learns, as the march slowly moves north, that Santa Anna is not the man Castrillon believed he was. As his disgust for Santa Anna grows, it becomes difficult for Castrillon to silence his contradictory views. These outbursts by Castrillon spark some tense moments between the two great men. The battle between the two men culminates when Santa Anna demands candor from Castrillon. Castrillon requests retirement from the Army after this campaign because he no longer wishes to serve in an Army commanded by Santa Anna.
Brian Kaufman's writing is convincing. You believe you are reading a recently unearthed and translated journal of General Castrillon. I must add that I began reading this book without reading any of the advanced praise or cover blurbs. I did not know this was a work of fiction until I read the first sentence of the Afterword. I was, quite simply, dumbfounded. I read the entire journal believing it was real and never questioned it's authenticity. This is a good read filled with historical facts that become easy to remember because of Kaufman's style.
Rating: 5
Summary: An absolute gem!
Comment: Brian Kaufman's The Breach is a magnificent work of fiction that can easily be mistaken for the authentic diary of Mexican General Manual Fernandez Castrillon. Apart from its gripping, altogether believable day-to-day account of Santa Anna's campaign against the Texans in 1836, The Breach is especially notable for its portrayal of Castrillon as a man of great courage, dignity and intelligence whose loyalties are divided between His Excellency General Santa Anna and the thousands of Mexican soldiers and their families who are doomed to terrible suffering and death by Santa Anna's capricious, arrogant incompetence. The narrative unfolds like Greek tragedy, in which the heartbreaking outcome is determined by the flawed characters of powerful, intractable men who would be great but in the end are not. This gem of a novel deserves to be read and reread. It certainly belongs in every public library in America.
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Title: The Alamo by Frank Thompson ISBN: 1571458409 Publisher: Thunder Bay Press Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.98 |
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Title: Journey into the Land of Trials by Manley F., Jr. Cobia ISBN: 1577362683 Publisher: Providence House Publishers Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Inside The Alamo by Jim Murphy ISBN: 0385325746 Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers Pub. Date: 08 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Eyewitness to the Alamo (Revised Edition) by Bill Groneman, Paul Andrew Hutton ISBN: 1556228465 Publisher: Republic of Texas Pr Pub. Date: 30 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Alamo Reader: A Study in History by Todd Hansen ISBN: 0811700607 Publisher: Stackpole Books Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $36.95 |
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