REVIEW: Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

A book by Sarah Vowell

Sarah Vowell’s latest work, Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, published last fall, quickly found an audience among readers whose daily lives have been inundated with stories regarding the Founding Fathers. From the latest Broadway sensation, Hamilton, and talk of changing the face on the $20 bill, to patriotic bellows seeking to “make America great again,” the country’s revolutionary lore is seemingly at an all-time high.

Vowell would contest that this is not a fleeting fad, but that Americans have long since regaled their country’s earliest leaders. Even Lafayette, a Frenchman who became a general in the Continental Army while still a teenager, was met with throngs of adoring fans and experienced heartfelt reunions as he made his final “victory tour” through the States in 1824.

Like her other popular works, Assassination Vacation, The Wordy Shipmates, and Unfamiliar Fishes among them, Vowell uses the backdrop of history to offer insight into a contemporary America clouded by political idealism while often dodging its social realities. The reader is swept along as she visits sites related to the country’s revolutionary past, expounds upon the nuisances of life in the new republic, and features dozens of characters forgotten by modern history books.

Vowell’s work is by no means strictly history, and is barely a book about Lafayette. Riddled with comedic anecdotes and cultural references, her wry wit and genuine snark lend an unmistakable slant to the history she presents. Readers who love to immerse themselves in the seemingly trivial accounts of days gone by will adore the attention to detail, revealing research, and downright honesty she presents while highlighting the trials and triumphs of America’s dawn.

— Reviewed by Jennifer Lively, Main Library, Charleston, S.C.

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