Alternative families

The preponderance of non-biological family units in the novel suggests that true family members are not the ones who share bloodlines, but who provide stability and make sacrifices for one another. Simon and Doris are not yet married, while both Mrs. Gannett and Olympia have been widowed after the deaths of their husbands in Civil War. The fact that very few of the secondary characters belong to traditional, nuclear families reflects the high death count and widespread ravages of the Civil War in Texas. While the state tries to reenter the union and to rebuild its authority, characters like Captain Kidd, who is trying to reunite with his daughters by bringing them to Texas, are trying to rebuild their lives, family first. In this novel, alternative families are the few blessings born of war and death.

Johanna, whose life has been touched by war and...