Summary and Reviews of How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle

Media Reviews

The New York Times Here is an author capturing, with clarity, our current moment by flashing us back to the past. Dayle's deft portrayal of American anti-Blackness, class exploitation and cultural uncertainty feels both accurate to the novel's 19th-century setting and, soberingly, very contemporary​.​.. It takes an author of rare and exceptional talent to deliver such a knockout punch. Which is why How to Dodge a Cannonball establishes Dennard Dayle as a new heavyweight in town.

LitHub A heightened examination of America, this funny historical novel puts Dayle's comedic chops front and center.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Grand dreams, inflated egos, and cruel twists of fate are often the stuff of great satires and this first novel by Dayle evokes such classic accounts of the human condition in conflict as Candide, Catch-22, and at least a couple of books by Evelyn Waugh. Historical burlesque as lively in invention as it is ingenious in execution.

Publishers Weekly (starred review) In Anders, Dayle has crafted an American Candide, whose naive beliefs are comically tested by his experiences with war and racism. This epic novel channels the absurdity of Catch-22 and the whimsical invention of The Intuitionist. It's a blast.

Library Journal This is not the typical Civil War novel, but the dark humor and commentary on race, class, and the American experiment in the midst of its biggest test make for an entertaining, thought-provoking read.

 Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Our Country Friends and Super Sad True Love Story Dennard Dayle's second book certifies his talent. I can't think of a wittier, more hilarious or more relevant young writer. How to Dodge a Cannonball is the great Civil War novel I didn't know I needed, but now it is never leaving my shelf.

 Jessi Jezewska Stevens, author of The Visitors and The Exhibition of Persephone Qq This is the Civil War send-up the American canon has been waiting for, and which today's America, still unsure which version of itself it wants to become, so sorely needs. Dayle is one of our sharpest, funniest, and most unrelenting writers.

 Jessi Jezewska Stevens, author of The Visitors and The Exhibition of Persephone Qq This is the Civil War send-up the American canon has been waiting for, and which today's America, still unsure which version of itself it wants to become, so sorely needs. Dayle is one of our sharpest, funniest, and most unrelenting writers.

Reader Reviews

Books with similar themes

• Historical Fiction
  
• Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History
  
• USA
  
• 19th Century
  
• Humor & Satire
  
• Black Authors