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A Novel
by Dennard Dayle
A cutting, revealing caricature of the American Civil War, told through the eyes of a white teenager who joins an all-Black regiment of soldiers, for fans of Colson Whitehead and James McBride.
Razor-sharp and hilarious, How to Dodge a Cannonball tells the story of Anders, a white teenager who volunteers to be a Union Army flag-twirler to escape his abusive mother. In desperate acts of self-preservation, he defects―twice―before joining a Black regiment at Gettysburg, claiming to be an octoroon. In his new and entirely incredulous unit, Anders becomes entangled with questionable military men and an arms dealer working for both sides. But more importantly he bonds with the other soldiers, finding friendship and a family he desperately needs. After deploying to New York City to suppress the draft riots and to Nevada to suppress Native Americans, Anders begins to see the war through the eyes of his newfound brothers.
Dayle's satire spares no one, whether he's writing about Anders's naivete and unexpected love interest, the quirks of Confederate and Union soldiers, those out to make a quick buck off the tragedy of war, or the theater of war itself (literal theater , as the novel includes a one-act play the troop obsesses over while they wait for action).
Uproariously funny and revelatory, How to Dodge a Cannonball is an inimitable take on which America is worth fighting for.
"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." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A heightened examination of America, this funny historical novel puts Dayle's comedic chops front and center." ―LitHub
"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." ―Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Our Country Friends and Super Sad True Love Story
"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 Q
This information about How to Dodge a Cannonball was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dennard Dayle is a Jamaican American author who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of Princeton University and received his MFA from Columbia University. His short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Clarkesworld, Matchbook, the Hard Times, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. His first book was the short story collection Everything Abridged. Before taking up fiction and mischief as a full-time job, he was an advertising copywriter who dangerously flirted with stand-up comedy. He teaches as an adjunct at Columbia and recently made the rash decision to take up skateboarding.
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