In Hunt’s ‘Neverhome,’ natural poetry from a young wife who fights for the Union

Ghosts crowd thick in Laird Hunt’s Civil War novel, “Neverhome,” and they’re not just the shades of dead Blues and Grays. A host of literary allusions haunt this book, from “Cold Mountain” to “The Red Badge of Courage” and all the way back to Homer. But what’s most striking is Hunt’s effective reversal of the roles of brave warrior and patient homemaker. In this trim epic, Penelope marches into battle while Odysseus waits behind. Inspired by true tales of hundreds of women who fought in the War Between the States, “Neverhome” tells the story of a young wife named Constance who cuts her hair, binds her breasts and heads off to defend the Union in 1862.

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