A Confederate General From Big Sur is Richard Brautigan's first novel, published in 1964.
The story takes place in 1957. A man named Lee Mellon believes he is a descendant of a Confederate general who was originally from Big Sur. This general is not in any books or records and there is so far no proof of his existence although Mellon meets a drifter from the Pacific Northwest who has also heard of this general. Mellon seeks the truth of his own modern-day war against the status quo of the Union states.
The moral of the story is the domination of mind over reality.
Brautigan finished the novel in 1961 but it was not published until January 22, 1964. The story had no success and dropped in sales and made very little money.
Read more about A Confederate General From Big Sur: Attempted Film Adaption
Famous quotes containing the words confederate, general and/or big:
“Well, you Yankees and your holy principle about savin the Union. Youre plunderin pirates thats what. Well, you think theres no Confederate army where youre goin. You think our boys are asleep down here. Well, theyll catch up to you and theyll cut you to pieces you, you nameless, fatherless scum. I wish I could be there to see it.”
—John Lee Mahin (19021984)
“No doubt, the short distance to which you can see in the woods, and the general twilight, would at length react on the inhabitants, and make them savages. The lakes also reveal the mountains, and give ample scope and range to our thought.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“The greatest felony in the news business today is to be behind, or to miss a big story. So speed and quantity substitute for thoroughness and quality, for accuracy and context. The pressure to compete, the fear somebody else will make the splash first, creates a frenzied environment in which a blizzard of information is presented and serious questions may not be raised.”
—Carl Bernstein (b. 1944)