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
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“Well, you Yankees and your holy principle about savin’ the Union. You’re plunderin’ pirates that’s what. Well, you think there’s no Confederate army where you’re goin’. You think our boys are asleep down here. Well, they’ll catch up to you and they’ll cut you to pieces you, you nameless, fatherless scum. I wish I could be there to see it.”
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