Licia Flynn's Book and Movie Review Blog

I probably shouldn't write a review for a book that I didn't finish reading, but this one is difficult to complete. I began reading Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser because it's considered historically accurate and focuses on the West's conquest into Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it's tiresome reading about the escapades of a racist, misogynistic creep who is physically abusive to women and people of color. Flashman's memoirs chronicle an "illustrious Victorian soldier," experiencing many 19th-century wars and adventures and rising to high rank in the British Army, while remaining "a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, and a coward." He's an antihero who often runs from danger, but somehow always ends up being heralded as a hero. That's probably Fraser's point: Flashman is considered a gentleman because of the social status he was born into, but he's devoid of class. So if one accepts that point, the Flashman series is ...