GONE - A Heartbreaking Story told by the Crumbling Artifacts of Time

There are books that you open with a sense of boredom and finish with a heavy heart. I opened the book with very low expectations. Well... coming from a world that looks for immediate gratification, this book held no promise for a thrilling ride ahead. It was like hesitantly picking up an old history book just before the examinations. However, as I flipped through the book, the magnitude of the message became more and more apparent. It was also a reflection of a maturing mind in myself that had hidden itself behind books that threw up cheap thrills. I finished this book with a tear in the eye.

GONE is a story of the dilapidated houses that stand as evidence of a war that changed the fate of United States of America. What we know of USA of today is the result of a bloody war which left behind many dead men and broken hearts. While men die and rot soon, the unfortunate houses don't have the luxury. The houses stand there and rot with the passage of time, with each year becoming more excruciatingly slower than the earlier. They stand there like an old, lonely woman aging slowly - losing her beauty and energy and covered by the cruel gifts of time - wrinkles and disease. The image of the decomposing houses are like seeing a loved one in the death bed - not dying but unable to live. These lovely houses, which still carry the heritage have nothing to show for it except the rotting wood and withering roofs.

The book starts with a beautiful snippet from 1980 by Andrew Lytle (Agrarian), One of the twelve Southern Writers: 

“I’ve often asked myself: 

Why was it that so few people listened to us, although most were sympathetic. The kind of life they knew was at stake. I think the reason of their seeming indifference is this: nobody could imagine the world they were born in, had lived in, and were still living in could disappear. Well, it has.”

GONE is an intelligently structured book with a collection photos of houses that stands as a sad evidence of the Civil War. The short story dispersed amongst these haunting images act as a sad commentary. While the photos showcase the present, the story reminisces about the past. A story about Army men of the Civil War is intertwined amongst the images of the houses which still carry those cruel memories with them. Contrary to the popular belief that time heals over a period of time, it seemed to have only worsened the state of these poor houses.

For the readers, this book is like a piece of history that they forgot to carry with them. This book is their last chance to hold on to something that is precious; something that defines their present.

Shelby Foote has contributed the powerful story while Nell Dickerson has painted the canvas with her haunting photographs.

In this book, the houses are not just intangible things made of wood, concrete and sand. They seem come to life pleading with us asking not for our acceptance but with a request not to reject them. It is time for us to heed to their plea and play our part in preserving them. Because, you never know when we will lose things that we take for granted. Because, the world, as we know and live, may disappear at any time.