HOW TO DODGE A CANNONBALL, by Dennard Dayle

Anders, the teenage protagonist of Dennard Dayle’s impressive debut, the Civil War novel “How to Dodge a Cannonball,” is an idealist, a dreamer, an optimist. And also, a goddamn fool.

Fortunately, damn fools make great protagonists, particularly in satirical novels. Their naïveté allows the reader to gain experience alongside them, and their cluelessness ensures that said experience will be funny as hell, too. Novels in the American satirical cannon dissect a variety of subjects, but their most successful targets have been race and war. “How to Dodge a Cannonball” is about both, and uses that advantage to achieve excellence.

Anders is white and grew up in antebellum-era Illinois, and yet, despite living surrounded by Black people in the free town of Liberty Valley, he manages to be utterly clueless about race. This is partially a product of the ignorance of his mother, Katrina, whose maternal style is why child protective service laws exist. But Anders’s naïveté is also one of his most admirable attributes: His obliviousness allows him to grow to the age of 15 without being indoctrinated into embracing white supremacy.

When the Civil War breaks out, Anders follows the family tradition and enlists in the military … as a flag-bearer. It’s a precarious assignment but Anders works hard at it and has even mastered several killer routines. (While the image of a color guard enthusiastically waving banners while thousands of men murder one another is absurd, it’s also historically accurate. Performers were charged with improving morale for troops heading toward possible death. Flag bearers also garnered respect for their willingness to become the easiest target on the battlefield.)