The Known World
by Edward P. Jones
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Book Summary Information
Author: Edward P. JonesEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-09
ISBN: 0060557540
Number of pages: 388
Publisher: Amistad
Book Reviews of The Known World
Book Review: (4.5) A landscape of moral ambiguity
Summary: 4 Stars
This exceptional novel maps the deep roots of slavery, even as freedom skirts the edges of the institution, affecting generation who must navigate the ante-bellum south. As the storyline moves back and forth in time, it is sometimes disconcerting to know a character's fate, while he is still living, but such is the genius of the author- the broad perspective that gives the novel its authenticity.
Henry Townsend is a black Virginia slaveholder who experienced his own years of servitude, until his parents were able to purchase his freedom. With all that Henry's parents taught him, they never thought to articulate their own beliefs, assuming their son understood that owning slaves was wrong, in fact, intolerable. Yet Henry's attachment to his white owner has prompted continued contact and advice on handling slaves. A convenient blankness settles over Townsend's conscience and he becomes one of the few black slaveholders in Virginia.
After Henry's death, his wife, Caldonia, is left to sort her husband's affairs. There is a rigid code of behavior for slaveholders, but Caldonia blurs the lines, crossing boundaries and complicating the lives of those in her care. The social structure of the enterprise unravels, leaving both former slaves and owner adrift in moral ambiguity. The author's idiosyncratic prose illustrates the difficulties the characters face in navigating the moral conundrum of their emerging world.
At the core of this omniscient novel is the simple humanity of those seeking a way through the turmoil of social change and constant upheaval. The rigid boundaries of race are challenged by the realities of daily living conditions; long-held beliefs are rendered insignificant in the face of survival.
Jones's social masterpiece documents the changing face of a South perplexed by its own future, fighting to retain the old, while submitting to the inevitable. The characters are fully-fleshed, driven into the future by hope that often turns to despair. This remarkable novel speaks to the endurance and survival of those who are driven by courage and necessity. Luan Gaines/2005.
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