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March 2009: Edward P. Jones: The Known World

A third in and happy.
I was a bit reserved about subject but the light tone make it an easy read.A sort of Hundred years of solitude by Garcia Marquez but set Virginia.
Very good so far.
 
I am halfway in and liking it.It's much different than I thought it would be.Reading another book in January about slavery and abolishinists,I thought it would be dealing with the same subject but Edwards goes into detail about each characters life and it is making it a good read.


This is written in the begining of the book and I find it a very deep statement,what a human being can overcome and has overcome.
My soul's often wondered how I got through....
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I'm also about half-way in, but for me the jury is still out.

I am put off by the myriad of details that (so far at least) seem to be tacked on without going anywhere. It sometimes seems like Jones is more interested in creating a fictional world than just telling a story.

But when the story is allowed to poke its head above the details, it does come across as a good read.

We'll see how it goes the rest of the way.
 
I'm a bit past half way and I really like it. I am interested in, amongst other things, the relationship between Henry and Robbins. Without giving anything away, there is a scene between those two and Henry's slave Moses that really helps solidify the image of William Robbins for me. He is not an evil man but it is clear how he thinks of black people as chattel until they can prove otherwise by presenting their "free papers." His character reinforces the idea that slavery was first and foremost an economic system, though an immoral one. Henry's character also serves a useful purpose too and that is, in part, to remind us that there were black slave owners as well. More common were black slave owners in South Carolina than Virginia and it was not uncommon for family members to own other family members. This was done obviously to save family from harsh treatment by abusive masters and also to exploit the resource of labor for financial gain.
 
I read this book a few months ago and it blew me away. Jones can write let me tell ya. Also check out his short story collection: All Aunt's Hagar's Children. The Known World is really good so don't miss it.
 
AquaBlue said:
Also check out his short story collection: All Aunt's Hagar's Children. The Known World is really good so don't miss it.
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We do have a short story section,why don't you write a bit about the story there since it's BOTM discussion here?:)
 
Well there all pretty good. Entertaining. He's a superb writer in every respect. Nothing else to say really.
 
Ok, I will take a look to see if I can find anything online,any suggestions on which one to start with?A favorite that made an impression?
 
Did anyone find it weird that Moses ate the dirt in the begining?
I think someone who's sweat and blood is left in the feilds and also the outcome of all that hard work,will understand it.
 
Funny you metion it Libra,because it is what braught to mind Hundred years of solitude were there is also dirt eating in the begining(if i remenber well).The way the tale is told also,a saga with the life description of every charateres to forme an all comprehensive story.
I'm nearly finished(30mn or so) but what i like the most is the incursion of fantastic(a bit like in Marquez)the boys with same dreams,the house bigger on the inside than the outside shows,the dead walking,ect..
The story sort of take an hard turn toward the end though.
 
I'm about halfway through, and absolutely loving it. I think that the comparison to One Hundred Years of Solitude is perfect (I loved that book also).

The extra details keep the story fresh and exciting, and enable Jones to explore slavery from so many different angles. Some of my favourite parts of the book have been paragraph-long excursions into someone's past. Keeping them so short gives them a lot more impact, and makes them a lot more poignant. I'm also really liking how he'll give you little tid-bits of a certain story every now and again, allowing you to gradually piece together a chronological series of events. Very interesting method of delivery.
 
saliotthomas said:
Funny you metion it Libra,because it is what braught to mind Hundred years of solitude were there is also dirt eating in the begining(if i remenber well).The way the tale is told also,a saga with the life description of every charateres to forme an all comprehensive story.
I'm nearly finished(30mn or so) but what i like the most is the incursion of fantastic(a bit like in Marquez)the boys with same dreams,the house bigger on the inside than the outside shows,the dead walking,ect..
The story sort of take an hard turn toward the end though.
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That's why I liked it so much.Thomas,there was a girl in Marquez's book who ate dirt several times through but if I remember correctly it was mostly in the begining where she first went to live with the family.

I also liked the fact like MonkeyCatcher said,about how he would go back and tell each characters history.

I can't understand how free slaves owned slaves and how did they feel on both sides?I understand they mostly were family members but some weren't.


oskylad said:
Jane Brody recently had an article in the International Herald Tribune on why eating dirt is good for you.

Eating dirt can be good for you - just ask babies - International Herald Tribune
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^Cheaper than baby food...
 
At the end of the audio book,there was an interview of the Author.He explain that what triggered the idea of a ex-slave owning slave was something he read about a jew joining the nazi parti.The all book revolving around a that paradoxe.
 
I finished the book today, and overall I'd give it a 4/5. It would have been 5/5, but I didn't like the end very much. It felt really rushed and I think that Jones lost his unique voice in the last 50 pages or so. It became very to-the-point, losing the meandering style and pace that so endeared me to it in the first place. I had no problems with how things wrapped up in the end, but the way in which the events were relayed wasn't to my liking.

I definitely noticed a progression towards the fantastical towards the end of the novel. Almost like the narrative followed the same path as Moses into chaos and turmoil.
 
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