About this title: When a plantation proprietor and former slave--now possessing slaves of his own--dies, his household falls apart in the wake of a slave rebellion and corrupt underpaid patrollers who enable free black people to be sold into slavery.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Amistad Press
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780060557546ISBN:0060557540
Description: Very Good. No major defects-unabridged, clean, complete, not falling apart; some light wear. A perfectly good reading or reference copy. read more
Description: Good. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
Description: Good. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780007195305ISBN:0007195303
Description: Good. Our aim is to create value for our customers through the provision of low cost, affordable products and an overall satisfying buying experience. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780007195305ISBN:0007195303
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Amistad Press
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060557553ISBN:0060557559
Description: Good. Edge wear. Some tanning. EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Amistad Press
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780061159176ISBN:0061159174
Description: Very Good. No major defects-unabridged, clean, complete, not falling apart; some light wear. A perfectly good reading or reference copy. read more
Edition: First Thus
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Amistad Pr, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060557553ISBN:0060557559
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Amistad Press
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060557553ISBN:0060557559
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Almost as new. Very slight edgewear. No markings or creasing. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 432 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
"Even though I was fairly certain that I had read this book before (which I had)I proceeded to read it a second time. Once again, I was intrigued (and often horrified)by the reality of slavery in this country's not very distant past. For instance, I didn't know that some free "Negroes" owned slaves, or that those who had been freed could be swept-up and resold at the whim of anyone who dared to do it, with very little consequence, if any.
I'm thinking of recommending this book to Joe, as a son of the South Carolina south, but I suspect he will have a difficult time tracking characters and time as I sometimes did. The author has a devise that I like very much; after focusing on a particular character in the narrative, he often gives you a glimpse into the future. For instance, he might say something like: "...and in ten years time, Henry would die not ten feet from where he stood." Or, "...but they were never to see Gloria and Clement again".
However, the author, throughout the book, bounces us around among past, present and future, sometimes leaving you confused about the sequence of events. I finally gave up and stopped trying to figure it out, commited to just enjoying the history, characters and story line.
I liked many of the passages and parts that D did, finding much of his writing poignant and very engaging, like the passage she mentions about Elias carving a crude comb for his future wife's hair. I too found the section on Counsel's trek west to be chilling. There was something surreal about it, and it had the feeling of being in a nightmare, so much so, I wondered if it would end with Counsel awakening to find that to be true. Truly, it was creepy to read, starting with his stop in the middle of nowhere to spend the night with a "psychotic" family of three.
I found this book to be an interesting study of good (folks like Milred, Augustus and Sheriff Skiffington) vs evil (Travis the patroller and Darcy, the kidnapper of freed Negroes), and all that gray area in-between (William Robbins, and even Henry and Caldonia, who were basically good people but owners of slaves who did the harsh things they felt necessary to protect the system, and therefore, their "legacy".
If the sequence of events in the book were a little more coherent, I probably would have rated this higher than the 3 stars I'm giving it. (Note: this book belongs to D, a gift from Mom and Dad, Christmas 2003.)"
"Addressing the novel "The Known World," by Edward Jones, is tough. As a writer and voracious reader, while working my way through the story I found the structure of the novel quite unconventional and unsuccessful-and at times quite irritating-as a means of communicating what might otherwise have been a powerful story with which a reader could in some way connect. And yet when I put down the completed book, I felt I had experienced a compelling tale.
In less than 400 pages Jones attempted to tell the story of almost 50 characters; many author's have trouble successfully spotlighting three or four characters. Jones had on average less than four pages of text to dedicate to each character: any more on any one, and the rest would suffer. (Jones must have understood this to some extent, as he added at the end of the novel a list of characters, including a brief description of each, to assist his readers.) So there already was a multitude of characters, and not much room to say a whole lot about any one of them. Then, it seems Jones took every person's story, cut each into tiny pieces, mixed them up in a big box, then randomly pulled out fragments and added them to the novel, giving the reader a very disjointed storyline/timeline to follow. Trying to understand who was where, when and how, only detracted from the overall effect the story could have had on me as I read it-the very act of reading it became laborious.
Adding to this was Jones's insistence on inserting so-called present day (for the reader) references. These additions ruined any sense of connection I might have felt existed between the narrator and the story, since it made it apparent that the narrator was here and now (2009, or whenever any reader might open the book) and not even remotely a part of the story or even the setting or era. These snippets only served to detract from the intimacy of the narrator with the story.
Hurting the story even further was Jones choice of third person omniscient point of view (POV). With no consistent POV, it was very hard for me to connect or identify with any one character through the entire text. While reading the story, I continued to be disappointed and even irritated at Jones's method of presentation, right up to the last page.
Yet after completion, while still dissatisfied with the final product (I really wanted to KNOW many of the characters, and Jones left me wanting so much more), I found myself contemplating the many characters and plotlines, and realized that while the reading itself was not 'fun,' there was still something there.
"The Known World" was an intricate story through which Jones created a completely imaginary world. (Jones has stated in several subsequent interviews that he conducted absolutely no research, and that the entire story and every single character, other than actual historical figures, was "crafted in his head.") And his characters were very consistent. The novel's title was well chosen: each character acted within the confines of that individual's known world; very few thought and acted beyond themselves. And yet, all those worlds continually collided-each character in some way was related to, interacted with, or somehow influenced one or more of the others. Jones creation of so many people, and their sometimes tenuous and at other times quite personal ties, was brilliant. Any attempt to plot the relationships and interactions would produce one huge and complex spider web.
While completely made up, the plotlines and characters are very believable, based upon what we know of the era, and even upsetting to some, and it all felt very real when I was "in the moment." While today we know the evils and effects of slavery, Jones was able to present so many characters set perfectly in a time when slavery was both legal and accepted by so many people. Regardless of how any reader may personally feel now, at one time not everyone felt that way. There are many acts that currently are known to be appalling or just outright evil, but at one time were accepted as normal. Thankfully, perspectives change, and we have grown, building upon the knowledge and sentiments of our ancestors. Jones fiction is about such possible forebears, and how some accepted, some rebelled, some pretended and some ran away. Jones instigates numerous emotions through his characters: incredulousness, outrage, sympathy, fear and sadness, to name but a few.
In all, the novel grew on me as I was able to let the myriad of fragments come together in my mind well after closing the book. I do believe that the impact might have been greater-and more immediate-if Jones had chosen a more conventional method of storytelling, and limited the number of characters so that each could be more thoroughly developed."
"Great characters; I knew them and got invested in them as people right from the start, even though there were so many of them, and the story was well crafted and compelling. Deserved the Pulitzer."
"Edward P. Jones's book, The Known World tells of the lives of characters living in the fictional county of Manchester, Virginia in 1855. At the center of the story is the plantation of Henry Townsend, a freed slave now with slaves of his own, and the conflicts and moral dilemmas facing the small group of slave-owning free blacks in the county. Other characters in the story also face conflicting emotions (whether they know it or not) about slavery. For example, William Robbins, the most powerful man in the county with one of the largest plantations, is in love with a black woman and dotes on their two children. Also, Sheriff John Skiffington pledges to never own a slave, yet his job depends on maintaining the status-quo.
This is an interesting, poignant, and somewhat disturbing story. One of the best things about it is Jones's language and not-quite-linear story-telling. I felt like I was reading pieces of a puzzle that only slowly and methodically came together."
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