The Known World: A Novel
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.97 (925 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0062692348 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 464 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-03-20 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Read It With A Purpose Other Than Enjoyment Anyone about to read this novel should know that there is not an unitary plot that follows a set of characters to a finality. Thus, you feel like it is very disjointed or fragmented, and you may even stop reading it because you can't settle in for a good, fluid read. You should know that it comprises a series of linked short stories or vignettes, and if you are knowledgeable of styles, be warned that it is a post-modernist novel, i.e., a novel in which there is a fragmented narrative, a kind of narration or narrator that isn't reliable, and this is especially true when trying to understand what the "known world" is to the s. Omnivoreader said An Absolute Masterpiece. My daughter was reading this book in her high school English class and I decided to reread it so that I could discuss it with her while she was planning her paper. I listened to this on tape when it first was published, which was a few years ago. I was stunned all over again by how great this novel is. The sections are not chronological, but follow certain thematic arcs, often going back over information we already have gleaned from other chapters. I did not find this confusing at all, but felt rather that I was getting different versions of the same tale, as if from different points of view.If anyone has a doubt about the . Plubius said Took work, but it paid off. This is not a book that "grabs you" or "pulls you along"; it was tedious work to navigate the text, but part of that was due to its depth and the richness of its characters and setting. To give it a lower rating would be unfair, as my own personal difficulty reading it was perhaps a product of my current state as a reader: needing hooks/wittiness, rather than prepared to do the necessary work this book required.Still, the work paid off--the injustices resonate more and more as the book continues on, and it's historicism lends it a gravity that does indeed matter. Most importantly, it is a reminder that history is not simple
Edward P. Jones comes one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory—winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction—now available in a limited Olive Edition.The Known World tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.“A masterpiece that deserves a place in the American literary canon.”—Time. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. From Edward P. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order, and chaos ensues
Jones's debut novel, The Known World, is a masterpiece of overlapping plot lines, time shifts, and heartbreaking details of life under slavery. Although a fair and gentle master by the standards of the day, Henry Townsend had learned from former master about the proper distance to keep from one's property. Caldonia Townsend is an educated black slaveowner, the widow of a well-loved young farmer named Henry, whose parents had bought their own freedom, and then freed their son, only to watch him buy himself a slave as soon as he had saved enough money. Impossible to rush through, The Known World is a complex, beautifully written novel with a large cast of characters, rewarding the patient reader with unexpected connections, some reaching into the present day. --Regina Marler. After his death, his slaves wonder if Caldonia will free them. Set in Manchester County, Virginia, 20 years before the Civil War began, Edward P. When she fails to do so, but instead breac