The Known World

The Known Workd reads very well but the meaning and purpose of the book is beyond me. The book opens with a lot of characters that I found difficult to follow. After a few chapters there is greater focus on individual stories which Were very enjoyable. Throughout the book the dialogue will quickly jump backward or forward in time. I found this somewhat distracting and confusing. Also, it was confusing as to who is speaking during character dialogs. Most distessing I found the ending chapter bringing the story together very contrite.

This book is probably best read with a book club.

I read this book on the recommendation of friends who read it and enjoyed it. It was a quagmire of blacks owning blacks during the time of slavery in post-Revolutionary America. I was saddened by it. It was plodding, with a few bright spots. The relationships and social stratification were absurd. I really enjoyed the characters named Augustus, Henry and Caldonia above all else in this story. Unfortunately, even though Henry's parents worked to buy his freedom, he still owned slaves, and that was more than a conflict to me.

Although I appreciate Mr. Jones' efforts in his novel, "The Known World" I found the book to be disjointed and confusing. I felt he had too many characters and the lack of a linear storyline didn't help matters. One of my friends, with whom I have an on-line book club with, suggested that Mr. Jones could have done a series as opposed to a single novel. We were particularly interested in the female characters; perhaps focusing on a smaller group of people, such as Fern Elston and her students, would have been more interesting. I thought the story premise was excellent, but we never did learn why Henry bought slaves, after having been one himself, or what he thought about it. Mr. Jones is an excellent writer with vivid character portrayals, but much got lost in the translation. This novel could have been so much more and it wasn't.

This book makes you feel like you are actually observing the action in the book. It reveals many little known facts about life during the middle 19th century, The characters are very human, and richly depicted. I think this book might be an excellent movie, but am unsure if anyone would be brave enough to produce it. I am glad Mr. Jones was brave enough to write it. There are some who wouldn't appreciate his story regarding black slave holders.

This book is written from a different point of view that is refreshing to read. It is a little difficult to follow because there are so many names and it jumps into the future and back to the past randomly. However, this makes it a delightful read and informative in a perspective that is often negleced by writers. Good job!

I recommend this book for anyone looking to learn as well be entertained. It's a very intriguing story that peeks into a more personal level of slavery and what our ancestors went through as they lived their private lives on a daily basis. I rate 5 stars times 10. Hands down.

This was actually a good story. Very well written. At times, my book club members thought it was non-fiction and we tried to get more information on the areas and characters. It was simply not my topic of choice for a good read. I am aware that this history took place and this very well could have been a true story, I just don't like to read about it.

This is book that needs total concentration and time to read. It is very hard to get through. It jumps around from past to present in just a few sentences. The writing is great and images are easy to see. I woudl reccomend this book to those that have time adn energy to put into followign the storyl.ine.

This book provided a context to reflect on internalized racism, the corrupting influence of the dominant culture, our failures to live up to our stated intentions and our myriad assumptions about the other. It led me to reflect on our current period and the Outrage of the $7.25 Minimum Wage. A system that allows some of us to buy too much at absurdly low prices while others struggle to survive on those wages. The poverty engendered by these exploitative practices leads to so much pain for those economically oppressed I wonder how far we are from the 1850s. This is a book to read and think and read again and act to help bend the arc of the universe toward justice.

This book tells the story of a little known practice in history-the owning of slaves by black masters. The author weaves together the lives of several families both black and white: he does so with a hypnotic narrative that is at times reminiscent of Faulkner. The reader will deeply care about these wonderful folks and will be left with a sense of longing when the book is finished.

THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT HISTORICAL NOVEL. IT WAS WRITTEN TO CLARIFY MANY MYTHS ABOUT SLAVERY. I WAS NOT WELL INFORMED ABOUT FREED SLAVES AND THEIR LIMITED RANGE OF MOVEMENT. I ALSO ENJOYED LEARNING ABOUT THE COMPLICATED DESCRIPTIONS OF STATUS OF WORKING FIELD HANDS VERSUS IN THE HOUSE WORKERS.THIS BOOK HELPED ME TO UNDERSTAND MY FATHER AND MOTHER'S PERSPECTIVE ON LIVING IN THE SOUTH.

*****

The Known World was unique among fiction books I have read in the last twenty years or so. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I would not call it an easy read, because it was some work to keep track of all of the different characters, but nevertheless, so very well worth it. Despite the work, it was entertaining. Like other reviewers, it kept me up at night, and kept me reading.

The book caused me to wonder how I would behave had I the same cultural background as the various characters in the book---the white slave owners, black slave owners, the black slaves. I had always thought before that I "of course" would be against slavery, would fight for rights for all races, and absolutely never do anything so repulsive as to own slaves. I wondered how anyone ever could! The Known World opened my eyes to how this could happen, and how easily one of those slaveowners---black or white---could have been me. Or how easily I could have been a slave. It also provided insight into the psychological world of the slave. All of this was done by showing, not telling, so the reading was more of a powerful emotional experience rather than an intellectual experience.

What made this so different for me is that I picked this book soley upon the the store reviews and rankings. I had no inherent interest in American history or race relations or the Civil War era, but this book GOT me interested. I think that the only person who would not enjoy this book would be the person who is not open or interested in challenging themselves, not interested in thinking, or afraid to find out about or explore the dark side of the human experience.

Because of the complexity of the book, as far as the feelings of the characters, the layers of meaning, and the strong impact, I know that I will read this book again and again, and am therefore glad that I spent the money to get it in hardback. It is well worth the money, and is a beautiful "rough cut" book. I have thought about its message again and again since reading it; I would call it haunting, thought-provoking, disturbing, and honest.

*****

Too many characters, and wandering story lines. I couldn't get through it. My book club picked this, and only one or two people finished it. I wanted to like it, I tried, but it was too much work with little pay off from the characters and lacking story.

Really enjoyed this book. I only put it down because I had to. It reminded me why I love to read. it was my first eBook. I'm not her tech savvy, so I don't know if I can't put this book on a disc to save for later. There is something special about putting a finished book away.

This is the first eBook I purchased. Very convenient and affordable, but I still prefer a "real" book unless I'm traveling. The book itself didn't work for me. While the topic (freed blacks owning slaves) was a revelation to me, I found the writing style too drained of emotion for my taste. Jones is clearly a skilled writer, however, and I will be curious to see what he does next.

This was a book club selection in the pulitzer prize catagory. It was well received by the members and there was a lengthy discussion on the content. The great thing about book clubs is you will read a book that you normally wouldn't pick up and find you really enjoyed reading it. This was one of those books. It was an education for all.

It could be such an interesting topic (freedom of a slave, the love of a slave owner and his slave, etc), but it has fantastical and unbelievable moments. The way the author writes is monotone and droning and boring. I liked reading it but would not want to read it again.

The number of characters was not so daunting as not being able to empathize with any of them. The idea that money was as important in the thinking of that era as it is now, absolutely determinative, even to the extent of classing human beings as money ahead of their human status - that was interesting and important - but this novelist did not make a good story out of it.

I am surprised this won the Pulitzer. Must have been a slow year? It started off great but became nonsense. I would love someone to explain chapter 7 to me. Why does the man shoot his horse after wandering past all the people? What? This book is like freestyle jazz and performance art- maybe it makes feels good to the artist but makes little connection to the audience.