So now I am reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones. I'm in the first chapter and totally engrossed. Great writing. I can hear the characters talk while I'm reading the dialogue. The book starts 20 years before the Civil War is set to start and details the life of several in Manchester County, Virginia, including Caldonia - an educated, black slaveowner, who is widowed when her husband Henry dies. The slaves are hoping that this woman will free them but, in fact, she does not and chaos ensues. The novel delves into a piece of history not talked about: Black men and women owning other black people during a time most Americans would like to erase.
The Known World by Edward P. Jones. It was a good book. On a 5 star scale - I would give it 3 1/2 stars. I was certainly able to read it fairly quickly and it was definitely engrossing, I just didn't find any of the characters particularly likable. I mean, yes, many of the characters were downright nasty but even some of the slaves - who you would think you would find likable were hard to like. The characters that I did find myself liking the most happened to be those whose sanity was questionable. Hmm...interesting. I'm wondering, too, if that wasn't on purpose: In a book about slavery, the only characters that are likable or that can be related to are those who are slightly insane - in an insane world and situation.
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