The Known World

The Known World

by Edward P. Jones

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2004

As powerful as this novel was, I have to say it had one idea repeated over and over in episodes that ranged from being quietly tragic to kind of staggering. Not that this idea is an unimportant one, and if I were to pick up a book and it contained only the three words "Slavery is bad," I probably would have thought that the book lacked a punch. But there it is. Edward P. Jones created a living community on the page, with characters that are fully developed and living, and has them all play out a story that seems to underline the fairly obvious message that slavery is bad.

The novel deals with a family of slaves who through difficulty and sacrifice manage to buy their freedom from a master who believes in slavery as an institution. However, the young man who is purchased into freedom last has spent a good amount of time as his white master's footman, and has now a rather warped impression of what slavery is. This is apparent when he turns around and begins purchasing slaves himself. In another plotline there is a young married couple who are abolitionists who are given, as a wedding gift from a passive aggressive slave owning cousin, a young slave girl. The couple decide against freeing the girl, but instead raise her as a daughter--with disastrous results. These storylines, and others are weaved together expertly. I will say that the climax of the novel feels like a pulled punch compared with other moments, but Jones is able to let us know how the unnatural state of slavery is, well, bad.

I think it is probably fair to put this novel in direct comparison to other novels about a similar subject. Toni Morrison's Beloved deals with slavery as an institution and as a wound that continues to hurt everyone who was affected by it. The Known World is a good compliment to this idea. While not as strong a work as Beloved, it does remind the readers that slavery really was not so long ago, and the affects of slavery are still felt. Jones will trace the descendants of some of his characters all the way to contemporary times in a way that is interesting, and even mildly accusatory. 

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't my favorite. I would suggest it to people who are interested in history, and historical stories that are not often told. There is also a local feel to the novel (I am located in Richmond VA), and the story takes place in and around where I live and work. I guess people who live in Manhattan probably experience this feeling quite a bit.

Coming soon: The Sportswriter by Richard Ford