Rating: 
Summary: Like listening to jazz
Review: I waded into The Known World not knowing what to expect. I was unfamiliar with Mr. Jones or any of his previous work, more attracted to the book by Eudora Welty's photograph on the cover than anything else. At first I was overwhelmed by the steady ping ping pinging of detail and rapid introduction of one character after another, then surprised to realize the vibrant visual power of Mr. Jones' very unique writing style. Like jazz, The Known World carries you along in strange and unexpected ways.
Rating: 
Summary: A complex book, glorious premise, thick prose
Review: Edward P. Jones was the first in his family to ever go to college -- an achievement that changed his life in a way he didn't expect. While studying at Holy Cross, Jones stumbled upon a startling fact: Not all slave-owners in the South had been white. Some were black. Raised proud in a familiar black tradition, it stung him. It also haunted him for 20 years, until he could use that single fact as the fascinating premise of his first novel, "The Known World." "The Known World" orbits around Henry Townsend, a black farmer born into slavery. Lest the gentle reader dismiss the premise as the product of a fevered imagination, black slave-owners really existed in pre-Civil War America. Free blacks in Virginia and a few other Southern states -- not many, mind you -- owned their own plantations and the slaves that made them profitable. Jones refers several times to a fictional, 19th century academic pamphlet on the subject of black slave-owners, but the pamphlet never really existed -- further muddling the sometimes ambiguous world Jones explores. The only thing black and white about this remote corner of a newly imagined Virginia -- Jones's home state -- is the reader's anachronistic conviction that slavery was an abomination; most of the black characters in this novel are grayer in their beliefs. Jones's sometimes overly florid narrative dips in and out of time, disrupting rhythms and preconceptions, and provides the most charming technical and structural element of the story. One moment, the reader is mired in the absurdities and vicissitudes of the antebellum flesh trade, and the next he is telescoped to modern-day Richmond where the great-grandchild of a slave -- now a city councilwoman -- is naming the street for ancient forebears. And while Jones's occasionally baroque prose makes crossing into "The Known World" slow-going, it is exactly its Biblical rhythms that lend depth to a story about profound moral confusion. The first hundred pages are more confusing than a thousand rhapsodic "begats" and can be sluggish, but the story meanders to a gentle, satisfying end.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing and wonderful
Review: A brilliant novel in every way. Read it and weep...after you finish it, you won't want to read anything else for a while, just sit and think about what you have read. Tackles the most difficult subject for American letters -- slavery -- from an oblique angle, which makes it all the more compelling. Deserves the Nobel Prize for literature. We have had to wait 11 years since Mr. Jones' short story collection for this wonderful book; I can only hope the next one won't be so long in coming.
Rating: 
Summary: A mini-epic with authentic voice and flavor
Review: While I won't go so far as to say that this was the best book of the year, as pretty much every book reviewer and prize committee seems to have done, I will say that this is an important work of literature and one that is worthy of reading and re-reading. My only criticism is that it introduces just a few too many characters early in the novel, and this flaw creates confusion during the first half of the book. I found myself at times trying to remember who was who, and how they were all related. But other than that, this is a great book. Many reviewers have compared it to Toni Morrison, for obvious reasons. I actually found that the prose and story were more reminiscent of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Like Lonesome Dove, this book maintained throughout a sense of an epic journey, and of a world and lives that had existed long before the story began and would continue to exist long after. The prose is simple and honest, with a sound of period authenticity. As for the characters, many are memorable, but none stood out as a true hero or anti-hero of the novel. If this were a movie, it would be a true ensemble cast with no clear starring role. I think that is what gives the book such a genuine feel. It is not just a story of one man or woman, with lots of other characters circling around the spotlight. Rather, it is a portrait of life in the South prior to the Civil War. The book is not about the characters, per se, but rather about the world in which they live. Jones has done a wonderful job of portraying this world in a way that doesn't seem to glorify or condemn any of it. It would have been easy to fall into that trap of making some sort of political statement with this novel, but Jones cautiously leaves that for the reader to decide. What Jones does, instead, is bring to light a fascinating period of American history, and by focusing on a black slave-owner, he has created an awareness that I think was lacking in American literature.
Rating:
Summary: An informative read
Review: "The Known World" explores the dynamics of race, class, love and justice is an environment where former slaves become slave owners. At first thought, one might ponder how could a slave obtain his freedom and then become a slave owner? Well, people do what they know. In this novel, Jones does an excellent job of demonstrating how slavery was one of the few means of accumulating wealth and status for many free blacks. It provided a promotion - of sorts - from the lowest rank in the slavery institution to the one just above it. Although black slave owners were able to accumulate greater wealth than some of their white counterparts, the fact of their race returned them to the lowest level of a society where race trumps wealth; where the color of your skin over-ranks every other aspect of your life. This dual existence is skillfully rendered throughout the novel as the characters' lives unfold and intertwine. Jones further exhibits his writing talents by creating a non-linear story that uses character interaction to move the story along instead of a chronological rendering of events as they unfold. This is a complex method of storytelling perfected by very few and managed very well by Jones. So why, I'm thinking, did I initially rate this book a three? As I write the review it becomes clear that it's a better book than that. The fact of free black people owning slaves is an excellent topic to explore. Although I struggled early on with the text, I was determined to finish the book simply because I had not read any other covering the topic. While I knew that a few free blacks owned slaves I have never read much about it. The novel is well researched, informative and fresh . . . all of which warrants a four rating. The fact that I found the narrative voice dull and absent of any distinctive rhythm is the only thing that kept this novel from a perfect five star rating. It required a bit of persistence to finish the novel but it's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hated It
Review: Not only is the subject matter "just what children of slave masters" ordered, it is profoundly slow and boring. I love the jacket cover, that was the reason I gave it 1 star but that alone did not prevent me from taking it back to the store for a full refund! Condi Rice and Clarence Thomas will probably write the paperback version's introduction.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly unconventional
Review: Edward P. Jones' The Known World does not take the tradtional approach to novel writing. Rather than giving us an intimate look into the life of one character or one family, Jones takes us across an entire county in antebellum Virginia. Despite the intimidating number of characters, each one comes alive, and each receives adequate attention. Although at the beginning of the novel, the complexities of Jones' story may make reading slow going, by the end, you appreciate just how important every word of the story was. Additionally, Jones' deals with the taboo subject of black ownership of slaves. He does not evade the issue or excuse it, rather, he uses a straight-on approach that leaves the reader to tackle issues of morality all on their own. Jones tells you a story, not how to feel about it, and in the end, that makes the reader's emotions just that much more intense. An amazing book!
Rating:
Summary: (4.5) A landscape of moral ambiguity
Review:
This exceptional novel maps the deep roots of slavery, even as freedom skirts the edges of the institution, affecting generation who must navigate the ante-bellum south. As the storyline moves back and forth in time, it is sometimes disconcerting to know a character's fate, while he is still living, but such is the genius of the author- the broad perspective that gives the novel its authenticity.
Henry Townsend is a black Virginia slaveholder who experienced his own years of servitude, until his parents were able to purchase his freedom. With all that Henry's parents taught him, they never thought to articulate their own beliefs, assuming their son understood that owning slaves was wrong, in fact, intolerable. Yet Henry's attachment to his white owner has prompted continued contact and advice on handling slaves. A convenient blankness settles over Townsend's conscience and he becomes one of the few black slaveholders in Virginia.
After Henry's death, his wife, Caldonia, is left to sort her husband's affairs. There is a rigid code of behavior for slaveholders, but Caldonia blurs the lines, crossing boundaries and complicating the lives of those in her care. The social structure of the enterprise unravels, leaving both former slaves and owner adrift in moral ambiguity. The author's idiosyncratic prose illustrates the difficulties the characters face in navigating the moral conundrum of their emerging world.
At the core of this omniscient novel is the simple humanity of those seeking a way through the turmoil of social change and constant upheaval. The rigid boundaries of race are challenged by the realities of daily living conditions; long-held beliefs are rendered insignificant in the face of survival.
Jones's social masterpiece documents the changing face of a South perplexed by its own future, fighting to retain the old, while submitting to the inevitable. The characters are fully-fleshed, driven into the future by hope that often turns to despair. This remarkable novel speaks to the endurance and survival of those who are driven by courage and necessity. Luan Gaines/2005.
Rating:
Summary: A Stunniing Novel about a little-studied aspect of history
Review: There have been many books written about the slave experience but, to my knowledge, none that explores with such sensitivity the relationship between African American slave-holders and their African American slaves. The book traces the stories of a family of slave owners, their neighbors and friends, and the slaves whose lives are in their hands. In addition, this incredibly well-researched novel presents a vivid picture of the casual and brutal violence that was part of a society where the majority of its members were legally considered Property.
This is not an easy book to read, because there are parts of our history that it is more comfortable to gloss over, or to forget. "The Known World" contributes to the essential task of remembering, and honoring the courageous men and women whose emancipation was written with fear and blood and pain.
Rating:
Summary: THE YEAR'S BEST....KNOWN WORLD
Review: AS THE NEW YEAR IS UPON US, I OFFICIALLY OFFER YOU MY LIST OF THE 10 BEST BOOKS THAT I'VE READ IN 2004. THIS IS OUT OF ABOUT 84 BOOKS THAT I'VE READ THIS YEAR. EVERY SINGLE BOOK ON THIS LIST IS A MASTERPIECE WORTH BUYING. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED WITH GREAT LITERATURE LIKE THE FOLLOWING:
"THE DARKEST CHILD"--Delores Phillips
The finest, most dramatic debut I've read in years. Top notch and gut-wrenching. This is by far the best book of 2004.
"BRICK LANE"--Monica Ali
Superb entry into a world foreign yet all too familiar. Flawless, beautiful writing.
"HOTTENTOT VENUS"--Barbara Chase Riboud
A True Story. Which makes this book all the more shocking and tragic. By now you've heard of the kidnapped and dehumanized South African woman paraded in the 1800's Europe as a "freak" because of her huge posterior and the apron over her genitals. Chase Riboud chronicles the tale perfectly and makes it far more interesting than just history. The fact that "Sarah" was like a Pop Superstar of her day makes it all the more chilling in my opinion. A definite Must-Read.
"FLESH AND THE DEVIL"--Kola Boof
Totally original, unexpected black love story. Chock full of African history, U.S. black history, fantastic plot twists, pulsating sex, equally dazzling "lovemaking", brilliant observations about race, color and sexism and plenty of risk-taking by the sensational Sudanese-born Kola Boof, truly a NEW STAR in the "epic" sense. Fabulous!
"DOUGLASS' WOMEN"--Jewel Parker Rhodes
If ever a fictionalized story of a real person's life/real events makes you totally believe inch and detail of the fiction writer's imagination--this one is it!! Jewel Parker Rhodes is turning out to be one of our most ardent writers of historical fiction, her brevity and flair for honest human emotion making her just a little BETTER, in my opinion, than the queen of historical black fiction--Barbara Chase Riboud. You can't go wrong with "DOUGLASS' WOMEN", it's sensational.
"ERASURE"---Percival Everett
I know. I'm late reading this one. But it's classic, fantastic, the greatest book ever written about being a "black" writer today. SUPERB. 10 Stars.
"A DISTANT SHORE"--Caryl Phillips
Great novel about "human beings" ripped apart in their own world and then thrown together in new equally dreadful surroundings. A black man and a white woman are juxtaposed in England with terribly beautiful insight by the writer. It's a hard book to explain, except that it's about human beings finding their real true minds. Superb!!!! I give this one 10 stars.
"DRINKING COFFEE ELSEWHERE"--Z.Z. Packer
The breakout debut of the new Alice Walker and Toni Morrison rolled into one. Z.Z. Packer is outrageously talented and brilliant. These sparse, witty, intelligent, insightful short stories will bring you to tears, make you laugh and truly astonish you.
"THE KNOWN WORLD"--Edward P. Jones
This book starts off kind of "slow", but once you get into it, it's quite shocking, easily one of the most important stories told in a decade. Jones deserves all the accolades and awards he's received for this masterful masterpiece of the new century.
"LOVE"--Toni Morrison
Still the undisputable greatest writer writing. Toni Morrison offers up one of her very best novels, the most underrated and overlooked novel of the year. Absolutely meszmerizing, a bute.
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