The Chaneysville Incident

Rating:
Summary: One of the great books of the 20th century
Review: A favorite of mine for years. Bradley blends rich emotion with detached history to give a riveting portrait of black America, all through the eyes of a narrator who may or may not be fully rational. Readers can learn much about the actual history of America (the facts check out) as well as be riveted to a superb story.

Rating:
Summary: Character + Narrative + History.... a gripping story.
Review: First,let me say my father's family was from the same part of Pennsylvania as author David Bradley, as well as the characters portrayed in "The Chaneysville Incident." Yes, those slave graves ARE on that farm. And yes, while there are those who debate the scenario surrounding those graves, Bradley's setting is entirely plausible, and his story was one that was undoubtedly acted out more than a few times in real life.

The Maryland/Pennsylvania border region has certainly had a speckled racial history, before and after the Civil War. Did slave-catchers make forays into Pennsylvania in the Ante-Bellum era? Yes. There is documentation. It was a socially complicated time, to say the least. If, for example, a southern landowner moved north above the Mason-Dixon, and wished to "keep" his human labor force, the slaves had to be legally contracted in the county for a period of indenture, usually including a freedom "purchase price" if the then former slave wished to leave his former owner. Freedmen had to carry papers, which, while documenting their status, didn't guarantee anything approaching the social status & mobility of whites. There were white families in the border townships of southern Pennsylvania, who, while they themselves didn't own slaves, had cousins and even siblings just over the border in Maryland who did. My dad's family was one like that. So, racially speaking, there was black, white, and a great deal of gray fogging the boundaries between the two.

When David Bradley's novel was first published, much of the reaction from his fellow Bedford Countians revolved around questions about the historical accuracy of his setting, coupled with the statements of "other-ness" made on behalf of the novel's main characters. Little attention was given to its overall truth as a novel, the artful way that Bradley lets the reader into the mind and perceptions of his protaganist, as he embarks on a journey of self-awareness and discovery. With him, we as the questions "Who am I? What am I? How do I find out?

I do some work as an amateur historian and semi-professional genealogist. Time and again, I've run across stories contained in the lives of those long gone which live in the spaces between tombstones, which the names and dates only hinted at. The more you dig, and the more questions you ask, the closer you get to the truth. And, often the answers to questions you didn't even think to ask. Or were afraid to. "The Chaneysville Incident" takes the reader on such a journey, and opens an historical wound that is neither neat nor tidy. His characters are neither saints nor sinners, his sense of history is a good one, and his narrative is compelling. Read it, and then begin asking your own questions.

Rating:
Summary: A superb and lasting work
Review: i had the pleasure of meeting mr. bradley once on a long plane ride. he said he was an author and at the time i had no idea who he was. but he was a wonderfully kindred spirit and i promised myself i would look into his work. i read the book a few months later and i was truly amazed at what an intelligent, thoughtful, well-planned, and remarkable story he told. it was one of the best written books i had read in a long time. the story is set with just the right amount of history, character development, and action to keep the reader contstantly informed and enthralled. i think it is a brilliant piece of work and look forward to other novels by mr. bradley. and, contrary to one of the other reviews, i DO NOT think it is racist in any way, shape, or form. it is just the way it was, (and sadly, perhaps, still is) in a sotry so that we can all understand a little bit more about each other. hats off!

Rating:
Summary: amazing storytelling
Review: i had the pleasure of meeting mr. bradley once on a long plane ride. he said he was an author and at the time i had no idea who he was. but he was a wonderfully kindred spirit and i promised myself i would look into his work. i read the book a few months later and i was truly amazed at what an intelligent, thoughtful, well-planned, and remarkable story he told. it was one of the best written books i had read in a long time. the story is set with just the right amount of history, character development, and action to keep the reader contstantly informed and enthralled. i think it is a brilliant piece of work and look forward to other novels by mr. bradley. and, contrary to one of the other reviews, i DO NOT think it is racist in any way, shape, or form. it is just the way it was, (and sadly, perhaps, still is) in a sotry so that we can all understand a little bit more about each other. hats off!

Rating:
Summary: chaneysville has universal appeal
Review: One of the few books worth reading over and over again, The Chaneysville Incident speaks to the demons and ghosts that haunt all of us. From the beginning until the end, the difficult parent and love relationships that the main character cannot resolve are those that all thinking souls face. By returning to his home in the countryside and facing his past, a conflicted man learns that a little insight and peace are possible. Add a twist of mystery and you get a book few others rival. If only they were all this good. This is a beautifully written, powerful novel.

Rating:
Summary: A superb and lasting work
Review: The Chaneysville Incident is a great novel. Recognized immediately after its publication as an important work, it won the Penn-Faulkner award, and deservedly so. The story is powerful and expertly told, and the writing is exquisite--read the first sentence and you'll read the whole book. This book is about what we reap. What we've reaped, Bradley argues, is his main character, his historian formed by history.

Rating:
Summary: One of the great books of the 20th century
Review: The Chaneysville Incident was, for me, life altering. Reading it I determined to be a catalyst of change and not a victim throughout the rest of this earthly journey. I learned things about myself, my people and my purpose. If you are of African descent please read this book. If you are not of African descent please read this book. It is critical literature for contemporary America!

Rating:
Summary: One of the great American novels
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is deeply steeped in both history and a profound sense of the limits of history. I think it has a justifiable claim to standing among the great American novels. It is well researched, and the product of a keen, nuanced, discriminating intellect that, one can tell, does not suffer fools gladly. It deals with our central American wounds, those of race and privilege. It does all of that good stuff that English teachers and critics love to rattle on about. It's just dang DEFENSIBLE on all levels as a piece of work. That being said, it would be easy to lose track of how good a novel it is. The characters are believable to me, the storytelling and the storytelling-within-the-storytelling is so rich, so deep and true, that it ends up being a good, resonant read. It satisfies the intellect, it satisfies the heart, and it keeps one reading.

I often think of this novel among the company of other novels, such as perhaps Huckleberry Finn or Moby Dick, that are slighted in their own time, their own first publication, only to have later generations say, "How did they not get it about this one?...How did they not realize what they had here?..." As with the above mentioned works, there are probably moments reading it when it feels like "work", that it feels like it's "not an easy book", but then you break through again to understanding and realize how glad you are that the author did not condescend to "easify".

I have given away many copies of this. It amazes me that it is ever out of print or hard to get hold of. It's truly one of the great stories, one of the great novels.

Buy it and read it and love it.

Rating:
Summary: Makes a lasting imression
Review: You know that you're reading a great story when you don't want the story to end. The Chaneysville Incident is a great story. David Bradley is a master story-teller. He juggles the threads of America's history of slavery, with all its ripples and undercurrents that yet rock our national boat, the psyche of today's educated black man, and complex family relationships with brilliant dexterity on his loom. If a more sophisticated understanding of American culture is what's desired, then, The Chaneysville Incident, as a tapestry, is a necessary addition to anyone's intellectual decor.