The Known World by Edward Jones

In April 2007 a group in Edgewood discussed The Known World by Edward Jones. This book has won multiple prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The ideas in it are complex, of moral weight and intellectual and emotional power, yet subtly expressed through a story that draws you in and then unfolds in a book that is difficult to put down; though sometimes you just have to take a breather!

The book begins with a crisis which precipitates many changes in the "known world," the circumscribed world of an antebellum slave plantation. The crisis is the death of the plantation owner and the upheaval that this creates for his "property" - including his slaves - and his family. The interesting thing is that Henry Townsend, the property owner, was once a slave himself.

This is a book that takes a commitment of time, as it is so dense and complex. There is a large cast of characters, and the minutiae of the life they lead is woven in fascinating detail into the story. The characters, their relationships and motivations, are so convincing and compelling that the reader becomes emotionally involved in their fates.

The time-line of the plot is not straightforward but moves from the present and Henry’s death, to the past, and then back to the future. The past reveals how a former slave became a slave-owner. The future is revealed rather like a prophecy. It is this prefiguring, together with the simple, measured, factual narrative, that at times gives the book an almost Biblical character.

The book delivers without ever being heavy-handed a decided indictment of a society that depended on slavery. Subtly revealing the motives of the characters through their actions, the author inexorably builds up a picture of how slavery really ruined every part of society.

It is difficult to make suggestions for book discussion points without giving away the pleasures of the book to people who have not read it. I believe this book will appeal to readers who enjoy complex characterization and like to see characters develop. Edward Jones' characters are complicated: the good ones do bad things and the bad ones do good things. Enjoy coming to understand what drives them. See if you agree with me that Edward Jones' depiction of people and society in the era of slavery is remarkably free of stereotypes.

This book will certainly appeal to lovers of historical fiction, especially historical fiction that shows a depth of research into the period. For me, the book helped me understand more how such an inhumane institution as slavery could persist, especially after it ceased to benefit anybody. Look for occasions where Jones shows how slavery affected both white and black in the most insidious ways.