This is a used, trade size paperback book (fiction) in fair to good condition. Softcover, 388 pages plus appendices incl. an interview with the author and an additional short story by him.
From The New Yorker
On a small plantation in Manchester County, Virginia, in the eighteen-fifties, a freed black man named Henry Townsend lives with his wife and the thirty-three slaves he has bought, some with the help of his former owner. This kaleidoscopic first novel depicts daily life for Henry and his friends ("members of a free Negro class that, while not having the power of some whites, had been brought up to believe that they were rulers waiting in the wings"); for the plantation's slaves, one of whom believes that he, too, will be transformed into an owner after Henry's death; and for the county's white inhabitants, who coexist uneasily with their slaves and their emancipated black neighbors. Jones has written a book of tremendous moral intricacy: no relationship here is left unaltered by the bonds of ownership, and liberty eludes most of Manchester County's residents, not just its slaves.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker
Review
“Jones has written a book of tremendous moral intricacy.” — The New Yorker
“A masterpiece that deserves a place in the American literary canon.” — Time
“Breathtaking....A fascinating counterweight to Toni Morrison’s Beloved....It is essential reading.” — Entertainment Weekly
” An exemplar of historical fiction. . . [it] will subdue your preconceptions, enrich your perceptions and trouble your sleep.. . .The way Jones tells this story. . .recalls Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.” — Newsday
” An exemplar of historical fiction. . . [it] will subdue your preconceptions, enrich your perceptions and trouble your sleep.. . .The way Jones tells this story. . .recalls Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.” — Starred Library Journal
“Astonishingly rich. . .The particulars and consequences of the ‘right’ of humans to own other humans are dramatized with unprecedented ingenuity and intensity, in a harrowing tale that scarcely ever raises its voice. . . . It should be a major prize contender.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“A stunning debut novel.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Fascinating...poignant....[A] complex and fine novel.” — Baltimore Sun
“A strong, intricate, daring book by a writer of deep compassion and uncommon gifts.” — Peter Matthiessen
“Stunning....His first novel is...likely to win acclaim.” — New York Times
“If Jones. . .keeps up this level of work, he’ll equal the best fiction Toni Morrison has written about being black in America.” — Speakeasy
“One of those rare works of fiction that both wound and heal.” — O Magazine
“’The Known World’ is a great novel, one that may eventually be placed with the best of American Literature.” — San Diego Union-Tribune
“Heartbreaking....fascinating.” — Newsweek
“Brilliant....Glorious....[The Known World] belongs on the shelf with other classics of slavery, like Toni Morrison’s “Beloved.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Fascinating . . .There is grief and fear, genuine affection an envy in this complex and fine novel.” — Philadelphia Inquirer
“A major achievement.” — Time Out New York
“Extraordinary.....Nothing...quite prepares readers for the imaginative leaps and technical prowess of The Known World.” — Seattle Times
“A profoundly beautiful and insightful look at American slavery and human nature.” — Booklist (starred)
“Vivid....[An] epic novel.” — Book Magazine
“Beautifully written . . .[it] ought to enjoy the massive readership that Charles Frazier’s runaway hit, Cold Mountain did.” — USA Today
Offered by International News Books & Gifts; Flint, Michigan
