The Known World [B2235]

2004 PB with minor wear. From Edward P. Jones comes one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory-winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. The Known World tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order, and chaos ensues. Edward P. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities. "A masterpiece that deserves a place in the American literary canon."-Time.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Amazing! I will miss visiting the characters and their complicated lives during this disgraceful time in our history. What a beautifully written book about horrible events. I learned so much and felt so much, I read with full attention every minute."; "I've read a few books that portray the slave experience but this is the most evocative. A beautiful book with a terrible story to tell. I got lost in it. Highly recommend."; "It is a lens into the horrors of slavery but on the granular level of the everyday cruelties most people don't consider, the daily reality of existing in that world."; "An older book that won the Pulitzer Prize. Very good story about slavery and a persons place in life. Started slow and a little hard to follow in the beginning. The brutality of the slave patrollers was hard to read, but then there was goodness and kindness also from so many other people."