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9 Local Warehouse Literature- A to Z

eBook editions

The Known World

by Edward P. Jones

The Known World Cover

ISBN13: 9780060557553
ISBN10: 0060557559
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

 

Awards

2004 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
2003 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
2003 National Book Award Finalist
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

In one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, Edward P. Jones, two-time National Book Award finalist, 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. In a daring and ambitious novel, Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all of its moral complexities.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Review:

"This extraordinary novel [is] the best new work of American fiction to cross my desk in years." Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World

Review:

"[S]tunning....With hard-won wisdom and hugely effective understatement, Mr. Jones explores the unsettling, contradiction-prone world of a Virginia slaveholder who happens to be black." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Review:

"[K]aleidoscopic....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." The New Yorker

Review:

"Jones's prose can be rather static and his phrasings ponderous, but his narrative achieves crushing momentum through sheer accumulation of detail, unusual historical insight and generous character writing." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"[A]mbitious....A fascinating look at a painful theme, this book is an ideal choice for book clubs. Highly recommended." Library Journal

Review:

"A major achievement." Time

Review:

"If Jones. . .keeps up this level of work, he’ll equal the best fiction Toni Morrison has written about being black in America." Speakeasy

Review:

"A stunning debut novel." Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Review:

"Brilliant...Jones’ novel movingly evokes one small landscape of a larger map that so stubbornly yields up its truths today." Booklist

Review:

"The Known World is a great novel, one that may eventually be placed with the best of American Literature." San Diego Union-Tribune

Review:

"A grand and inspired work of historical fiction. . .[It] deserves every word of praise that comes its way." Chicago Tribune Books

Review:

"Complex, beautifully written, and breathtaking...the book will knock the wind out of you with the depth of its compassion." QBR: The Black Book Review

Review:

"Heartbreaking....fascinating." School Library Journal

Review:

"A stunning debut novel." Newsweek

Review:

"A stunning debut novel." San Diego Union-Tribune

Review:

"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 (Starred Review)

Review:

"Vivid....[An] epic novel." Peter Matthiessen

Review:

"A stunning debut novel." Times Educational Supplement

Review:

"Vivid....[An] epic novel." Book Magazine

Review:

"Heartbreaking....fascinating." Newsweek
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About the Author

Edward P. Jones was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Winner of the Pen/Hemingway Award and recipient of the Lannan Foundation Grant, Jones was educated at Holy Cross College and the University of Virginia. His first book, Lost in the City was originally published by William Morrow in 1992 and shortlisted for the National Book Award. Mr. Jones was named a National Book Award finalist for a second time with the publication of his debut novel The Known World which subsequently won the prestigious 2004 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 17 comments:
LDH, January 22, 2011 (view all comments by LDH)
This is the best novel I've read in YEARS. It's so richly textured, complicated, and nuanced it makes everything else look pitifully simple. It's strange in the very best way.
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Mara Lee, November 22, 2010 (view all comments by Mara Lee)
I had been meaning to read this book ever since I read a review of it in The Washington Post, but only finally got around to it last week.

It's a magnificent achievement, you feel that the antebellum world of rural Virginia is utterly authentic. And even though many characters behave so very differently from anyone 150 years later, they are so recognizable in their motivations, frailties and desires.

I bought a copy as a gift for my mother.
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cvalley, January 29, 2010 (view all comments by cvalley)
I read many good books, but the great books linger a long time. This is one. Genuine characters set in a story told with rich prose.
The setting is Virginia shortly before the Civil War. Henry and Caldonia Townsend are free blacks who own and work slaves. There are a number of black and Cherokee slave owners in the area and they are no easier a master than their white counterparts. This is not only the heartbreaking story of life as a slave, but a gripping depiction of how tenuous the life and liberty of the freed black man was in this era.
This is not an easy read because of the brutality and injustice,nor is it an easy story to tell. Because of reading this book, I was moved to learn more about the lives of freed blacks in the South before the Civil War.
A haunting story of slavery unlike any other.
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View all 17 comments
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060557553
Author:
Jones, Edward P.
Publisher:
Harper Paperbacks
Author:
by Edward P. Jones
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2004
Edition Number:
Reprint ed.
Edition Description:
Trade PB
Publication Date:
May 25, 2004
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
432
Dimensions:
8.06x5.32x1.00 in. .73 lbs.
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Related Aisles

The Known World Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$3.95 In Stock
Product details 432 pages Amistad Press - English 9780060557553 Reviews:
"Review" by , "This extraordinary novel [is] the best new work of American fiction to cross my desk in years."
"Review" by , "[S]tunning....With hard-won wisdom and hugely effective understatement, Mr. Jones explores the unsettling, contradiction-prone world of a Virginia slaveholder who happens to be black."
"Review" by , "[K]aleidoscopic....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."
"Review" by , "Jones's prose can be rather static and his phrasings ponderous, but his narrative achieves crushing momentum through sheer accumulation of detail, unusual historical insight and generous character writing."
"Review" by , "[A]mbitious....A fascinating look at a painful theme, this book is an ideal choice for book clubs. Highly recommended."
"Review" by , "A major achievement."
"Review" by , "If Jones. . .keeps up this level of work, he’ll equal the best fiction Toni Morrison has written about being black in America."
"Review" by , "A stunning debut novel."
"Review" by , "Brilliant...Jones’ novel movingly evokes one small landscape of a larger map that so stubbornly yields up its truths today."
"Review" by , "The Known World is a great novel, one that may eventually be placed with the best of American Literature."
"Review" by , "A grand and inspired work of historical fiction. . .[It] deserves every word of praise that comes its way."
"Review" by , "Complex, beautifully written, and breathtaking...the book will knock the wind out of you with the depth of its compassion." QBR: The Black Book Review
"Review" by , "Heartbreaking....fascinating."
"Review" by , "A stunning debut novel."
"Review" by , "A stunning debut novel."
"Review" by , "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."
"Review" by , "Vivid....[An] epic novel."
"Review" by , "A stunning debut novel."
"Review" by , "Vivid....[An] epic novel."
"Review" by , "Heartbreaking....fascinating."
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