Mudbound | Hillary Jordan | Brace yourselves

Mudbound | Hillary Jordan | Great Southern Story!

books:

Mudbound

	Mudbound Hillary Jordan Algonquin Books, 2008 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 40 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Brace yourselves

Jordan's imagination has created a character to compete with Iago. Never since "Othello" have I encountered such unmitigated, inexplicable evil in one of the characters -- (I won't give it away). Some of the characters' choices are so disturbing, you question what you would do in a similar situation -- sure to become a topic among reading club participants certain to choose this book. But when you root for the evil character to get his comeuppance, you question how it is that _you_ are very different from him. You start to feel guilty over rejoicing over this getting his just desserts.

This is one of the best books I've read in my life, (in its fifth decade). I won't stop at saying it will stay with me for a long time; I will say that it will stay with me forever.

Susan Dunlap, Versailles, Kentucky

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Great Southern Story!

I was captivated from the first page. Ms Jordon is certainly an author to watch. Her characters were very believable, from pure evilness, to weakness, to sweet,caring beauty. I could feel the helplessness, fears & frustrations of Florence and Ronsel. This is a book that will linger in your mind long after you have finished reading it. I look forward to this author's next book.

A great read!

This book was a great! I loved that the author wrote each chapter from the perspective of a different character. We chose this book for our book club based on the review off Daily Candy, and I LOVED it! I couldn't put it down, and I can't say that of all my books that are chose for our monthly read.
Each character brings a unique perspective to the situation...and you definitely grow to like some a lot more than others. This is a truly wonderful book!

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A beautiful story of the south

Reading this book, I felt like I truly understood what it was to live in a mudbound Mississippi farm post-WW II; the characters were so real it was like they were sitting on the couch beside me, telling me their stories. The first few pages of this book were so beautifully written that I read the entire first chapter out loud to my husband; it was just perfect prose. The narrative is powerful as well: I read the book in just a few days, and was late to church trying to get it finished. Ultimately, it was just short of five stars because the theme of the story -- the desperate unfairness of racism in the South -- has been done before, and the writer didn't seem to have a new perspective on it. Bits of it were somewhat cliched; the racist characters were evil, the African Americans noble victims; racism is bad and destructive and corrupts everyone. All true; but I wish she had pushed herself a bit more, past the cliches of all that has been written before. But there is no question: the writing, the people and the story carry you through the book like a tide. Not quite a classic, but a wonderful debut, and well worth your time.

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Moving, but formulaic

That there were many levels of racism in the South in the late 1940s is the most powerful revelation of this novel. Pappy, the eldest member of the McAllen family, is the virulent racist. His oldest son, Henry, who owns the Mississippi Delta farm they live on is a moderate racist and his brother, Jamie, is on the enlightened side, although even he displays some racist tendencies when he finds out Ronsel Jackson, the young black man who lives as a tenant farmer or share cropper on the farm, had relations with a white woman when he fought in World War II. The stories of the McAllens and the Jacksons intertwine when Jamie and Ronsel become friends and share liquor. They're both back from the war and struggling to resume life in the Delta, where racism infects everything. When Jamie lets Ronsel sit in the front seat of the truck when they drive in from town, Pappy and Henry are offended, with Pappy issuing a threat before Henry goes to talk w/ Ronsel's father, Hap, the long term tenant farmer who doesn't want to rock the boat. But Ronsel does and he pays the price when Pappy finds the letter from his German lover in the truck. The letter informed Ronsel that he is the father of a son and she sent a picture, asking him to come back and live with them. Before he can decide what to do, he is apprehended by Pappy and a few townsmen who are members of the Klan. Jamie tries to rescue Ronsel but he is overwhelmed, with Pappy demanding he determine Ronsel's fate, so that Pappy and his friends can escape guilt. As the book ends, Ronsel is mute, with his tongue cut out, and wondering how he'll live his life, determined to somehow live with his disability and possibly march some day with Martin Luthur King. The profound story is beautifully told, but it loses its luster near the end, as it comes across as formulaic. That Ronsel should be abused by the Klan doesn't seem original, although the portrayal of the different levels of racism among the McAllens is.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8

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