The Known World - by Edward P Jones

About the Book

Henry Townsend, a black bootmaker and former slave in antebellum Virginia, becomes a proprietor of his own plantation--as well as his own slaves. This modern masterpiece explores what happens when he dies and "the known world" unravels.

Book Synopsis

Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize Award and recognized as the best book of fiction in the 21st century by the New York Times, Edward P. Jones's The Known World is a debut novel of stunning emotional depth and unequaled literary power and continues to show its importance to the American literary canon.

Henry Townsend, a farmer, boot maker, and former slave, through the surprising twists and unforeseen turns of life in antebellum Virginia, becomes proprietor of his own plantation--as well his own slaves. When he dies, his widow Caldonia succumbs to profound grief, and things begin to fall apart at their plantation: slaves take to escaping under the cover of night, and families who had once found love under the weight of slavery begin to betray one another. Beyond the Townsend household, the known world also unravels: low-paid white patrollers stand watch as slave "speculators" sell free black people into slavery, and rumors of slave rebellions set white families against slaves who have served them for years.

An ambitious, courageous, luminously written masterwork, The Known World seamlessly weaves the lives of the freed and the enslaved--and allows all of us a deeper understanding of the enduring multidimensional world created by the institution of slavery. The Known World not only marks the return of an extraordinarily gifted writer, it heralds the publication of a remarkable contribution to the canon of American classic literature.

Review Quotes

"'The Known World' is a great novel, one that may eventually be placed with the best of American Literature." - San Diego Union-Tribune
"Fascinating...poignant....[A] complex and fine novel." - Baltimore Sun
"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
"Jones has written a book of tremendous moral intricacy." - The New Yorker
" 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
"If Jones. . .keeps up this level of work, he'll equal the best fiction Toni Morrison has written about being black in America." - Speakeasy
"To the extent that [Toni] Morrison spun a surreal tale of American slavery into mythic proportions, Jones has carved a companion series of stark anecdotes into national legends....A stunning portrait of moral confusion....Jones has a kind of biblical style that suggests whole lives in a few stark details" - Christian Science Monitor
" 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
"Breathtaking....A fascinating counterweight to Toni Morrison's Beloved....It is essential reading." - Entertainment Weekly
"Stunning....His first novel is...likely to win acclaim." - New York Times
"A stunning debut novel." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"A strong, intricate, daring book by a writer of deep compassion and uncommon gifts." - Peter Matthiessen
"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 grand and inspired work of historical fiction. . .[It] deserves every word of praise that comes its way." - Chicago Tribune Books
"A masterpiece that deserves a place in the American literary canon." - Time magazine
"Heartrending....[The Known World] walks with the pace and solemnity of the Bible." - Dallas Morning News
"[A] powerful, multigenerational saga." - Chicago Tribune Books
"Magnificent...Deeply felt and exquisitely executed, The Known World seems destined for a permanent spot on the...shelf of great American novels about slavery, next to Toni Morrison's Beloved and William Faulkner's Absalom! Absalom!" - Boston Globe
"Destined for a permanent spot on the...shelf of great American novels about slavery, next to Morrison...and Faulkner." - Boston Globe
"A masterpiece that deserves a place in the American literary canon." - Time
"Exceptional. . . .an achievement of epic scope and architectural construction." - New York Times Book 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
"Jones has written a book of tremendous moral intricacy." - The New Yorker
"An incredible saga." - Essence
"Stunning....Pitch-perfect....Too much cannot be said about Mr. Jones gifts as a storyteller and a stylist." - The Washington Times
"Once you start the book you are hooked....Consider this novel necessary reading." - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"You will be rewarded many times over by Jones's masterful ability to convey even the most despicable aspects of the nation's history with humanity and poetic language. This...magical novel will touch you in a profound way." - People (4-Starred Critic's Choice)
"This...magical novel will touch you in a profound way." - People (4-Starred Critic's Choice)
"Beautifully written . . .[it] ought to enjoy the massive readership that Charles Frazier's runaway hit, Cold Mountain did." - USA Today
"Fascinating . . .There is grief and fear, genuine affection an envy in this complex and fine novel." - Philadelphia Inquirer
"Brilliant...Jones' novel movingly evokes one small landscape of a larger map that so stubbornly yields up its truths today" - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"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
"Vivid....[An] epic novel." - Book Magazine
"A profoundly beautiful and insightful look at American slavery and human nature." - Booklist (starred)
"One of those rare works of fiction that both wound and heal." - O Magazine