Known World, The

  6 Reviews

Interrelated stories revolving around the death of black Virginia farmer and slaveholder, Henry Townsend on a small plantation in Manchester County, Virginia in the 1850s. Townsend, a former slave who was purchased and freed by his own father, acquires fifty acres of farmland through hard work, and eventually, owns more than thirty slaves. Although he is less brutal than his neighbours, most of his slaves dream of escaping north. As rumours of bloody slave rebellions spread through the South, unscrupulous bounty hunters begin to round up free blacks, Native Americans, and white orphans along with the escapees. [Small font]

Comments from Groups

There were very different reactions to this book. Some thought it was a wonderful read. The rest found it quite difficult to follow, and would recommend that it be read quickly as it's not the sort of book to be picked up and put down, as you tend to lose track of the plot and characters. Rotorua 006

Most of our members reported this as a difficult book to read. Not only were the setting and characters totally alien, but the book stood in need of a good editor. A list of characters and their relationships would have helped. However, we did have an interesting and lively discussion. Lower Hutt 004

Reviews

TAUR 011

14-07-2021

Thought this sounded like a good read. However, no one actually read the whole book - most even found it difficult to "get into".

HAMIL 037

14-07-2021

While the subject matter was interesting, it was difficult to read.

ASHB 016

14-07-2021

Finished the book this morning and actually ended up thinking it was quite good. Not a nice story, but slavery wasn't anyway. It was very hard to get into and had an unusual way of writing - jumping all over between people and time-frames. Certainly makes you think though - must have been awful!

TAPA 001

14-07-2021

A very difficult read. Those who persevered liked it - but only a few persevered.

WINT 001

14-07-2021

Members found it to be quite a confusing read. The fact that former slaves could/would own slaves was a real surprise.

PALMN 004

14-07-2021

This book was difficult to read for our group as it showed the worst sides of humanity, but people found it insightful and well-written.