I loved the how Mr. Jones developed the characters in this book...I really enjoyed it! It gave a sense of community to *slavery* that no other book I has. ( )

Known World conta-nos a história de homens, mulheres e crianças, brancos e negros, livres e escravos, num tempo em que negros livres possuíam escravos. E não só os possuíam, como os tratavam como tal, seguindo o exemplo dos seus próprios ex-donos brancos. Neste mundo a riqueza e a posse sobrepunham-se à cor da pele, mas nunca completamente...

Known World tells us the story of men, women and children, white and black, free and slave, in a time where free negroes possessed their own slaves. And not only did they possessed them but they also treated them as slaves, according to the example of their own white ex-owners. In this world the wealth and the possession overcame the colour of skin, but never completely... ( )

This is one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read. So many angles and perspectives to understand. A book to remind us all about the tragedies and true evil of slavery. ( )

This is mesmerizing, somber and heartrending. I read this non-stop; it's one of those novels that despite how it breaks your heart, you never want it to end. The writing is pitch perfect. ( )

In The Known World, author Edward Jones tells the story of a fictional Virginia county in the antebellum era. We are introduced to many of its residents, including slaves, free African Americans, whites, Native Americans, and people of mixed race. The author focuses particularly on free black people who owned slaves, and much of the story takes place on the plantation owned by former slave Henry Townsend and his free black wife Caldonia, and in the lane where their approximately two dozen slaves lived.

The book shows the precariousness of the situation free blacks faced in this era, when they had to be ready to produce papers proving their free status upon demand. Even these papers could not protect them from dishonest whites who might kidnap them and sell them into slavery, or cause them physical harm. The book also illustrates how both whites and free blacks rationalized slave ownership. It was easy for free people with few assets to feel morally superior to slave owners. With increased wealth, however, many chose status and power over principle. Slave owners, both white and black, viewed their slaves as assets with monetary value, rather than as fellow humans with the right to freedom.

At times the narrative seems more like history than fiction, as the author refers to census records, court records, published histories, and descendants of the characters. Some of the details are so specific that I found myself checking library databases and other sources to make sure that the references weren't for real books or documents. The narrative isn't in strict chronological order; we are told of the past and of the eventual fate of all of the characters at some point in the story. The author continually jumps from present to past to future. Sometimes I had to reread a few paragraphs to make sure I knew when the described events were taking place. This unusual technique contributed to the feel of the novel as a historical account. After all, when we read non-fiction works about particular historical eras, we already know how the events played out in history. I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. Just keep in mind that it is fiction, not a history of real people and events! ( )