Any Known Blood

Wow. I don't really know what else to say. I finished this book last night, and went to bed with it racing around in my head, hoping that a good night's sleep would help me organize my thoughts. It didn't. I woke still thinking about the novel, wishing it had not ended - despite wanting to race through it yesterday. Those are the best kinds of books - you cannot wait to finish it because you are so engrossed and you really want to know what happens, but when you finish you are sad because the journey is over. That is how I feel about Any Known Blood, a lesser-known novel by the author if The Book of Negroes.

Our narrator is Langston Cane V. Langston is a speech writer for a member of the Ontario Legislature, and he hates his job. His show more wife has left him, he is childless, he rarely speaks to his parents, and his mixed ethnicity (his father is black and his mother is white) causes him to feel disconnected from either of his parents' cultures. One day, Langston learns that the Ontario government is going to eliminate an old piece of human rights legislation, and decides to take matters into his own hands. He writes a speech slamming the Ontario government, and sneaks it into his boss' hands. The unsuspecting MLA gives the speech, and Langston is fired. In a sort of mid-life crisis, Langston cashes in his savings and heads to Baltimore, where various generations of his family have lived. Langston wants to reconstruct his history, and write a novel about it.

And so, we meet Langston's ancestors: Langston Cane I, who is rumored to have joined John Brown's legendary failed raid on Harper's Ferry; Langston Cane II, who is orphaned at a young age; Langston Cane III, who serves in WWI and becomes a minister; and Langston Cane IV, a doctor whose legacy his son finds daunting.

Hill weaves the stories of the five Langston Canes together with great skill, and the reader rarely finds it difficult to keep the generations straight. Certain characteristics define all five Cane men, yet each is also a distinct person with his own history. Their loves, triumphs, and failures are told in basic, honest prose, and the emotions are real. Issues of race and slavery join the generations together, yet Hill does so in a way that does not overwhelm the reader. Never did I think, "ok, I get it already," or feel as though Hill was trying to indoctrinate me. He obviously has a point to make, but the reader welcomes that point, rather than rejecting it.

This is definitely an "adult" book that contains a fair amount of violence, sex, and swearing, but it is a beautiful book as well. I love stories that mass generations of one family, love seeing where a character comes from, why they are who they are. By piecing together the stories of the four Langston Canes who have come before him, Langston Cane V learns a great deal about himself - and we, the reader, are thrilled to take that journey with him. show less

This is another great Lawrence Hill book. (This one was written before his Book of Negros (in the US it is titled Someone Knows my Name).

It is a fictional family history. We see a man struggling to understand how he fits into an accomplished family through history. He seeks to learn more about his ancestors, particularly Langston Cane (the first). All the generations’ stories are interesting. It was a book I raced through reading.

At first it is a little difficult to keep all the generations straight, but soon you figure it out without too much difficulty and sometimes you just let the story wash over you.

The exciting stuff, a bit of a family mystery and the historical action, starts a bit past halfway through the book. But the first show more half is still interesting. It ends up being quite faced paced for a family history type book.

I found it very interesting and would recommend it to anyone interested in the period just before the American civil war, as well as those interested in a plethora of other topics the book addresses. show less

Too obviously didactic--telling us stories which we should hear. Perhaps we should, but I don't like reading a novel and feeling that the author has sat me in a school desk. I found the prose predictable and the humour corny.
Where was the elegant writer who gave us the powerhouse novel, The Book of Negroes? Was he told to dumb down his work for a wider audience?
Most disappointed.

I felt this would have really benefited from better editing. I couldn't tear myself away from parts of it, but didn't have the same interest throughout. Would have been stronger if the focus was on fewer generations perhaps. By the end I found I didn't really care that much about the story of the first Langston Cane.

Once again I have enjoyed this Lawrence Hill novel. He takes his own family history and extends it into a wonderful novel that traces the history of a man as he tries to come to turns with himself and his own life. The writing is easy to read. The characters are worth getting to know. He doesn't make them all perfect, but their faults make them more endearing. I will definitely be looking for more of his books.

I always find books about African-Americans very interesting. Did not know the history of John Brown and Harpers Ferry. The whole kidnapping episode was unnecessary. Would have liked enjoyed Mill's story rather than some stories. Generally a well written and enjoyable story.

A good book. Very wordy and very descriptive. Contained deep symbolism that upon first reading, I didn't understand. Having read it a second time, I appreciated it far more.