All Aunt Hagar's Children

I finished reading All Aunt’s Hagar Children a few days ago and had to come back to write a little blurb about it because those stories are still lingering around me. Of course, as in any collection of stories, 3 or 4 make a bigger impact then the rest, however I was quite surprised of how even this selection is overall. Not a small task in a book with 14 stories.

Those are complex stories, with a multitude of secondary characters – neighbors, relatives, ancestors – showing up and furnishing the main story line with flavor and color and creating whole universes. The language is poetic. The prose is full of subtle – and not so subtle - magic realism: the devil shows up at a grocery store; a woman paints pictures of people dead in show more different countries and time; and yet another woman becomes blind while taking the bus home. But, most often, the stories are about people dealing with the tragedies of their lives, small and big disappointments and endless hope for whatever is to come.

I do love short stories, a genre I realize not every reader appreciates. And Edward P. Jones excels at the genre. I did love his novel “The Known World”, but I crave for more of his short stories. show less

I swear Jones used Joyce’s Dubliners as a model, but unlike Dubliners, these stories are long, rigorously developed and demanding to read. Many are confusing by the way they move about in time and frame of reference, and at one point I damn near quit reading, but as the stories started to slowly come together I could tell this was evolving into something special. It’s rare that I relish the intricacies of a book that require such close attention, but these are so tightly wound and come together so smoothly that it’s the best book in the short story genre I’ve read so far this year.

All Aunt Hagar's Children is a collection of short stories by Washington D.C. native Edward P. Jones, it is his third book and the first since winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Known World (2003). The stories are about black Americans in Washington D.C. during the 20th century. Each story revolves around family, society and self, detailing experiences emblematic of southern blacks who migrated to northern cities from rural roots: some found salvation and others a living hell. In all the stories there are transformative turning points in peoples lives. As Jones shows, they are often not conscious of what happened - life-altering events can happen in the course of the banal every-day, setting in motion life patterns that can be hard to show more break when it's forgotten or not noticed how it started. In some cases the patterns are passed down unconsciously generation to generation - like the devil, cycles of violence, poverty, addiction, sickness and ignorance stalk many of the characters for seemingly mysterious reasons, bordering on the mystic in some stories.

The stories are beautifully original, Jones employs authentic southern expressions creating a time capsule reverberating with fading folkways. Like the characters he writes about, Jones grew up poor in Washington. He had a strong mother - whom he dedicates the book too - and it contains many of her colloquial sayings. This is not a book to be read quickly, like the pace of southern culture, each sentence demands respect for plot structure, character development and the unique southern way of putting words together. I read this hoping to learn more about the black culture of Washington (and Baltimore up the road) and was not disappointed, but what an extra treat to have a world-class writer with a deep sense of humanity, empathy (and sometimes sly humor) show the way.

Two of the best stories are freely available from The New Yorker website where they were originally published: "A Rich Man" and "Old Boys, Old Girls".

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd show less

I don't usually like short stories but I liked this one. The overall quality of the book was somewhat uneven with some stories being crafted much better than others. The stories are all set in Washington, D.C. and cover the span of the 20th century. The Washington D.C. of these stories is not the same Washington D.C. that most people think of when that city is discussed. These stories have little to do with politics and everything to do with everyday life. The title story was particularly good, but for me the best works were the ones that have to do with the migration from the small towns of the South to the big city. The blend of rural values with those of the new city are full of danger and promise and the writing reflects that. My show more book club read it and the response from the members was uneven. Nobody really hated the book. show less

Excellent book. A great look into African American life in Washington DC over course of several generations.

This guy is a great writer, obviously. I just don't find his subject matter and approach all that captivating. I read The Known World by him last year and it was slightly more engaging, but still not my favorite.

I generally much prefer novels to short stories but I enjoyed this collection. Set in Washington DC, it examines the lives of African Americans who are transplants from another time and place. All grew up in rural, southern communities and most still have family there. What I found interesting was the way the culture and social mores of the country adapted to the lives of those living in the city.