Mudbound

By: Hillary Jordan

Narrated by: Ezra Knight, Kate Forbes, Joseph Collins, Tom Stechschulte, Peter Jay Fernandez, Brenda Pressley

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Hillary Jordan's mesmerizing debut novel won the Bellwether Prize for fiction. A powerful piece of Southern literature, Mudbound takes on prejudice in its myriad forms on a Mississippi Delta farm in 1946. City girl Laura McAllen attempts to raise her family despite questionable decisions made by her husband. Tensions continue to rise when her brother-in-law and the son of a family of sharecroppers both return from WWII as changed men bearing the scars of combat.

©2008 Hillary Jordan (P)2008 Recorded Books

Never accept racial predjudice

Racial prejudice. I will NEVER understand it nor accept it.
Newlywed wife (white) becomes a farmer's wife instead of a city wife as expected.
This is a time when blacks are still trying to own their own land and be self sufficient. Black family living on the farm are sharecroppers, meaning they help work the land , but must give a share to the farm owner. The white and black families seem to get along, but individuals around them cause prejudicial problems.
2 soldiers return home, one from each family. How are they treated? Very differently, but there is a bond of the war between them.
How are the wives dealing with the families, how do the husbands respond?
After writing my review, I changed my rating from 4 to 5 stars.

Excellent book.

Any additional comments?

The book was great and I would have enjoyed it no matter what probably - but the excellent narrators made it that much better.

great listen

Good character development and plot. Really got involved with each character. Read this after "The Help", which was indeed a more interesting and better read story. Still enjoyed this and found the images of our country after the war both thoughtful and distressing!

good characters; narrators excellent

I have been listening to audiobooks on my daily walks for years and this one rates in the top tier. The characters are well done and the narrators are excellent. You won't be sorry you downloaded this one.

Loved Everything About It.

What other book might you compare Mudbound to and why?

This is in the same realm as The Kitchen House. I could not stop listening to it.

Which character – as performed by Ezra Knight – was your favorite?

Laura.

Thought-provoking Story

What makes this story difficult to listen to is the vivid portrayal of discrimination and violence against black people that was so much a part of life, not only in the Mississippi Delta, but throughout the South for such a long time. It also paints a picture of women who were held in low regard at the time. The story is well written, the characters come alive, and the narration is wonderful. I recommend the book. It will remind you of how much more work has been done...and how much more needs to be done for equality and justice.

So powerful

Overwhelming reading. Important for all to know. Enjoy is the wrong word but could not put it down.

Needed better narrators

Excellent story but the narration was a letdown. ( there are multiple narrators, but not all are credited.)

Sad history for our country.

This is a very real book about things that did take place here, as well as in Europe. History that we shall never forget, for our own sake!

War and hate at home in the south can only be made right with enormous faith, hard work and love!

Truth through fiction! The horror of war, the love and lack of love and the earth it’s self can heal or destroy!