The Known World

i am fairly new to audiobooks but very glad that i listened to this at the begining of my journey - it was a wonderful early introduction. The story is not a straightforward journey from A to B, rather a journey around a whole community, every individual and every incident in it. There is an enourmous amout of detail which does mean that you need to pay close attention to it, but the depth of character which it creates is well worth the effort. When I finished listening I was still wondering about these characters. The book is inspired by the concept of free black people who owned slaves in Virginia, an aspect of American history I had not known anything about. I loved this 'read' and hope that you do too.

The premise of the book grabbed me, and I was eager to read it. The Pulitzer it won further whetted my appetite. Although I slogged all the way through it, the book was disjointed in its narrative, the characters were superficial, and there was no conflict, resolution and conclusion. The book jumps erratically from character to character, situation to situation, and even to time and place. The book is so poorly written that the Pulitzer is puzzling. I agree with the reviewer who said the book desperately needed an editor.

The author's comments in his interview cast some light on it. He states that he did little research and gave each character equal treatment. He also stated this is his first novel; he's written short stories. That was my impression of the book; it reads like a series of short stories with a weak attempt at connection by a central theme.

The book's subject is unique, one which hasn't been covered much either historically or in literature. Had the author developed his characters and his central theme, he could added a unique layer of perspective to the shameful history of slavery in America.

Sadly, I wouldn't recommend this book, and I doubt that I'll read anything else by this author.

To me, this was a tough listen. There are lots characters in this work, but they're not described in any real detail, and so they're hard to visualize. This makes them difficult to track because of the writer's narrative style--rambling from one topic to another, in and out of past and present time. Another thing that's tough on the listener is that the writer uses straight narration and doesn't use much descriptive metaphor. Noting in the writer's style causes the mind to light up. I think the narrator tries to save the book, but in the end he really can't. An eccentic choice for the Pulitzer, which is usually pretty good stuff.

Very few people, black or white, would be familiar with this world since it is set in a world of slavery prior to the American Civil war and deals with *black* slave owners. That in itself is a fascinating backdrop that Edward P. Jones masterful utilizes along with the black dialect of the time. The author creates a richly textured story around multiple, intertwined lives within the *known world* that exists largely within the microcosm of the plantation and at most Manchester county. Without making too many proclamations about good and evil (which would have made it a bland read) Edward P. Jones creates characters that are not cleanly delineated or labeled much like real-life where people have their many shaded complexities. The only criticism I have is that it is difficult to follow the numerous characters as they are first introduced. The story does weave in and out of plots so you need to get used to this approach early on. Once you do, it's a great ride that keeps moving forward.

This novel winds its way through many lives. Too many. It is also hard to follow as it jumps forward and backward in time. The story line is interesting, but poorly developed in my judgement.

You say non-linear, I say disjointed. You say complex, I say directionless. You say thoughtful, I say soporific. At last! a book I can/will not finish... read by someone who might want to consider a career change. A (possibly) interesting tale poorly told.

Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and a National Book Critics Circle Award Winner. An excellent book. It is much more than a story of free blacks owning slaves. It is a complex story set in times of American slavery and involves good people, bad people, good people who become bad people, and wonderful things and terrible things happening. The word "Property" is used to describe and call the slaves. An excellent story line, woven in elaborate time warps and beautiful language. Well narrated.

This book is great literature and carries itself along with well-developed characters with whom you will identify -- painfully so at times. This book is attractive for its quality writing, memorable characters and intriguing story line, not for page-turning suspense.

This African-American author's first novel.

Book prizes are no guarantee of a good book, but this book clearly well deserved its awards.

The last ten minutes of the audio is a fascinating interview with the author.

I found this book very frustrating, particularly for an Audiobook. The book jumps from character to character, and from scene to scene, from time to time, and place to place so often, that it never has time to capture one's interest in the characters any particular story line. I tried to give the book a chance by listening for 4 hours, and when it had not tied itself together in an interesting way by then, I finally gave up. Perhaps, if one can bear on past the first four hours, one would be able to "get" this book, and why it would be recommended by anyone. I found it confusing, without any consistent story line that would flow on for more than 5 or 10 minutes. The author has so much interesting material. Too bad it did not gel for me. If you do elect to listen to this, buy the book and make a list of all the characters so that you might be able to follow along - and be prepared for the long haul. Too bad, the author had such interesting material to work with.

This book is a real pleasure to listen to. It's not a plot-driven book, so be forewarned, if that's what you're in the market for. Instead, it's an empathetic, nuanced, and often poetic look at a certain historical time and place. Jones is just an extraordinarily humane writer; every character is painted in painstaking detail and with unusual sympathy. This is one of my favorites of the audiobooks I've listened to.

This is one of the books that seems to have a never ending narrative. After about 4 hours I had no real sense of what was occuring other that the comings and goings of many, many people. My wife calls me the "goal oriented" man, and she is correct, as usual. I look for a theme or direction in a book.

Well written and gently narrated, it just never seems to go anywhere. The patient, poetic souls out there will likely enjoy this audiobook, but for me, I shall never know how it ends...