Mudbound
Oct 6, 2008

Mudbound

336 pages
Hardback
ISBN: 156512569X
ISBN13: 9781565125698
Publication Date 2008

This is a book that packs a punch. No holding back on anything that happened during that era in the United States. Racism, Nazis, sexuality, poverty... it's all there. None of it gratuitous, just in your face "of the times".
An honest book.

This is a story of the McAllan's, from the city, recovering from the war, and the Jackson's, of the farm, and also of the war. The families come together on a farm in rural Mississippi as Owner and Sharecropper, struggling to make the land thrive so that they too may thrive and grow.

It's the mid 1940's and Henry, Jamie and Ronsel are all back from the war - all with deep mental hurts and wounds that they keep tamped down inside them. They come back to a world that's basically stayed the same, while they've all changed inside. Adapting back into day to day behavior and rules becomes one of the biggest issues in this book.

Laura, Henry's city born wife and Florence, Ronsel's Mamma, are also woven into the mix and are deeply affected by all three men. They are trapped in the stigma and rules that surrounded women, black and white, in those times. They're entire lives literally depend on the whims of men.

This is a very good book, with a strong story line. The characters are real and I found myself caring very much about the outcome of each of them.

I don't want to say more as it would give away the storyline, but I definitely recommend you give it a read.

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