Although Henry McAllen planned to call his Mississippi farm Fair Fields, his wife Laura had a more appropriate name in mind: Mudbound. The cotton farm, which he bought without his wife’s knowledge was dirty and muddy, and had no electricity or indoor plumbing. To make matters worse, Henry’s despicable, racist father was moving in with them!
Mudbound takes place in 1946 and is the story of two families, The McAllens and the Jacksons. Hap and Florence Jackson are black share croppers living with their children on the McAllen farm. When their oldest son Ronsel returns to the farm after serving in the army, a member of the 761st Black Panther Battalion, he was a changed man, however little had changed in the Mississippi Delta.
Mudbound is told in the alternating voices of its main characters, Laura, Henry and Jamie McAllen, (Henry’s younger brother who had also just returned from the war with his own set of issues) as well as Hap, Florence and Ronsel Jackson. Each chapter is told from a different perspective which makes this tragic story that much more real! Mudbound is Hillary Jordan’s first novel and is the winner of The Bellwether Prize for fiction. It is a gripping story, not to be missed!
Friday Morning Bookclub 
Great book by a great author…my book club had a great discussion after reading Mudbound…as a child of the Mississippi River Delta…she pegged it!
Comment by Betty Jo — March 21, 2011 @ 10:15 am |