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Mudbound | 
| Author: Hillary Jordan
Publisher: Windmill Books
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £5.59
You Save: £2.40 (30%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 627
Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 0099524686
EAN: 9780099524687
ASIN: 0099524686
Publication Date: October 2, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 A must read! January 5, 2009
This was once again a R&J choice and did not dissapoint. The story is told in a tentative way that makes you relate to all the characters and their narratives. The writing is clear and evokes many emotions ranging from anger, disgust, sympathy and a heart felt sorrow for the events that follow. Please take the time to read this novel. A must read for all!
Yup - these sorts of books should win prizes January 4, 2009
Great account. Far better than any Booker prize winner - good story; you can relate to the characters and it feels real. The writing is a bit primitive - if she had written in the style/character of say Harper Lee this would have been a Pulitzer prize/film whatever. Great effort
 Sobering, shocking and beautifully written December 4, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is one of those books I guess which will continue to resonate, and linger in the mind. Its particularly shocking as it forces us to remember how VERY recently the civil rights movement became something mainstream.
In the year when Americans elected Barack Obama to the White House, its so shocking to remember that only a few decades ago, in the most powerful nation on earth, apartheid was still the norm in some states, that the lynching mob was still in operation for black people who 'stepped out of line' (a line drawn by racists)
This story, set at the end of World War II, and dealing with the effects of that on the men who returned to the States from Europe, changed both by an expansion AND a loss of innocence, and also it is about the effect of family, both in its strengths and weaknesses.
The book is told through several different voices, and Jordan builds our sense of compassion, horror, pity, shame and disgust beautifully.
Her ending hints at, but doesn't guarantee, hope
A well-researched page turner November 26, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If I was still teaching American Studies this novel would be a real possibility for getting students to appreciate life in the Jim Crow south. Since I'm not I can still recommend it as (a) well researched, (b) without any wasted words at all and (c) an exciting read.
A common complaint I have of novels is that they are too long but here the problem is quite the reverse. I felt that this was a novel that could really do with a more fleshed out treatment. Much more could have been said about some of the relationships portrayed and it might have been interesting to add an extra voice or two (e.g. some early chapters from the nasty father figure could have been revealing). All that said, this is one of the most exciting novels I've read lately and I recommend it.
Captivating from Page One November 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I stayed up until 1.30am to finish this wonderful book. I woke up thinking about the story and I know this is going to be in my Top Three books of 2008.
At times I was left breathless by some of the descriptions in the book - Ronsel's story particularly affected me; his description of liberating Dachau and the awful scenes in the saw mill with Pappy and the other towns men.
By telling the story from the point of view of each of the characters the reader soon becomes intimate with each of them.
Pappy is probably the most vile and hateful character I've come across in a long time, his language is cringemaking - pure bigotry. The way a returning war hero is treated in this small Mississippi town, and all because of the colour of his skin is heartbreaking and made me so angry. I found some of the behaviours of the white people very disturbing and offensive, yet this is how life was in the Deep South of the USA before the Civil Rights laws were introduced.
A captivating, thought provoking novel that will stay with me for a long time.
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