Mudbound

SO GOOD. Hillary Jordan nailed it - this was un-put-downable for me. She tells this tough story unapologetically, but with so much beauty amid the dark and harsh truths of real history in the American South. Each storyline made me care so deeply about the characters, and the skillful description put me right there with them. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It will break your heart, but it will be worth it.

Mudbound was a risky read for me. As a life-long Mississippian, I wondered how an "outsider" could come in and tell a story that would ring true to the many intricacies of race relations in a state that still struggles with the some of the most basic issues. I found Jordan's insights both revealing and disturbing. It was like accidentally looking in the 5x side of your makeup mirror and seeing your flaws more clearly than you ever intended to. She created believable characters and a story that drew you in.

As a great admirer of Barbara Kingsolver's novels, I can appreciate her testimonial on the cover of Jordan's first work. High praise, well-deserved. Each character in MUDBOUND is like a fine jewel -- rough in its native form until Jordan polishes each to reveal the brilliance of the character beneath. The compelling story line strings them all together into one beautiful necklace fastened around the neck of Mississippi during a time we look back on with deep regret. Told with depth, compassion and real respect. Don't read the first page late at night because it's hard to put down.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan is without question one of the best books I have read in some time. The story of two families, one white, one black, in the Mississippi Delta immediately after the end of World War 2, tells a story of racism like nothing I have read before. The story is told by various characters in the book giving a clear picture of the time, the people and the unforgiving conditions of farming in the Mississippi Delta. I was raised and have lived most of my life in small towns in the North and have never encountered any of the racism that I know exists, and existed even more prominently during the time covered in this book. It is important, in my opinion, to make this abominable racism public and the author does that, not sugar coating anything in the exchanges between characters. I found myself so engrossed in this book that it was almost like I wasn't reading, more like watching a play or a movie. The language flowed so beautifully. The characters were true to what they were portrayed as. I look forward to future books from Hillary Jordan.

Hillary Jordan's first novel is a luminous, lovely and at times achingly painful depiction of America at a time of its greatest glory and shame. Set at the end of World War II, it follows the vastly different homecomings of two returning war heroes--one black, one white--to the Jim Crow south. Jordan uses deftly lyrical writing (judiciously salted with both humor and pathos) and a breathlessly brave approach to tell her story: a diverse chorus of different characters (black and white, male and female) weave their voices together in observations of race and rural farmlife in the 40's. The result is a delicately-choreographed, operatic tragedy that unrolls with graceful inevitability, culminating in a climactic scene that will reverberate for this reader (and writer) for years to come. Here is a true new talent; a writer with the stylistic grace and social conscience of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor and the dramatic flair of Pat Conroy and Jodi Picoult. Mudbound will leave you stunned, impressed, painfully touched---and (like me!) eagerly anticipating its author's next book.