46: Mudbound

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
4 stars

My feelings about this book fluctuated quite a bit as I read. I started out loving it. I was convinced it was going to be a five star book. Then I kind of hit a snag and wasn't digging it as much... but in the end, I ended up loving it again.

Sometimes, when I don't like the choices that the author makes with the plot, I let it cloud my judgment of the work at large. I think that's what happened here. I was a bit disappointed with the way some of the characters went-- I wanted them to make better choices, really-- but I have to admit that the book is quite well written, very engaging, and moving. People do bad things all the time. The author wasn't advocating these bad things, she was merely depicting them. That is to say, if you are of the "I won't read books that have 'bad' things in them" persuasion, this book is not for you.

Mudbound is set in the deep South, post WWII. The chapters rotate through first person narrations from several characters, a format choice that I really, really appreciated. I loved getting the different sides of the story from the different characters and getting to hear the unique voices.

Laura is into spinsterhood at the ripe old age of 31 when she finally meets and marries Henry McAllan in Memphis, Tennessee. She is drawn into a life she never imagined when Henry spontaneously buys a farm in rural Mississippi and takes her and their two daughters down to live in a ramshackle old house without indoor plumbing. What's worse, Henry's cantankerous and downright mean father, Pappy, comes to live with them. He is a source of constant irritation for Laura-- and pretty much everyone else he comes in contact with.

Henry's new farm comes preloaded with tenants-- sharecroppers-- some of whom are white and some of whom are black. One of the African American families is the Jacksons. An unlikely friendship between their oldest son and Henry's younger brother, both of whom return from fighting in WWII around the same time, will leave these two families forever changed.

This book deals heavily with racism. There is a lot that ain't pretty, but that's the way it was (and still is, in parts). It also deals heavily with war and the challenges faced by young veterans returning to "normal" life. These are two themes I really enjoy reading about-- they are difficult, and heavy, and they weigh on the mind, but they are real. Some of the characters in this book reminded me strongly of people in my own life. It is a book that made me think.

Content advisory: some language, some sex, nothing graphic or gratuitous IMO.