Mudbound
by
Hillary Jordan
“But I must start at the beginning, if I can find it. Beginnings are elusive things. Just when you
think you have hold of one, you look back and see another, earlier beginning, and an earlier one before
that.”
Created for:
C.H.A.P.T.E.R.S. Book Club
August 14, 2008
1
Dear Sharon,
Thank you so much for ordering a custom kit from
www.BookClubClassics.com. I sincerely hope this kit adds to
your club’s enjoyment of the novel!
Please feel free to email any questions or concerns before
your club meets or any feedback afterwards:
(kgalles@msn.com or BookClubClassics@q.com).
I promise that any suggestions will be used to strengthen
future kits, and I would love to use any positive quotes on my
web site.
Again, thank you for your support and feel free to order
another customized kit in the future!! I would love to work
with you again.
Sincerely,
Kristen Galles
Book Club Classics
LitGuides.com
2
Mudbound -- Table of Contents
Fast Facts
4
Setting
5
Author Information
6
Menu Ideas
9
Bookmark – All Characters
11
Bookmark – Main Characters
14
Setting the Mood
17
Discussion Questions
18
Reviews
22
What to Read Next
23
3
Mudbound – Fast Facts
Author – Hillary Jordan
Pages – 328 (Workman Publishing: Algonquin)
Date Published – 2008
Setting – Tennessee and Mississippi; 1940’s
Point of view – First person (multiple narrators: Jamie, Laura, Ronsel, Henry,
Hap, Florence)
Genre – Fiction (novel)
Issues/Conflicts – Father-son relationships; race; marriage; sibling
relationships; effects of war; social class
Excellent historical resources:

761st Black Panther Battalion: http://www.761st.com/

Flood of ’27: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flood/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/05/0501_river4.html
More about the novel:

Bellwether prize: http://www.bellwetherprize.org/

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkHU8_JDCqU
4
Mudbound – Setting
Memphis, TN – Laura’s home
Greenville, MS – Henry’s home
Carthage, MS – McAllan cousins’ home
Marietta, MS – Farm (Mudbound)
Belzoni, MS – Neighboring town
Marietta (county and town)
5
6
The Gathering – Vocabulary Help:
“The Gathering…pays unusually loving and lively attention to language, as shifting speech
patterns over the past half-century mark the changing mental map of Irish people. That ‘the
historical sections are refracted through various kinds of linguistic lenses’, Enright explains,
is ‘a reflection of the fact that you cannot write about Ireland in the 1950s in the same tone
of voice even as you write about Ireland in the 1970s, or Ireland now. It actually requires a
whole different language and sensibility, of flavour, tone and smell.’”
(From: www.independent.co.uk)
page # / word / definition
4 hoovers – vacuum
5 loo – bathroom
13 jarvey – driver of a hackney (horse-driven) coach
11 bean garda – lesser police officer
14 carbolic – acid derived from coal tar (used in soaps)
20 gobdaw – fool; idiot
26 naggin – shot
30 pram – baby carriage
41 twee – too cute or precious
43 mean – stingy
44 messer – screw-up
49 ming – unpleasant (human) smell
50 biro – ball-point pen
54 shite – shit
58 pap – nipple
71 minder – babysitter
76 prom – walkway
77 Crikey! Quids in – exclamation of surprise; followed by “all in!”
82 Dirk Bogarde – actor and author from the 1950s
85 bocketty – broken; missing
87 uxorious – excessively submissive or devoted to one’s wife
87 bedsit – furnished sitting room with some sleeping arrangements
89 pips – seeds of a fruit
93 beetroot – large, swollen testicle which appears purple/red
95 lino – linoleum
7
Durex – brand of condoms
99 mangle – old-fashioned clothes dryer
nappy – diaper
100 boot – trunk of a car
102 boxroom – smaller room usually used as child’s bedroom or storage room
103 jumper – sweater
105 charabancs – motor coach or tourist bus
108 hames – messy inadequate job
125 japes – joke or quip
146 Germolene – antiseptic ointment
151 shagging – sexual intercourse
fobbed off – placated; duped
156 Largactyl – chemical used in schizophrenia medicine
157 Firbolg – early rulers of Ireland from Irish mythology
163 gurrier – hooligan
pup – younger man involved sexually with older woman
conk – large nose
164 slag off – to verbally attack
166 prised – to forcibly move
Gardai – Ireland’s national police service
167 foothering – meddling, in a sexual way
langer, wire, mickey – slang terms for penis
169 nicked – stealing; sneaking
offie – office
170 wan – denotes disrespect; whiner
177 Booterstown – coastal town 5 miles south of Dublin
182 queue – line
201 scoffing – treat with contempt
254 smalls – underwear
Definitions courtesy of:
“Some Irish Slang”: http://www.dublin1850.com/general/4mymofo.html
The Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/
The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
8
Mudbound -- Author Information
From Hillary Jordan’s website:
Hillary Jordan grew up in Dallas, Texas and Muskogee, Oklahoma. She received her BA in
English and Political Science from Wellesley College and spent fifteen years working as an
advertising copywriter before starting to write fiction. She got her MFA in Creative Writing
from Columbia University.
Mudbound, published by Algonquin Books in March 2008, is her first book. It won the 2006
Bellwether Prize for Fiction, awarded biennially to a debut novel that addresses issues of
social justice. It’s a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick for summer 2008, a Borders Original
Voices selection, and one of twelve vibrant New Voices of 2008 chosen by Waterstone's
UK. Hillary’s short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals, including StoryQuarterly
and The Carolina Quarterly. She lives in Tivoli, New York.
For more biographical information…
 Jordan’s website:
http://www.hillaryjordan.com/books.php
 NPR Interview:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88195380
9
Mudbound – Menu Ideas
“And you should taste her peach chess pie…” – Laura’s mother, trying to
impress Henry…
Recipe for Peach Chess Pie from Diana’s Desserts:
Comments:
Chess pie, an old time southern favorite and still popular today. Add a little lemon juice or lemon
zest to the filling for an extra special tang and if desired, serve topped with a dollop of sweetened
whipped cream.
Ingredients:
Pastry:
1 (9-inch) unbaked pastry shell
Filling:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks/6 oz/170g) butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons whipping cream or half & half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup lemon juice (optional)
Garnish (optional)
Sweetened whipped cream
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (180 C). Place unbaked pastry in a 9-inch pie pan (or a ready-made storebought unbaked pie crust may be used). Crimp or flute edges of pastry; set aside.
Combine all filling ingredients in large bowl. Stir until well mixed.
Pour filling into prepared pastry. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown
and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
To serve, top each serving with sweetened whipped cream.
Makes 8 servings.
Recipe courtesy of:
http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/
recipeID/2556/Recipe.cfm
10
Here are a few Mississippi favorites from:
http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/mississippi_recipes.shtml
Mississippi Mud Pie by Uncle Phaedrus
1 (8-inch) prepared chocolate crumb crust
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut up
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped nuts, divided (optional)
2 pints coffee ice cream, softened slightly, divided
Lightly sweetened whipped cream (optional)
Heat sugar, chocolate chips, butter, cream and corn syrup in small saucepan
over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and mixture is
smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Cool until slightly warm.
Drizzle 1/3 cup chocolate sauce in bottom of crust; sprinkle with 1/4 cup
nuts. Layer with 1 pint ice cream; freeze for 1 hour.
Repeat with 1/3 cup sauce, 1/4 cup nuts and ice cream. Drizzle with
remaining sauce; top with remaining nuts. Freeze for 2 hours or until firm.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.
Makes 8 servings.
11
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fried Green Tomatoes by VernaLisa
3 slices of bacon
4 medium green tomatoes
1 cup fine ground cornmeal
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup milk
Fry the bacon in heavy skillet. Transfer it to absorbent paper. Cut each tomato into 1/2"
thick slices. Put sliced tomatoes on absorbent paper. Mix together the cornmeal, salt and
pepper. Dip tomato slices into a small bowl of milk remove and coat with your cornmeal
mixture. Fry tomatoes in the bacon fat over medium heat until the cornmeal browns, about
1 1/2 minutes on each side. Can be served over rice or pasta and smothered with a cream
sauce and crawfish tails or shrimp.
Hot Peanuts by VernaLisa
1 to 2 Tablespoons dried crushed red pepper
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 (12oz) can cocktail peanuts
1 (12oz) can Spanish peanuts
1 Teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Cook crushed red pepper in hot oil in a large skillet 1 minute. Stir in garlic and peanuts; cook
over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Remove from heat; sprinkle with salt and
chili powder. Drain on paper towels; cool completely and serve.
12
Mudbound – Bookmark of All Characters
Printable Bookmark! Please print and then cut to use as a reference as you read!! When
possible, only basic information has been provided to avoid “spoilers.”
Character
Jamie McAllan
Henry McAllan
Pappy
Laura Chappell
McAllan
Amanda Leigh
McAllan
Isabelle (Bella)
McAllan
Ronsel Jackson
Mrs. Fairbain
Chappell
Mr. Chappell
Fanny
Etta
Teddy Chappell
Eliza Chappell
Pearce
Chappell
Jack
Eboline
Thalia
Warren Weeks
Virgil
Dessie
Albin and Avery
Description
29 year old brother of
Henry, Eboline, and
Thalia; attended Ole Miss
for fine arts; afraid of
water; pilot in WWII
48 years old; married to
Laura; WWI veteran
Father of Jamie, Henry,
Eboline, and Thalia; bigot
38 year old former English
teacher; married to Henry;
mother to Bella and
Amanda Leigh
Henry and Laura’s 6 year
old daughter; quiet and
serious
Henry and Laura’s 4 year
old daughter; sweet and
demanding
Army Sergeant who fought
in WWII under Patton;
teaches father to read
Laura’s mother
Laura’s father; retired
history professor
Laura’s sister
Laura’s sister
Laura’s brother; introduced
her to Henry, his boss;
works for Army Corp of
Engineers
Teddy’s wife
Laura’s brother; wounded
while a Marine in WWII
Etta’s husband
Henry and Jamie’s sister;
former Cotton queen
Henry and Jamie’s sister;
former Cotton queen
Man in Ronsel’s battalion
who died
Eboline’s husband
Virgil and Eboline’s maid
Cousins of the McAllans
13
Mallie Simpoon
Ruel and
Marlon Jackson
Lilly Mae
Jackson
Florence
Jackson
Hap Jackson
Alice and Orvis
Stokes
Orvis Jr. and
Mary
George Suddeth
Rose and Bill
Tricklebank
Ruth Ann and
Caroline
Tricklebank
Conleys
Carl Atwood
Vera Atwood
Alma Atwood
Renie Atwood
Kester Cottrill
Mattie Jane
Cottrill
Fikeses, Byrds,
and Stinnets
Doc Turpin
Dr. Pearlman
Heck and
Luther Jackson
Junis Lee
Jimmy
Sam
Josie Hayes
Dupock
Lem Dupock
Woman Ronsel knew
during war
Ronsel’s twin siblings; 12
years old
Ronsel’s sister; has a
clubfoot
Ronsel’s mother; granny
midwife; cleans house for
Laura
Married to Florence;
talkative; share tenantfarmer on Mudbound
Bought home promised to
Henry; own feed store
Stokes’ dead children
Swindled Henry out of
home
Own town store
Rose and Bill’s daughters
Original owners of
Mudbound
White share-tenant farmer;
drinks; abusive
Carl’s wife; 8 mo. pregnant
Atwood’s 10 yr old
daughter
Atwood’s eldest daughter;
baby died
White share-tenant farmers
Helps Laura keep house
White share-tenant farmers
asked to leave Mudbound
White doctor; racist
Austrian, Jewish doctor
who helps Hap
Hap’s brothers
Neighboring preacher
Friend and fellow soldier
of Ronsel
Friend and fellow soldier
of Ronsel
Ronsel’s high school
sweetheart
Josie’s husband
14
Theresia (Resl)
Huber
Maria Huber
Uncle Zeb
Aunt Sarah
Lucy
Dr. Brownlee
Mercy Ivers
Sheriff Charlie
Partain
Dottie Tipton
Joe Tipton
Tom Easterly
Tom Rossi
Franz Ronsel
Capt. Scott
Hollis
Dex Deweese
Sheriff Tacker
Viola
Ronsel’s German
sweetheart
Resl’s 6 year old daughter
Florence’s uncle
Florence’s aunt
Pearce’s daughter and
Laura’s goddaughter
Laura’s old obstetrician
Town operator; gossipy
Greenville sheriff
Widow; flirts with Jamie
Dottie’s husband; killed in
war
Owns cow killed by Jamie
Neighboring farmer; parttime deputy sheriff
Resl’s son
Ronsel’s superior at Camp
Hood
Friend Ronsel had to kill in
war
Owns diner
Marietta sheriff
McAllans’ maid
15
Mudbound – Bookmark of Main Characters
Printable Bookmark! Please print and then cut to use as a reference as you read!! Only basic
information has been provided to avoid “spoilers.”
Character
Jamie McAllan
Henry McAllan
Pappy
Laura Chappell
McAllan
Amanda Leigh
McAllan
Isabelle (Bella)
McAllan
Ronsel Jackson
Fanny & Etta
Teddy Chappell
Eliza Chappell
Pearce
Chappell
Jack
Eboline
Thalia
Virgil
Ruel and
Marlon Jackson
Lilly Mae
Jackson
Florence
Jackson
Description
29 year old brother of
Henry, Eboline, and
Thalia; studied fine arts at
Ole Miss; afraid of water;
pilot in WWII
48 years old; married to
Laura; WWI veteran
Father of Jamie, Henry,
Eboline, and Thalia; bigot
38 year old former English
teacher; married to Henry;
mother to Bella and
Amanda Leigh
Henry and Laura’s 6 year
old daughter; quiet and
serious
Henry and Laura’s 4 year
old daughter; sweet and
demanding
Army Sergeant who fought
in WWII under Patton;
teaches father to read;
Laura’s sisters
Laura’s brother; introduced
her to Henry, his boss;
works for Army Corp of
Engineers
Teddy’s wife
Laura’s brother; wounded
while a Marine in WWII
Etta’s husband
Henry and Jamie’s sister;
former Cotton queen
Henry and Jamie’s sister;
former Cotton queen
Eboline’s husband
Ronsel’s twin siblings; 12
years old
Ronsel’s sister; has a
clubfoot
Ronsel’s mother; granny
midwife; cleans house for
Laura
16
Hap Jackson
Alice and Orvis
Stokes
Rose and Bill
Tricklebank
Ruth Ann and
Caroline
Tricklebank
Carl Atwood
Vera Atwood
Alma Atwood
Renie Atwood
Doc Turpin
Dr. Pearlman
Theresia (Resl)
Huber
Maria Huber
Franz Ronsel
Married to Florence;
talkative; share tenantfarmer on Mudbound
Bought home promised to
Henry; own feed store
Own town store
Rose and Bill’s daughters
White share-tenant farmer;
drinks; abusive
Carl’s wife; 8 mo. pregnant
Atwood’s 10 yr old
daughter
Atwood’s older daughter
White doctor; racist
Austrian, Jewish doctor
who helps Hap
Ronsel’s German
sweetheart
Resl’s 6 year old daughter
Resl’s son
17
Mudbound -- Setting the Mood!
Here is an idea to set the mood and get the conversation started to help you
appreciate Jordan’s work. Enjoy!
Introductory Game Ideas:
Jordan uses many similes and metaphors to express her ideas, especially when Laura
is narrating. Here are a few examples:

“The soil was so wet from all the rain it was like digging into raw meat.” (3)

“[Mud] Sucking at my feet like a greedy newborn on the breast.” (11)

“When it rained, as it often did, the yard turned into a thick gumbo, with the house
floating in it like a soggy cracker.” (11)

“These visions [of marriage] bloomed in my mind like exotic flowers, opulent and
jewel-toned, undoing years of strict pruning of my desires.” (22)
Create your own simile or metaphor to describe your experience of reading
Mudbound.
(“Reading Mudbound was like…”)
18
Mudbound Discussion Questions
The following questions approach the novel from a number of different angles, i.e.,
how the novel functions as a work of art, how it reflects the time period, how it
addresses fundamental questions of humanity, and how it engages the reader.
A good discussion tends to start with our “heads” and end with our “hearts.”
Therefore, you may want to save subjective opinions of taste until after you have
discussed the more objective elements of the work’s merits. (It is tempting to begin
with, “What did everyone think?” But if a number of people really didn’t like the
novel, their opinions may derail a discussion of the novel’s merits).
On the other hand, I recommend starting with a few accessible questions and asking
every member to respond to ensure that all voices are present and heard from the
beginning. Just a few suggestions! Enjoy…
Warm up questions:
 If this novel is made into a movie, who would you cast as Laura? Jamie? Henry?
Ronsel? Florence? Hap?
 Did any section particularly engage your attention?
 Did any sections drag?
1) Now that you have finished the novel, reread the epigraph:
“If I could do it, I’d do no writing at all here. It would be photographs; the
rest would be fragments of cloth, bits of cotton, lumps of earth, records of
speech, pieces of wood and iron, phials of odors, plates of food and of
excrement… A piece of body torn out by the roots might be more to the
point.”
-- James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
What new understanding do you now have of this quote? Why do you think Jordan chose
this quote to be our first impression of her novel? Had you read the epigraph before
beginning the novel? If not, would it have altered your initial impressions? Thinking back,
what were your first impressions of the novel? Had you read a summary before beginning
the actual novel? In what ways did the novel fulfill your expectations?
19
2)Reread the first paragraph:
“Henry and I dug the hole seven feet deep. Any shallower and the corpse was
liable to come rising up during the next big flood: Howdy boys! Remember
me? The thought of it kept us digging even after the blisters on our palms
had burst, re-formed and burst again. Every shovelful was an agony – the old
man, getting in his last licks. Still, I was glad of the pain. It shoved away
thought and memory.”
What was the effect of starting the novel with Pappy’s burial? How did presenting the
events of the novel as a flashback influence your enjoyment?
3) Jordan begins the novel with Jamie’s perspective and ends with Ronsel’s. Why do you
think Jordan began with Jamie? Why end with Ronsel? Which narrator’s perspective did
you enjoy reading the most? The least? Which of the six perspectives could have been
eliminated – if any? Any other perspectives, not included, that you would have enjoyed /
found interesting? How would Pappy’s perspective have altered the novel?
4) On page 5 we first hear the word “nigger”: “’We can’t bury our father in a nigger’s
grave…’” How did this influence your early impressions of the novel? Jordan, a white
woman, tackles the subject of race from a number of different perspectives. How would
you describe her understanding of post-WWII rural Mississippi?
5) As an ex-English teacher, Laura uses many literary allusions when we first get to know
her – from Dickens’ David Copperfield (13) to Melville and the Brontes (20) to
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (23). In order for an allusion to be effective,
the reader must recognize and understand its significance. Was Laura’s comparison of Jamie
to Puck effective?
6) Jamie studies the fine arts in college and is drawn to acting. Near the end, when Ronsel
comes upon a very inebriated Jamie, he (Jamie) quotesfrom Shakespeare’s Othello: “Oh
God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!” (252).
Other than a shared interest in the fine arts, what else attracts Laura to Jamie? What
eventually ends this attraction and gives Laura a greater appreciation for Henry? Is her new
appreciation well-founded, in your opinion?
20
7) At the beginning, Laura attempts to piece together the cause and effect events that result
in Pappy’s murder:
“my father-in-law was murdered because I was born plain rather than pretty…
Because Henry saved Jamie from drowning in the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
Because Pappy sold the land that should have been Henry’s. Because Jamie flew too
many bombing missions in the war. Because a negro named Ronsel Jackson shone
too brightly. Because a man neglected his wife, and a father betrayed his son, and a
mother exacted vengeance… It’s tempting to believe that what happened on the
farm was inevitable; that in fact all the events of our lives are as predetermined as the
moves in a game of tic-tac-toe: Start in the middle square and no one wins. Start in
one of the corners and the game is yours. And if you don’t start, if you let the other
person start? You lose, simple as that… The truth isn’t so simple. Death may be
inevitable, but love is not. Love you have to choose…” (14)
Who do you hold most responsible for Pappy’s death? Do you agree that it is tempting to
believe our lives are predetermined? Why might that belief be tempting?
8) Early on, Jamie states “So much of who I am and what I’ve done is because of Henry.”
(33). Why did Jamie believe this? Is there anyone in your life you might say that about?
9) When reflecting on her intimacy with Jamie, Laura states: “If Henry hadn’t been so
stubborn. If there hadn’t been a ball game on. If Eboline had taken better care of her trees.”
(238) Was physical intimacy inevitable between Laura and Jamie? Did you empathize with
Laura after it happened – why / not?
10) Notice how even the most sympathetic of the white characters (Laura, Jamie, Henry) are
products of their time with regard to race. How did their views of “colored” people affect
your opinion of them or your enjoyment of the novel?
11) Henry and Hap are both described as “landsick” by Florence. What does this mean?
12) Notice how Jordan juxtaposes the inhumanity toward “coloreds” with the inhumanity
of the Nazis and even the distinction between “air-men” and infantry who fought on the
ground. Why causes this need for division and judgment in human nature?
21
13) Laura describes a mother’s love for her sons: “I wanted the fiercer, less complicated
love, unsullied by judgment and comparisons to one’s own self…” (169). We then see a
mother’s desperate desire to avenge her son when Florence intends to kill Pappy. Do you
agree with Laura that a mother’s love for her daughters is different that her love for her
sons?
14) Notice the last paragraph of part II when Jamie has offered Ronsel future rides to town.
Ronsel nods his head,
“And in that moment, sealed his fate. Maybe that’s cowardly of me, making Ronsel
the trigger finger. There are other ways to look at it, other turning points I could
pick, eeny, meeny, miny, moe: When that car backfired. When he got in the cab of
the truck. When I handed him the whiskey. But I think it was right then, when he
stood half-drunk in the rain and nodded his head. And I believe Ronsel would tell
you the same thing, if you could ask him, and he could answer.” (212).
Do you agree with Jamie that Ronsel would believe this decision sealed his fate? How do
you react to Jamie’s choice in the sawmill? Do you judge him (why/not)?
15) Florence describes Ronsel as having “A shine so bright it hurt your eyes sometimes but
you still had to look at it.” (163). The novel concludes with a possible ending for Ronsel that
includes fulfillment and happiness:
“That’s the ending we want, you and me both. I’ll grant you it’s unlikely, but it is
possible. If he worked and prayed hard enough. If he was stubborn as well as lucky.
If he really had a shine.” (324).
What does Jordan mean by “shine”? Is this ending feasible or realistic? Were you satisfied
with it?
Wrap up Questions!
1.
2.
3.
4.
Would you recommend the book to others? (Why/not)
If you could change anything, what would it be?
Would you read a sequel of this novel?
Should this novel be taught in college and universities? High schools?
22
Mudbound – Reviews:
For a list of reviews: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/mudbound/
From Powell’s Books:
Review:
"Jordan's beautiful debut (winner of the 2006 Bellwether Prize for literature of social responsibility)
carries echoes of As I Lay Dying, complete with shifts in narrative voice, a body needing burial, flood
and more. In 1946, Laura McAllan, a college-educated Memphis schoolteacher, becomes a reluctant
farmer's wife when her husband, Henry, buys a farm on the Mississippi Delta, a farm she aptly
nicknames Mudbound. Laura has difficulty adjusting to life without electricity, indoor plumbing,
readily accessible medical care for her two children and, worst of all, life with her live-in misogynous,
racist, father-in-law. Her days become easier after Florence, the wife of Hap Jackson, one of their
black tenants, becomes more important to Laura as companion than as hired help. Catastrophe is
inevitable when two young WWII veterans, Henry's brother, Jamie, and the Jacksons' son, Ronsel,
arrive, both battling nightmares from horrors they've seen, and both unable to bow to Mississippi
rules after eye-opening years in Europe. Jordan convincingly inhabits each of her narrators, though
some descriptive passages can be overly florid, and the denouement is a bit maudlin. But these are
minor blemishes on a superbly rendered depiction of the fury and terror wrought by racism."
Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:
"Hillary Jordan's first novel, 'Mudbound,' arrives emblazoned with the Bellwether Prize, a biennial
award established in 1999 by Barbara Kingsolver 'to support a literature of social responsibility.' That
sounds like wearing a 'Kick Me' sign on the literary playground, but sneer all you want, O Decadent
Literati. These judges know that 'social commentary in our art is frequently viewed with suspicion,'..."
Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review)
Winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction, Mudbound is storytelling at the height of its powers: "the
ache of wrongs not yet made right, the fierce attendance of history made real" (Barbara Kingsolver),
as men and women from two families become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale.
23
Mudbound – Further reading!
If you enjoyed Jordan’s dark, Gothic, Southern storytelling style… Try
anything by William Faulkner or Flannery O’Connor.
I particularly recommend:
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
From Amazon.com
Faulkner's distinctive narrative structures--the uses of multiple points of view and the inner
psychological voices of the characters--in one of its most successful incarnations here in As I
Lay Dying. In the story, the members of the Bundren family must take the body of Addie,
matriarch of the family, to the town where Addie wanted to be buried. Along the way, we
listen to each of the members on the macabre pilgrimage, while Faulkner heaps upon them
various flavors of disaster. Contains the famous chapter completing the equation about
mothers and fish--you'll see.
Barn Burning by William Falkner (short story – kit available for only
$9.99!  )
The story deals with class conflicts, the influence of fathers, and vengeance as viewed
through the perspective of a young, impressionable child.
And, by Flannery O’Connor – A Good Man is Hard to Find (short story)
A Good Man is Hard to Find includes: “a contrast of violent action with humorously and
carefully drawn characters and a philosophy that underscores her devout Roman Catholic
faith…The story is disturbing and humorous at the same time.”
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If you are ready for something a bit more uplifting and enjoy memoir…
Try Life is Good by George Dawson
From Publishers Weekly
A 101-year-old retired laborer who enrolled in a literacy class near his Dallas, Tex., home at
the age of 98, George Dawson now reads and writes on a third-grade level. From Dawson's
eloquent words, co-writer Glaubman, a Seattle elementary school teacher, has fashioned two
engrossing stories.
First is the inspiring saga of how someone who was the grandson of a slave managed to
navigate the brutally segregated small Texas town of Marshall, where Dawson was born,
without losing his integrity or enjoyment of life. Although he worked from an early age and
was never able to attend school, Dawson credits his strong family, especially his father, for
giving him the skills to survive. His father told him to work hard, to do no wrong and always
to avoid trouble with white people--advice that was brutally underscored the day he and his
father witnessed a white mob lynching a black neighbor.
The other theme running through these recollections is the institutionalized racism of the
American South. Hardened to the entrenched discrimination that excluded him from good
jobs and "white" restaurants and rest rooms, Dawson protested just once, when a woman
for whom he was doing yard work expected him to eat with her dogs. Despite the harsh
conditions of his life, he considers himself fortunate to have enjoyed food, housing, friends
and family (he has outlived four wives and fathered seven children).
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