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Title: The Known World
Review: Although I appreciate Mr. Jones' efforts in his novel, "The Known World" I found the book to be disjointed and confusing. I felt he had too many characters and the lack of a linear storyline didn't help matters. One of my friends, with whom I have an on-line book club with, suggested that Mr. Jones could have done a series as opposed to a single novel. We were particularly interested in the female characters; perhaps focusing on a smaller group of people, such as Fern Elston and her students, would have been more interesting. I thought the story premise was excellent, but we never did learn why Henry bought slaves, after having been one himself, or what he thought about it. Mr. Jones is an excellent writer with vivid character portrayals, but much got lost in the translation. This novel could have been so much more and it wasn't.
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