Date: 25 February 2018
Location: Jay & Gina
Most of the Bookers read Mudbound for this month’s meeting, although several were not able to make it through to the end.
We generally sympathized with the hardships experienced by Laura when she and her two daughters were transported by her husband Henry from a comfortable home in Memphis to a mudbound farm in the Mississippi delta. Life in the isolated and primitive conditions was difficult enough only to be made still worse when Henry’s venomous father, Pappy, came to live with them.
Probably the most likeable people in the book were the black sharecroppers on Henry’s farm, Hap and Florence, with Florence doing housework for Laura and providing her with at least some level of domestic support.
Throughout the novel racial hatred and bigotry were constantly present, and the story became even darker with the return of two veterans from WW II. Henry’s brother, Jamie, moved in with the family, sharing an out-building with Pappy; and Florence’s son, Ronsel, arrived to help out with the farming, especially after Hap was injured in a fall. In defiance of the cultural taboos of the time, Jamie and Ronsel became friends and began spending time together. The racial tensions continued to build, engendered largely by Pappy and his odious racism, until the horrific climax and the resulting repercussions for all.
Unfortunately, the events Jordan described did not seem unrealistic for that time and place–which of course contributed to our disquiet with the story. Even though most of us found the book to be a depressing read, it did lead to some good discussion. And we generally agreed that Jordan is a powerful writer with a real gift for character development. We would like to read more of her work, if she would just pick a lighter topic.
As usual we finished our meeting with wonderful food and fine conversations with our fellow Happy Bookers.
— Bob