Reviewed by Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews on
I read Mudbound several years ago for book club. We had gone through a rut of "happy books" which are not to my taste -- I prefer a little hardship in my reading material. A guy had recently joined which had me thinking "good, our selections won't/can't be gender specific and will be of more substance." It turns out that he likes happy books. (queue disappointment) I sat next to him at the meeting and saw he had taken notes. Being the nosy person I am I surreptitiously snuck a glance where I saw:
Stupid, Boring, NOTHING HAPPENS!
I was shocked, was he kidding me?
Obviously that last sentence implies that I believe things did happen in Mudbound. Brutal things that I am bursting at the seams to type, but no one likes a tattle tale. Grotesque, heinous, sickening things happen to a perfectly nice family who just happens to be black. As I sit at my keyboard writing this review I was suddenly reminded of Of Mice and Men. The scene that came to mind was of Lenny stroking Curly's Wife's hair, Ronsel Jackson, our protagonist does not stroke as hard as Lenny but the consequences are decidedly similar. There are few books I can say this of but the ending of Mudbound literally made me sick to my stomach. the rich detail through out the book moved me that much.
A short brief review I know, but I fear that if I didn't use restraint that all of the plot would unfold into incoherent drivel. I will simply conclude by saying that something happens.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 31 May, 2009: Reviewed