August Book Review

I love to scan the “free to a good home” shelves at our local public library. Here you can find books that have been pulled due to age or low circulation. Last spring, I saw The Land by Mildred D. Taylor and thought it looked like a good read. 

It absolutely was. 

The Land is the recipient of both the Newberry Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. So yes, it is a young adult fiction book, but total worth a read by all adults and young people. 

The Land is the “prequel” to a series Taylor wrote based on interviews and research from her family line. It tells the story of Paul Edward Logan, Mildred’s great-grandfather. Paul Edward’s father, for whom he was named, was the owner of land and slaves, one of whom was Paul’s mother. 

Edward was married and had three sons, the youngest born right around the time of Paul himself. Edward did what many white slave owners did and took one of his slaves, Deborah, as a partner with or without her consent. They had a daughter before Paul was born. 

In the midst of all of this, the Civil War happened, and Edward lost some of his land and had to set his slaves free. Deborah chose to remain in his service and there is evidence that there was a strong relationship between the two of them, albeit a source of angst to Edward’s mother-in-law who remained on the property following her daughter’s death. 

While she was not kind to the family, Edward had a unique relationship with both his daughter, Cassie and her little brother Paul. The children were allowed to eat with the family unless company was there and the three sons of Edward and his wife were raised to protect and consider these children as siblings. 

It was far from perfect and in many instances the divide between races and the harsh reality that “this is a white man’s world” caused rifts and heartaches and yet the family bonds did override it all in the long run. 

Paul looked more like his father than his mother and could pass as white, a fact that he refused to ever take advantage of due to betrayals by his encounters with other white people. His treatment by both blacks and whites is a hard reality that I faced as I read. 

The language is strong and true to the culture of that time – again, hard and necessary. Taylor writes at the beginning of the book that she used the language so that readers would understand the hatred and disrespect towards people of color in that time. Sadly much remains in the hearts of some and it is important to understand that the history of Americans of different races should be heard and acknowledged. 

This was a very good book and I may be tracking down more of the series. While it is based on the story of Taylor’s family, it is historical fiction and thus she has woven her own story into parts of it. So it is not a biography, but accurate on many points. 

I highly recommend this book and would be willing to share my copy if anyone local would like to read <3

What are you reading these days?