Edward P. Jones’ novel, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, is bold and original in examining the human side of the pre-Civil War south. Set in Manchester County, Virginia, Jones takes us inside the minds and hearts of a whole cast of memorable characters, with an intensity and honesty that has made the book one of the most acclaimed American novels of the past ten years. Beginning with the death of Henry Townsend, a former slave who believed he was answering a divine calling when he reinvented himself as a slave owner, the author’s interlocking narratives are no gimmick, but serve as evidence that slavery, like all evil, can only survive because of the human mind’s willingness to convince itself of just about anything. Refreshments, compliments of The Friends, will be served. Copies are available at the Circulation Desk. Peter West of Adelphi University will moderate.
