Mudbound

Mudbound is an incredibly good book which deals with difficult subjects: racism, sexism and the struggle to put into words those things that scar us and leave us limping through life.

Two soldiers come back from the war. Ronsel, the black son of a sharecropper, comes home with a sense of pride in who he is and what he has accomplished.  This pride makes it hard for him to fit into the deeply racist Mississippi Delta. Jamie, the brother of the farm owner comes home deeply wounded by the things that he has seen and done during the war.  There is no one he can talk to so he tries to forget by drinking far too much.  Jamie and Ronsel develop something of a friendship. Their time as soldiers give some common understanding. Although Jamie still carries the prejudice he was born into. 

There is a bit of a prodigal son theme in this story in that the older brother is responsible and tries to do what is right – although he is blind to the racism and the sexism that are a part of the fabric of his life. Jamie on the other hand seems to throw away all that he has. In real life we often see this when people live with a lot of self-hatred and don’t feel worthy of good things. Which brings me to another point: The characters in this story were believable and took on flesh.  The father in this story does not represent love, but is a vicious mean spirited man who cuts down his son, makes his daughter-in-laws life miserable and instigates the  conflict that is at the heart of this story. 

I highly recommend this first book by Hillary Jordan. It is worthy of the prizes it has won.