“This here land, son, it’s yours. Use it to give yourself a new life.”
Written: Jun 21 '02 (Updated Jul 11 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: beautifully written and moving novel
Cons: a couple unrealistic twists in the plot
The Bottom Line: This is a wonderfully intricate, very touching story of a man’s fight to have something of his own.
|
|
|
| Greatpilgrim's Full Review: Mildred D. Taylor - Land |
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry won the Newbery Medal in 1977, not surprisingly for such a powerful and courageous story about prejudice. What is surprising, though, is that it’s new sequel, The Land, published in 2001, has gone almost unnoticed by the book community. Searing and exquisitely told, it’s a sequel that transcends its forerunner and is worthy of at least as much notice as the original.
The Land by Mildred D. Taylor goes back in time to the 1870s and the grandparents of Cassie, the main character in Roll of Thunder. Paul-Edward Logan, the son of a black woman and a white landowner, grows up privileged in his father’s house yet different from his white half-brothers or his black peers. Painfully he learns just how different he is through the rejection and hatred he suffers from others, but everything else is nothing compared to the betrayal of his beloved brother Robert. His father’s strict dictates are enough to make the rebellious Paul set out on his own with his friend Mitchell.
After years of wandering around the country, the two young men finally find a place they hope to call their own – a piece of land as beautiful as Eden, a place worth fighting for. But Paul discovers how much like brothers he and Mitchell truly are when Paul falls in love with a woman who becomes engaged to Mitchell – a woman Paul cannot fight for. The three of them struggle to make the land their own and gain a courage that cannot be shaken. So much is at stake, their chances of success hang on their ability to find a way through the greatest trial of all.
You can feel the influences of Taylor’s previous novels on this latest one, but it seems like all the things that were great about the first books show up here too, and the different weaknesses that detracted from the other stories of the Logans were tweaked and actually became a strongpoint in The Land. Most of the depressing, relentless hardships are gone; although Paul-Edward faces many difficulties, you know he can overcome them and that itself is uplifting. I loved reading his story, told in first person from his point of view and communicated in an intricate, expressive narrative. It’s a book that grabs you with its intense and sincere beauty, definitely a story that draws you into its captivating journey.
I know it doesn’t have a very inspiring title, but after you’ve read this beautiful, long, and very inspiring tale about a man’s struggle for land of his own, it makes sense and doesn’t seem so plain. There is so much depth and thought contained in The Land, so many dimensions. It develops the piercing storyline of Paul-Edward’s white daddy and their unique relationship, the even more exceptional bond between the two younger brothers and their heartbreaking division, and several other keenly told stages of Paul’s life that make him grow enough to face the difficulties of obtaining the land he wants. His rich family heritage, unusual and sometimes painful though it may be, give his story a profound force and insight.
One of the things I loved best about The Land were the family stories and legends filling its many pages. I was looking for more of that in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, more heritage and storytelling. You get a double dose to make up for it in The Land, which weaves Logan family history and many tales into the action of the plot, and every story Taylor chooses to tell is interesting and moving, whether pleasant or not. I found these little side notes charming and very enjoyable, sort of enhancing the strength and appeal of the main plot.
A large part of The Land was based on Mildred Taylor’s own ancestors, primarily her great-grandparents. Most of the stories, from what I can tell, are true, though a few you can hardly believe. For instance, when as a boy Paul-Edward lets the inept Mitch ride a priceless stallion (with disastrous results), you just want to hit the boy over the head for his stupidity. Likewise, the conclusion of the book, which wraps things up pretty quickly and conveniently, feels too neat to be true, yet in the Author’s Note Taylor assures us it really happened. And though the might feel a bit idealistic, I’m glad it’s a happy one! I got so caught up with Paul-Edward’s life that it just had to come to a happy end for me to go away satisfied. Thankfully it did and I was!
“I am rich with ‘something of my own.’ My mama would have liked that.”
The way the story unfolds in The Land is really something magical. It feels like one big story with a lot of little tales tucked into it that give the main plot life and color and still remain part of the whole. The progression is practically flawless; the only moment of difficulty was in the beginning when you’re thrown into the middle of a situation and catch up on what’s happening later on. There’s a family tree at the beginning before the novel starts, and I actually found it more confusing, since you see Paul-Edward has a son named Mitchell, and in the beginning there’s a Mitchell beating up Paul. Took me a little while to straighten out the names; once I got rolling, everything was pretty clear.
Being a name enthusiast I really enjoyed the thoughts on the names in this novel. When Deborah Logan christens her son Paul, she privately tacks on the name of his father, Edward, although she can’t do it legally because Edward’s wife would be upset. So for Paul-Edward, his name means something special and secret to him. There are a couple other instances where names play an important part in the book, and I just thought that was neat. I also noticed the sharp awareness of language that Paul-Edward uses in telling his story (of course in a make-believe way). He writes intelligently and sensitively, always careful to refer to himself and his race with respect and pride. I didn’t think that so many people used the phrase “man (person) of color” in the late 1800s, but it certainly gives the reader a sense of self-respect when Paul-Edward takes offense at being called an “n” by a white man.
Unlike a lot of first-person narratives where the character telling it is never truly developed, The Land lets us get to know Paul-Edward intimately. He has a unique voice and personality, finding his strength and inner purpose as the story progresses. I liked how the author gave him some different skills than most protagonists: horse-tending and carpentry. His gifts in those areas are remarkable, yet he never loses his love and drive for land. Mitchell is a good foil to him, being the exact opposite. He’s a strong, hot-tempered young man who likes his freedom and mobility, so it’s quite a surprise when he settles down with Caroline. She’s quite a gal – outspoken, frank, caring, and unafraid; can you recognize Big Ma in her from Roll of Thunder? The other characters are depicted vividly but not with the closeness of these three, who captured my attention and my heart.
I fell in love with the storytelling in this book – the first novel by Ms. Taylor that I can thoroughly recommend for the writing style. Paul-Edward articulates his story so gracefully and vividly, it’s hard not to get caught in its charm. It has some of the homely, down to earth feel of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, but more often gives way to a beautiful, understandable yet almost eloquent style. There is much more description and reflection in this book, weaved imperceptibly into the flow of the action and giving the novel a deeper, richer feel. I thought the author did a great job of shaping her dialogue and narrative with a new degree of complexity and attention to words than ever before.
She slips in an emotional texture and warm atmosphere even when the characters aren’t in the pleasantest of situations, and the family interactions throughout are wonderfully heart-warming. It has the right balance of problems and positive events to make it enjoyable reader for almost anyone. Adults will find it much more resonant and rewarding than Taylor’s other novels, and I think teens will be intrigued by The Land despite themselves. In this book, it’s more the advanced sentences and phrasing than the offensive language that limit the reading age to about eleven or twelve and up. There are only a couple instances of derogatory words, and the overall message of the book is very positive.
The Land is perhaps even more full of social and behavioral connotations than the books before it, but in a different way. Set in a totally separate time and environment, the attitudes shown are quite different than before, yet the issues are sometimes the same. Trust and honor are two central themes of this book (though these concepts come in through the back door). It’s interesting to see that in a way things were a bit easier for people of color after the Civil War than they were later on, in that their role was defined differently. Some prejudices don’t change through time, as we see with the Granger family (who are a problem in this book as well as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry). But Paul-Edward and his family prove that you really can achieve your dreams despite opposition, prejudice, unfairness, or any other obstacles that come your way.
Bottom line
I’m very pleased that Mildred Taylor decided to continue writing about this remarkable family, and that she did so with such mastery in The Land. Those who have followed Taylor’s major novels will be very glad to hear that a final book about the Logan family is coming out. It will bring Cassie and her brothers through adulthood, World War II, and into the Civil Rights Era. If the current latest sequel is any indication of what’s to come, I would say this next book is worth watching for. The Land is magnificent both as a children’s and adult’s work of fiction – a tremendous story not to be missed!
Other books by Mildred Taylor
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Greatpilgrim
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Victoria
Location: FL
Reviews written: 272
Trusted by: 704 members
About Me:
April 25: My computer has now officially been broken for 10 days. WAHHHH!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.