Edward P. Jones has come out firing, scoring two NBA nominations for his first two books, and garnering praise from the big boys, with Jonathan Yardley doing the big slobber even more than most. I read one of Jones' stories in The New Yorker and loved it, a gritty, Wiresque tale from the mean streets of DC that did what Pelacanos only dreams of. So I was looking forward to Jones' novel, The Known World, but I was wary. Any book about slavery is treated gently, and the word "important" gets thrown around too easily and too often. Can you rip it without being called a racist? Well, there's no reason to rip, but it's a difficult read, and I don't mean that in terms of language. The novel has dozens of characters and as many time shifts, and even the most focused readers are going to struggle to keep it all straight. I ain't proud- I could have used a family tree as cheat sheet. This is one of those books that you appreciate much more than you enjoy. Right as you begin to care about a group of characters Jones introduces a new set, and he's still introducing 'em on page 340 of a 388 page book. Yes, Jones captures a wide variety of ways in which slavery degrades and destroys both masters and slaves, and his characters have fascinating potential. Unfortunately, we don't get to stay with any one long enough to see all his/her sides, and when the inevitable terrible things start happening to folks, I found it hard to care. Maybe the short story is Jones' best form, as in some ways, this reads like interwoven stories centered around a single plantation with the singular premise of a black master. I'll check out his collection of modern DC tales, and I'm betting that'll be more my ticket.