Book Review Module 5 -- The Land

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Taylor, Mildred. 2001. THE LAND. NY: Phyllis Fogelman Books. ISBN 0803719507.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
As a lover of Mildred Taylor and the Logans, THE LAND was like a visit with a good friend. Recognizing some of the names from books later in the family’s story in this prequel gave me the same warm fuzzies as looking through old family photo albums. However, the rubric for evaluating historical fiction begs the question of the true quality of the work.

The characters are familiar, if only because the reader will recognize their descendants from other Taylor works. They must be believable, because Taylor fully explains her rationale for the work in the Acknowledgments; she took the characters from her own family’s stories. They do not, however, fit with any mainstream stories of Anglos and African Americans set during the same period. I know of no other white slave owners who recognized their children by slaves, especially none who allowed those children the same privileges as their legitimate children. Paul-Edward and Cassie were habitually fed at the table with their half-siblings and were taught to read and write. One must wonder if the family stories were embellished through the last 140 years, or if Taylor’s family really was so non-conformist. If so, how did they survive? The South was not known for encouraging individualism or even for allowing it.

If the reader can get past the question of believable characters, Taylor’s plot was a gripping tale of family, and friends, and hard work; love and marriage and death. The setting, again, was based on family lore. The story follows Paul-Edward from Georgia to East Texas to Mississippi, where Taylor’s other books are set. I particularly identified with the section on East Texas and the logging camps, imagining Paul-Edward on each slope of our land.

As a whole, I would recommend the book simply because it answers questions regarding the beginning of the Logan family. It does have its problems, but if readers loved Taylor’s other works, they will love THE LAND.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Readers...will grab this and be astonished by its powerful story. -- Booklist, starred review

Taylor's gift for combining history and storytelling is as evident here as in her other stories about the Logan family. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

In this prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Dial, 1976), readers meet the relatives of the Logan family who lived during Civil War and Reconstruction times... The ugliness of racial hatred and bigotry is clearly demonstrated throughout the book. The characters are crisply drawn and believable, although at times Paul's total honesty, forthrightness, and devotion to hard work seem almost too good to be true. While this book gives insight and background to the family saga, it stands on its own merits. It is wonderful historical fiction about a shameful part of America's past. Its length and use of the vernacular will discourage casual readers, but those who stick with it will be richly rewarded. For fans of the other Logan books, it is not to be missed. -- School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS
* Research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. How did they affect the lives of people like Paul-Edward Logan and other characters in the Logan stories?
*Research the Civil Rights Act of 1875.
*Assist students in writing their own family stories and family trees
*Display other Mildred Taylor books and encourage reading them in chronological order.
*Display other books about racism or discrimination which may include -- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Sounder by William H. Armstrong, Color me dark : the diary of Nellie Lee Love, The great migration North by Pat McKissack, My name is Rachamim by Jonathan P. Kendall, Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles and Jerome Lagarrigue, The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee T. Frazier, or Tofu Quilt by Ching Yeung Russell