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Jordan County
Before Shelby Foote under took his epic history of the Civil War, he wrote this fictional chronicle -- "a landscape in narrative" -- of Jordan County, Mississippi, a place where the traumas of slavery, war, and Reconstruction are as tangible as rock formations. The seven stories in Jordan County move backward in time, from 1950 to 1797, and through the lives of characters as diverse as a black horn player doomed by tuberculosis and convulsive jealousy, a tormented and ineffectual fin-de-siecle aristocrat, and a half-wild frontiersman who builds a plantation in Choctaw territory only to watch it burn at the close of the Civil War. In prose of almost Biblical gravity; and with a deep knowledge of the ways in which history shapes human lives -- and sometimes warps them beyond repair -- Foote gives us an ambitious, troubling work of fiction that builds on the traditions of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor but that is resolutely unique.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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260 people want to read
About the author
Shelby Foote
119 books679 followersShelby Dade Foote, Jr. was an American novelist and a noted historian of the American Civil War, writing a massive, three-volume history of the war entitled The Civil War: A Narrative. With geographic and cultural roots in the Mississippi Delta, Foote's life and writing paralleled the radical shift from the agrarian planter system of the Old South to the Civil Rights era of the New South. Foote was relatively unknown to the general public for most of his career until his appearance in Ken Burns's PBS documentary The Civil War in 1990, where he introduced a generation of Americans to a war that he believed was "central to all our lives."
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 5, 2019
This is classified as a novel by the author, but in reality is six short stories and one novella, with only the setting of Bristol, Mississippi the common element. These stories move backward in time from 1950 to 1797. It's quite an accomplishment, because by the time you're finished you feel as though you settled the land, built the town, know the people, black and white and Choctaw, and are part of their history.
Shelby Foote can write beautifully, but even more importantly, he knows his characters and treats them all with respect and understanding. His women are strong and formidable, his dialogue so real you can hear the voices speaking in your ear. I have never read his 3 volume history of the Civil War, but have really liked his fiction. This was a little weaker than the two previous novels I read, probably because of the short story format. But Shelby Foote is Shelby Foote, so worth the time involved.
Shelby Foote can write beautifully, but even more importantly, he knows his characters and treats them all with respect and understanding. His women are strong and formidable, his dialogue so real you can hear the voices speaking in your ear. I have never read his 3 volume history of the Civil War, but have really liked his fiction. This was a little weaker than the two previous novels I read, probably because of the short story format. But Shelby Foote is Shelby Foote, so worth the time involved.
April 29, 2019
These stories by Shelby Foote all take place in Jordan County, Mississippi. The stories travel along a timeline from after World War Two back to 1797. The stories I enjoyed most were Ride Out, Pillar of Fire, and The Sacred Mound. ‘Rain Down Home’ is the first story in the book and while I didn’t like it very much at first, it stuck in my mind so much that I reread some parts of it. Foote describes PTSD in the main character which isn’t recognized as a mental disorder until 1980. I’m not as used to short story structure, where a lot is packed into a short space, so I missed some significant cues, which caused me to bluster a little at the ending.
In ‘Ride Out,’ things seem to go crossways for Nora, only 15 years old after meeting a handsome guitarist who gets her pregnant and leaves her behind. She never sees him again, but she’s determined to raise her son right and keep him out of trouble. She names him Durfee ‘Duff’ Conway. When she sends him to school, she tells him “You going to mount to something,” she told him. “Study hard and stay away from riffraff.” What I enjoyed most about this story are Duff’s love of music and his musical adventures. Although Nora would have kept him from music if she could have, Duff falls under its influence early on, playing drums in a street band for small change. Later on, the cornet will become his musical love. Foot writes about the ride-out finish of a song, China Boy, “one thump of the drum and an abrupt cessation, a silence so empty that, in its turn, it too seemed to strike them across their faces like an open palm, a slap.” Duff fills the air with the purity of his instrument, but it’s his ride-out, that is most powerful.
There’s a lot of troubles, sadness, and violence in these stories. Shelby Foote, a noted Civil War historian, has a unique narrative voice. There’s a lot packed into his sentences, so I found myself really having to pay attention. The longest story in the book, ‘Child by Fever’ was unfortunately also my least favorite. This was because I cared about the main character, Hector, as a boy, and he grew up to be a man that I didn’t care for at all, so I felt a sense of grief for that lost boy.
In ‘Pillar of Fire,’ Foote paints extraordinary visual scenes. Wildman Isaac, the sixth of eight sons, comes of age and becomes a brawler and womanizer. When the river people come off this boats looking for a fight, he says, “Hear me, all you galoots! I’m a combination rubber ball, wildcat, and screaming maniac! I’m a ringtail roarer!” He’s fifty years old before he marries, settling down to build a plantation. What I enjoyed most about this story is the circular movement of seeing the harshness of war from both sides, North and South. Shelby Foote does a good job of creating a sense of inevitability and the dissolution, not just of the plantation’s way of life, but of life altogether.
'The Sacred Mound' is just stark, a story that'll make you sit up and take notice.
In ‘Ride Out,’ things seem to go crossways for Nora, only 15 years old after meeting a handsome guitarist who gets her pregnant and leaves her behind. She never sees him again, but she’s determined to raise her son right and keep him out of trouble. She names him Durfee ‘Duff’ Conway. When she sends him to school, she tells him “You going to mount to something,” she told him. “Study hard and stay away from riffraff.” What I enjoyed most about this story are Duff’s love of music and his musical adventures. Although Nora would have kept him from music if she could have, Duff falls under its influence early on, playing drums in a street band for small change. Later on, the cornet will become his musical love. Foot writes about the ride-out finish of a song, China Boy, “one thump of the drum and an abrupt cessation, a silence so empty that, in its turn, it too seemed to strike them across their faces like an open palm, a slap.” Duff fills the air with the purity of his instrument, but it’s his ride-out, that is most powerful.
There’s a lot of troubles, sadness, and violence in these stories. Shelby Foote, a noted Civil War historian, has a unique narrative voice. There’s a lot packed into his sentences, so I found myself really having to pay attention. The longest story in the book, ‘Child by Fever’ was unfortunately also my least favorite. This was because I cared about the main character, Hector, as a boy, and he grew up to be a man that I didn’t care for at all, so I felt a sense of grief for that lost boy.
In ‘Pillar of Fire,’ Foote paints extraordinary visual scenes. Wildman Isaac, the sixth of eight sons, comes of age and becomes a brawler and womanizer. When the river people come off this boats looking for a fight, he says, “Hear me, all you galoots! I’m a combination rubber ball, wildcat, and screaming maniac! I’m a ringtail roarer!” He’s fifty years old before he marries, settling down to build a plantation. What I enjoyed most about this story is the circular movement of seeing the harshness of war from both sides, North and South. Shelby Foote does a good job of creating a sense of inevitability and the dissolution, not just of the plantation’s way of life, but of life altogether.
'The Sacred Mound' is just stark, a story that'll make you sit up and take notice.
May 16, 2019
It’s unfortunate that when an author achieves renown writing one type of books, any divergence from that type tends to get short shrift. So it is with noted Civil War historian Shelby Foote. His three volume history of the war ins considered one of the preeminent works in print and he has garnered a great deal of respect for them. The unfortunate result is that his remarkable works of fiction pass almost without notice, unless you consider Shiloh, which many people mistakenly assume is another history book.
Jordan County is more a collection of stories than a novel, that come together to tell the story of the small Mississippi county. Starting in the 1950s with a Korean War veteran’s return home, then working backwards trough the centuries, ending with 1797 trial of a native by Spanish authorities. It was a great introduction to the area and its people. The fourth story, Child by Fever, is long enough to be considered a novella and is chock full of Faulknerian Southern Gothic flavor.
My thanks to the folks at the On the Southern Literary Trail group for giving me the opportunity to read and discuss this and many other fine books.
Jordan County is more a collection of stories than a novel, that come together to tell the story of the small Mississippi county. Starting in the 1950s with a Korean War veteran’s return home, then working backwards trough the centuries, ending with 1797 trial of a native by Spanish authorities. It was a great introduction to the area and its people. The fourth story, Child by Fever, is long enough to be considered a novella and is chock full of Faulknerian Southern Gothic flavor.
My thanks to the folks at the On the Southern Literary Trail group for giving me the opportunity to read and discuss this and many other fine books.
April 6, 2019
Shelby Foote, one of the finest Southern voices in recording the history of the Civil War, has written here a series of stories, all taking place in Jordan County, MS, and beginning at the close of World War II and working backward in time. Each is powerful in its own way, and the writing of Shelby Foote is, as always, a wonder to behold.
The opening story, Rain Down Home sees a soldier returning from the battlefield to find the town of Bristol, MS a changed place, and I’m sure, he finds himself a changed man.
The second story, Ride Out is a tale of a homecoming of a different sort. It opens with the setting up of the mobile electric chair for an execution and backtracks to the events that led to that day. It is somber and wrenching.
As if knowing that the human heart can only take so much of sorrow, Foote’s third story, A Marriage Portion is riddled with a bit of humor.
Number four, Child by Fever is long enough to be considered a novella vs. a short story, and has a Faulknerian flavor. It is a discourse on loneliness, isolation and irony, and it leaves you with an empty feeling of helplessness and sorrow. It was also a textbook study in the effective use of irony.
The fifth, The Freedom Kick addresses the newly found freedom of blacks in the post Civil War South. I found this line particularly apt:
They burnt crosses every night all around us, and a man who burns what he prays to, he’ll burn anything.
Pillar of Fire was my favorite of the collection. Perhaps Foote’s voice is the strongest when he addresses the Civil War itself, or perhaps my own affection for the time period, in all its inglorious sadness, affects this. This story stung, the way the blues sting, the way the opening chords of the theme from Gone With the Wind expresses truth and sadness so beautifully that it makes one cry.
The final entry is a tribute to the first displaced people of the area. Long before the Civil War would scar the land, and before the pioneers would settle it, there are the Choctaw. The Sacred Mound fittingly tells us a bit of their story, if it is only the last gasp of their civilization.
Shelby Foote does not disappoint. His writing is hauntingly real...as if he had been there to witness each stage and know each person. He understands the South, and he treats it with love and respect, but without sentiment. If you listen to him closely, the leaves will rustle with the steps of a past that is only just beyond our reach and whispering behind the porticoes.
The opening story, Rain Down Home sees a soldier returning from the battlefield to find the town of Bristol, MS a changed place, and I’m sure, he finds himself a changed man.
The second story, Ride Out is a tale of a homecoming of a different sort. It opens with the setting up of the mobile electric chair for an execution and backtracks to the events that led to that day. It is somber and wrenching.
As if knowing that the human heart can only take so much of sorrow, Foote’s third story, A Marriage Portion is riddled with a bit of humor.
Number four, Child by Fever is long enough to be considered a novella vs. a short story, and has a Faulknerian flavor. It is a discourse on loneliness, isolation and irony, and it leaves you with an empty feeling of helplessness and sorrow. It was also a textbook study in the effective use of irony.
The fifth, The Freedom Kick addresses the newly found freedom of blacks in the post Civil War South. I found this line particularly apt:
They burnt crosses every night all around us, and a man who burns what he prays to, he’ll burn anything.
Pillar of Fire was my favorite of the collection. Perhaps Foote’s voice is the strongest when he addresses the Civil War itself, or perhaps my own affection for the time period, in all its inglorious sadness, affects this. This story stung, the way the blues sting, the way the opening chords of the theme from Gone With the Wind expresses truth and sadness so beautifully that it makes one cry.
The final entry is a tribute to the first displaced people of the area. Long before the Civil War would scar the land, and before the pioneers would settle it, there are the Choctaw. The Sacred Mound fittingly tells us a bit of their story, if it is only the last gasp of their civilization.
Shelby Foote does not disappoint. His writing is hauntingly real...as if he had been there to witness each stage and know each person. He understands the South, and he treats it with love and respect, but without sentiment. If you listen to him closely, the leaves will rustle with the steps of a past that is only just beyond our reach and whispering behind the porticoes.
August 9, 2020
While Shelby Foote is best known for his Civil War magnum opus in three volumes, his other works are also worth the reader's time and effort. This book follows in the tradition of his other fiction, basically excerpts from a fictional Mississippi county called Jordan. The book traces seven generations who appear almost haunted by their experiences on the roads of life. Although the text hasn't aged particularly well, it is still very readable and his descriptive passages stack up well against anything Faulkner wrote.
February 3, 2018
Shelby Foote's "Jordan County" is quite nice (upgraded on further consideration to four stars after initial three), though one could argue it's a novel in name only. More specifically, it's a novel stitched together with seven new short stories/novellas, tales set in progressively older time periods and united primarily by place (characters don't reappear story-to-story) — Foote calls it "a landscape in narrative." The stories, which range from five pages to 150, are set in Foote's Jordan County, Mississippi, primarily the town of Bristol. Yes, echoes of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, and the great one's penchant for making novels out of combined stories. But we already knew Foote was wild about Faulkner, and I'm not complaining.
In these stories we have a troubled man returning home to Bristol in mid-20th century and losing his grip; a black horn player's rise and violent, TB-ravaged fall; a woman escaping a hard-luck marriage; a man's life in a well-heeled Southern family, from his ostracized youth to his marriage and mental descent after his two-timing wife's death; a black couple dealing with the dark side of the Reconstruction; a Civil War-era story that climaxes in the torching of a man's home; and a story that goes back to pioneer days, involving Native Americans and a clash with the coming whites. That last tale, hence the oldest, takes us all the way back before the start of the 19th century.
I see similarities between "Jordan County" and Robert Penn Warren's novels such as "World Enough and Time" and "Band of Angels." Again, not a bad thing.
The longest story, "Child by Fever" is also the best. Most of these stories deal with tragic endings; recount sad family history; look at the underbelly of Southern life. Few of them have much in the way of plots beyond a gradual recounting of these people's falls from grace stretched out over many years. Likewise, as mentioned, these stories aren't tied together in obvious ways.
Foote writes well, all of the stories are worthwhile (though a couple are merely sketches), and, though the book isn't Foote's best, I can recommend it. Some people, though, will find the short-story approach not as involving as they'd hoped. It's a novel, but mostly only because Foote says it is.
In these stories we have a troubled man returning home to Bristol in mid-20th century and losing his grip; a black horn player's rise and violent, TB-ravaged fall; a woman escaping a hard-luck marriage; a man's life in a well-heeled Southern family, from his ostracized youth to his marriage and mental descent after his two-timing wife's death; a black couple dealing with the dark side of the Reconstruction; a Civil War-era story that climaxes in the torching of a man's home; and a story that goes back to pioneer days, involving Native Americans and a clash with the coming whites. That last tale, hence the oldest, takes us all the way back before the start of the 19th century.
I see similarities between "Jordan County" and Robert Penn Warren's novels such as "World Enough and Time" and "Band of Angels." Again, not a bad thing.
The longest story, "Child by Fever" is also the best. Most of these stories deal with tragic endings; recount sad family history; look at the underbelly of Southern life. Few of them have much in the way of plots beyond a gradual recounting of these people's falls from grace stretched out over many years. Likewise, as mentioned, these stories aren't tied together in obvious ways.
Foote writes well, all of the stories are worthwhile (though a couple are merely sketches), and, though the book isn't Foote's best, I can recommend it. Some people, though, will find the short-story approach not as involving as they'd hoped. It's a novel, but mostly only because Foote says it is.
May 14, 2019
A series of stories and a novella more than a novel. I’m not sure why this book is labeled as a novel. Perhaps because all the stories take place in Jordan County, MS dating from the 1950’s backward. It’s the only real connection they share.
I do not feel that this book is Foote’s best work by far, but I’m not complaining too much. It’s still a good read. I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a nice job with the story even if I had to listen to most of the novella part twice. That’s on me.
I recommend reading some of Foote’s other novels first if you’ve never had the pleasure of reading Shelby Foote’s work. Foote’s character development is top-notch. This selection of stories being no exception. Despite my lesser love of Jordan County, I still contend that Shelby Foote is one of the most underappreciated Southern authors that have graced us with the written word.
My rating: 3.5 stars
I do not feel that this book is Foote’s best work by far, but I’m not complaining too much. It’s still a good read. I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a nice job with the story even if I had to listen to most of the novella part twice. That’s on me.
I recommend reading some of Foote’s other novels first if you’ve never had the pleasure of reading Shelby Foote’s work. Foote’s character development is top-notch. This selection of stories being no exception. Despite my lesser love of Jordan County, I still contend that Shelby Foote is one of the most underappreciated Southern authors that have graced us with the written word.
My rating: 3.5 stars
October 19, 2020
When I read Shiloh way back in '02 it was the kind of fiction I would have expected from the Southern gentleman I had seen in the Civil War documentary. It read like an historian getting in the minds of soldiers and officers during a battle on both sides of the conflict.
Jordan County, however, reads like a book written by a capital W Writer. Not a non-fiction author trying his hand at prose, but the work of a very skilled author, who in this book has produced a 4.25 star knockout of a series of tales.
The book goes backward in time from mid-20th century to late 18th century, and Foote shows real mastery at making a very believable portrayal of a black jazz man, a white aristocrat, and a Choctaw man who commits a merciless, racist crime before finding salvation in the Catholic church. It's really two short stories, two long stories, a pair of interludes, and a novella. The novella and both long stories have 5-star material in them, though each loses a bit of steam at times.
"Ride Out" is a great tale of a jazz man we meet on the day of his execution. You know how it ends for him, but it's a very well written tale of skill, determination, good fortune, bad luck, and bad decisions as he rises from poverty to the heights of musical stardom before illness and violence bring him to a premature end.
"Child by Fever" also peaks spectacularly high in the story of a young, rich boy who gives off a sense of mystery to his classmates as his parents are ultimately cowed by the maternal grandmother. It's a great read of one misstep leading to bullies, the transformative experience of college in Virginia, the disaster of a fever, and the inevitable bad end for someone who marries the wrong person. The ending was a bit too much, but the story was stellar until the last few pages.
"Pillar of Fire" is perhaps the most profound because it illustrates good and evil as perspective driven rather than absolutes. The Choctaw's civilization ends in a whimper, as does the estate of a brave Confederate military men, the scion of a half wild prodigal son who didn't get it together until his 40s, and the much younger woman he married. The ramifications of the Union's collective punishment doctrine really hits home when the great white saviors of the north show their devotion to the advancement of black people by burning down their homes, even if they're still in it.
I have yet to begin what I imagine will be a one hundred hour journey on Foote's Civil War trilogy, and as outstanding as the writing was in Jordan County I imagine I will try one of his other works of fiction first.
Jordan County, however, reads like a book written by a capital W Writer. Not a non-fiction author trying his hand at prose, but the work of a very skilled author, who in this book has produced a 4.25 star knockout of a series of tales.
The book goes backward in time from mid-20th century to late 18th century, and Foote shows real mastery at making a very believable portrayal of a black jazz man, a white aristocrat, and a Choctaw man who commits a merciless, racist crime before finding salvation in the Catholic church. It's really two short stories, two long stories, a pair of interludes, and a novella. The novella and both long stories have 5-star material in them, though each loses a bit of steam at times.
"Ride Out" is a great tale of a jazz man we meet on the day of his execution. You know how it ends for him, but it's a very well written tale of skill, determination, good fortune, bad luck, and bad decisions as he rises from poverty to the heights of musical stardom before illness and violence bring him to a premature end.
"Child by Fever" also peaks spectacularly high in the story of a young, rich boy who gives off a sense of mystery to his classmates as his parents are ultimately cowed by the maternal grandmother. It's a great read of one misstep leading to bullies, the transformative experience of college in Virginia, the disaster of a fever, and the inevitable bad end for someone who marries the wrong person. The ending was a bit too much, but the story was stellar until the last few pages.
"Pillar of Fire" is perhaps the most profound because it illustrates good and evil as perspective driven rather than absolutes. The Choctaw's civilization ends in a whimper, as does the estate of a brave Confederate military men, the scion of a half wild prodigal son who didn't get it together until his 40s, and the much younger woman he married. The ramifications of the Union's collective punishment doctrine really hits home when the great white saviors of the north show their devotion to the advancement of black people by burning down their homes, even if they're still in it.
I have yet to begin what I imagine will be a one hundred hour journey on Foote's Civil War trilogy, and as outstanding as the writing was in Jordan County I imagine I will try one of his other works of fiction first.
December 12, 2016
This is weaker than his novels. In Jordan County we are given vignettes and glimpses of family stories about the people of Jordan County. The stories of some are but a few pages, the stories of others almost a novella. While Foote is great a creating characters so complete you can actually visualize them and feel their pain and know their foolishness, this fell below his novels.
July 29, 2025
This book makes it very clear that much of Foote’s storytelling persona comes from sitting on porches in the Delta. “Child by Fever” could be its own novel, “Pillar of Fire” is intriguing considering Foote’s other works in Civil War fiction and non-fiction.
July 6, 2013
Mr. Foote does not disappoint. The only thing that would make this better would be to hear it read aloud by Mr. Foote himself.
May 27, 2022
I loved the idea (of stories of a place moving backwards through time) but it wasn’t executed very well. There were flashes of brilliance but overall it was lackluster.
July 29, 2017
Eclipsed by the massive a justly praised epic "Civil War" narrative, is this lesser known but equally impressive collection of literary fiction.
I knew always knew Foote was a Literary man, but I had no idea how incredibly talented and insightful he was--a story teller of great imagination and skill!
His name should be listed among the great 20th century Southern writers. 'Jordan County' is compelling, haunting and entrancing. I couldn't stop once I started this fine collection of Short Stories.
If you like Faulkner, O'Conner, McCarthy, Chappell, and others greats of the 20th century Southern literary tradition, do yourself a favour and get to know Foote outside the confines of the "Civil War."
I knew always knew Foote was a Literary man, but I had no idea how incredibly talented and insightful he was--a story teller of great imagination and skill!
His name should be listed among the great 20th century Southern writers. 'Jordan County' is compelling, haunting and entrancing. I couldn't stop once I started this fine collection of Short Stories.
If you like Faulkner, O'Conner, McCarthy, Chappell, and others greats of the 20th century Southern literary tradition, do yourself a favour and get to know Foote outside the confines of the "Civil War."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2018
Enjoyed this novel by the great Civil War historian, Shelby Foote. It is definitely strongly connected to the land, the history, and the context of the South, slavery, the Civil War. I agree with this analysis on amazon.com about the book and it expresses well how I felt reading it: "In prose of almost Biblical gravity; and with a deep knowledge of the ways in which history shapes human lives -- and sometimes warps them beyond repair -- Foote gives us an ambitious, troubling work of fiction that builds on the traditions of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor but that is resolutely unique." Very Faulknerish is how I felt while reading, although maybe more "Faulkner light."
April 19, 2019
Pretty good, however I would have enjoyed reading the book more than listening to the audio. I admit I am new to Hoopla and did not realize the audiobook was being read at a speed of 1.25 until the end credits. I had wondered why the author was reading so fast! My mistake , of course. I had a hard time keeping tract of the beginning and end of the stories, probably due to my mistake, again. I also lost interest midway in the longest story and had a hard time keeping up with all the family members in each generation in that story. The first couple of stories were great.
July 18, 2024
These are short stories though two are not so short. They are reverse chronological, starting with a post wwII veteran and going back to the native Americans. So it was kind of interesting to see what sort of southern fiction I liked the most. The post ww II. Reminded me of one of my favorite writers, Charles Portis. I like Portis more, but Foote is a way better writer. His writing is amazing.
I look forward one day getting up the gumption to tackle his civil war books. But in the meantime I’ll gladly stick with his fiction.
I look forward one day getting up the gumption to tackle his civil war books. But in the meantime I’ll gladly stick with his fiction.
September 3, 2018
more stories of the south
May 26, 2019
It took me a long time to read this. I almost gave it four stars because it was very well written. But in the end I thought it was a bit long-winded at times and quite depressing.
February 13, 2022
‘Child by Fever’ an excellent novella. A truly sad postbellum, Southern Goth tale.
May 1, 2024
I really enjoyed these stories, some of them took me a minute to get into, but once I did I was engrossed.
June 19, 2023
I have read some of Foote’s Civil War accounts, but this is the first time reading (or listening) to his fiction. The setting for this novel is a fictional county in the Mississippi Delta, between Memphis and Vicksburg. Through a series of stories, the author creates a portrait of the country stretching back over 200 years. Each vignette is more like a short story or novella, with the location being the main connection. In an interesting twist, the first story is set in 1950, five years after the Second World War. Each story thereafter moves back in time. The second, about a blues musician who is executed for killing a man involved with his lover, was set in the 1930s. There is a story about old plantation homes being burned during the Civil War, in which the infirmed owner had fought with Andrew Jackson at New Orleans in the War of 1812. Then came the stories of those same homes being built and slaves hauled into the region, after the discovery of the cotton gin made cotton valuable. Then we learn of those who settled this country, as the local natives were being pushed out. The last story is set before this land would become a part of the United States, as Christianity was being brought to the native people.
I found reading these stories chronologically backwards interesting. It was kind of like peeling an onion to get back to the roots of the land. In this case, it shows the connection to the land. I need to read more of Foote’s writings. If this is any indication of his fiction, he is a much more accessible writer than his friend, William Faulkner.
I found reading these stories chronologically backwards interesting. It was kind of like peeling an onion to get back to the roots of the land. In this case, it shows the connection to the land. I need to read more of Foote’s writings. If this is any indication of his fiction, he is a much more accessible writer than his friend, William Faulkner.
July 29, 2009
Before Mr. Foote wrote his renowned books on the Civil War, he wrote novels. This one was one of his first (I believe written in 1954 or 1955). It's in essence seven separate stories about people that live in this particular county in Mississippi. The timing of the stories are all over the place; pre-Civil War, late 1800s, early 1900s, etc. I really loved listening to Shelby Foote when he was interviewed for Ken Burn's Civil War series on PBS. He was so entertaining and well spoken. This book was an early indication of his ultimate success. Now, I might just get motivated to read that Civil Wars series (I have the first book and know my brother has all three!)
September 6, 2015
Loved this book. Different than what I normally read, this was my re-introduction to Southern literature. I was fairly enamored with Shelby Foote before I read this, and now I am hooked. All the stories are tragedies, which adds to their power. Powerful social commentary and history (but never preachy) seamlessly interwoven into fascinating stories. Can't wait to read his other novels.
October 20, 2013
The stories of Jordan County begin in the early 1950s and with the succession of each story, the reader is taken back in time. The last story is set in 1797. Foote reveals how people and places change over the course of time.
June 23, 2011
He can get pretty long-winded at times. But it was, overall, a very enjoyable read.
August 29, 2011
Mr. Foote's stories are engaging and keep me involved in the lives described. Some stories are haunting, but in their clear depiction ring true to a unique southern culture.
September 5, 2011
Being a Northerner, this was an interesting view into the Southern mind....we are more alike than we know...
October 19, 2013
Liked it more than "Shiloh".
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