Property
WINNER OF THE ORANGE PRIZE • Set in 1828 on a Louisiana sugar plantation, this novel from the bestselling author of Mary Reilly presents a “fresh, unsentimental look at what slave-owning does to (and for) one's interior life.... The writing—so prised and clean limbed—is a marvel" (Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning author of Beloved).
Manon Gaudet, pretty, bitterly intelligent, and monstrously self-absorbed, seethes under the dominion of her boorish husband. In particular his relationship with her slave Sarah, who is both his victim and his mistress.
Exploring the permutations of Manon’s own obsession with Sarah against the backdrop of an impending slave rebellion, Property unfolds with the speed and menace of heat lightning, casting a startling light from the past upon the assumptions we still make about the powerful and powerful.
Manon Gaudet, pretty, bitterly intelligent, and monstrously self-absorbed, seethes under the dominion of her boorish husband. In particular his relationship with her slave Sarah, who is both his victim and his mistress.
Exploring the permutations of Manon’s own obsession with Sarah against the backdrop of an impending slave rebellion, Property unfolds with the speed and menace of heat lightning, casting a startling light from the past upon the assumptions we still make about the powerful and powerful.
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Community Reviews
This book is the perfect example of what bothered me about law school.
For background, we didn't memorize the laws of any particular state which would have been practical- that we would have to do at the last minute in preparation for our bar exam. Instead, we were supposedly learning about the philosophy of law, and to a certain extent, we did. For example, the rule against perpetuities is so mind-bending it may as well be philosophy or physics. We also investigated such things as why states with abundant water supplies might view access to water sources differently than states with drought conditions.
But of what use was this philosophizing? Considering that some alum will become lawmakers or employed in related fields we really failed to consider the broader picture. This land we were all arguing over, how had we obtained a right to it in the first place? How did the ethics of that acquisition affect or not affect the subsequent laws with regards to property? Had we substantially improved the application of our laws or justice since we stole all this land from Native Americans? What are we to make of the years when the vote was specifically tied to property-ownership when women were unable to inherit property? How do we justify current day racial and class disparities in which communities we allow pollution, coal runoff, and oil pipes? What about The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) refusing to guarantee mortgages for blacks who tried to buy in white neighborhoods, while The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) maintained segregated camps? What can policy or law do to remedy the unfair playing field?
For background, we didn't memorize the laws of any particular state which would have been practical- that we would have to do at the last minute in preparation for our bar exam. Instead, we were supposedly learning about the philosophy of law, and to a certain extent, we did. For example, the rule against perpetuities is so mind-bending it may as well be philosophy or physics. We also investigated such things as why states with abundant water supplies might view access to water sources differently than states with drought conditions.
But of what use was this philosophizing? Considering that some alum will become lawmakers or employed in related fields we really failed to consider the broader picture. This land we were all arguing over, how had we obtained a right to it in the first place? How did the ethics of that acquisition affect or not affect the subsequent laws with regards to property? Had we substantially improved the application of our laws or justice since we stole all this land from Native Americans? What are we to make of the years when the vote was specifically tied to property-ownership when women were unable to inherit property? How do we justify current day racial and class disparities in which communities we allow pollution, coal runoff, and oil pipes? What about The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) refusing to guarantee mortgages for blacks who tried to buy in white neighborhoods, while The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) maintained segregated camps? What can policy or law do to remedy the unfair playing field?
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