Youngblood

by John Oliver Killens

Book Overview

John Oliver Killens's landmark novel of social protest chronicles the lives of the Youngblood family and their friends in Crossroads, Georgia, from the turn of the century to the Great Depression. Its large cast of powerfully affecting characters includes Joe Youngblood, a tragic figure of heroic physical strength; Laurie Lee, his beautiful and strong-willed wife; Richard Myles, a young high school teacher from New York; and Robby, the Youngbloods'...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0820306029
• ISBN13: 9780820306025
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: University of Georgia Press
• Length: 475 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great book!

I read this fine novel almost half a century ago, when it was still fresh and new. It impressed me then, and it still does. For a non-American such as myself, it throws a spotlight on to a badly-understood aspect of American society -- so-called race relations and the echoes of slavery. The characters practically leap off the page at you and you laugh and cry with them. A pity it is not better known!

Why was this novel hidden for so many years?

A friend recommended this novel to me just recently. It was written in the '50's. John Killens is an excellent writer; he is in the same class as all the Harlem Renissance writers and yet his work is not well known. This novel is daring, epic and extremely moving. Killens ability to show the depth of race relations is stunning. If you care about humanity, read this book!