The Land (novel)
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| Author | Mildred D. Taylor |
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| Original title | The Land |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | children's literature, historical fiction |
| Publisher | Phyllis Fogelman |
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Publication date
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2001 |
| Pages | 375 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 44469121 |
| LC Class | PZ7.T21723 Lan 2001 |
| Preceded by | The Road to Memphis |
The Land is a novel written by Mildred D. Taylor, published in 2001. It is the fifth and final book of the Logan Family saga started with Song of the Trees. It is a prequel to the whole series that recounts the life of Cassie Logan's grandfather Paul-Edward as he grows from a nine-year-old boy into a man in his mid-twenties. This book won the 2002 Coretta Scott King Author Award and the 2002 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.
"The Land" follows the life of Paul-Edward Logan. Paul is the child of a white man and a black/Native American woman. Paul has three entries from Paul's journal, after the main story ends. The dialogue uses the Southern dialect from the 1870s and 1880s.
The novel begins with Paul-Edward, as a nine-year-old. "The Land" describes how Paul's life has been different from that of most freed slaves. The book is narrated from Paul's perspective, and quickly introduces his three brothers, his sister, and Mitchell Thomas, a black boy whose father works for Paul's father and who becomes a vital member of the story-line. In the beginning, Mitchell continually bullies Paul for being multiracial. Paul's father and brothers' only advice for Paul is to "use his head," and come up with a solution by himself. In "Childhood," Paul's parents are constant reminders of the trials and tribulations of being born biracial. After several months of incessant bullying, Paul strikes a deal with Mitchell. Their deal states that if Paul teaches Mitchell to "read English, write English, and figure," then Mitchell will teach Paul how to fight and to fend for himself; but as he reminded Paul, Mitchell "can't teach him how to win."
Paul and Mitchell soon grow tired of obeying Edward Logan (Paul's Father). Paul comes across the opportunity to race another man's horse. Edward Logan forbids it, saying that it would be unwise of Paul to ride, let alone race, a horse with whom he is not acquainted. Paul wins the race, but has trouble collecting his pay. The owner of the horse will not give Paul his pay. Due to Paul being of mixed heritage, the owner of the horse doesn't even have to give Paul his earned money. If Mitchell hadn't used violent force to ensure that the white man kept his word by paying Paul his money, Paul would have never seen any dime of "four times a rider's pay." After this incident, the two flee aboard a train.
Paul and Mitchell are working in a lumber camp and wish to escape. The pair start their journey together, but they decide to separate to avoid drawing attention to themselves. While they are separated, Mitchell goes to more lumber camps, and Paul's eyes land upon J.T. Hollenbeck's land. Upon seeing this land, Paul knows that this is 'The Land.' His land. The book then goes on to describe life in different types of work camps. The story follows Paul as he works at a general store owned by Luke Sawyer, and as a woodworker in a small town called Vicksburg.
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