If you’re Black American, please check trigger warnings before reading this. If you’re anything else, check the warnings but push through; you need to be uncomfortable and read this. 

I genuinely don’t know how to properly write this review except to say this book was perfect. It was raw, unfiltered, challenging, but beautiful and somehow one of the most romantic pieces of literature I’ve ever consumed. Honestly, it’s just very special and I felt connected to some of the characters in a way that I’ve never felt before. As a Black American, I obviously feel some level of kinship with the Black people in these kinds of stories because it’s my history, but something about Samuel really resonated with me. Also, Maggie felt just like one of my aunts or my grandmother and was just a really calming “presence” to me. 

This is a multi-pov story, and we do go inside the heads of some of the oppressors as well as some of the slaves that were more “cooperative” with the slave owners. I think that every pov was worthwhile, enlightening, and engaging — which doesn’t mean you enjoy sitting in their thoughts. The author did an amazing job of making you understand why a character feels the way they do, even if you, the reader, doesn’t agree. 

I felt fucking SICK through so much of this, but I also felt joy and pride during other parts. It’s just a testament to the strength, love, and community of Black people. Pre-colonization and the differences in beliefs and cultures were addressed in a way I thought was beautifully done. The fact that this is a queer-centered story is unique, and I think that perspective is vital when exploring the damage colonization did to the minds and morals of Black Americans over time. The impact of this is still evident today. I don’t know; I’ll just be thinking about this for a VERY long time. One of the best books I’ve ever read. 

 Firstly, I want to acknowledge that this book occupies an important place in the literary landscape. It tells a story that was important to tell, and I'm glad it's been received with acclaim. I don't doubt that this novel has done a lot of important things for a lot of people -- and I don't wish for my criticism to be taken as a mark that this was a "bad book." It wasn't.

This being said, it didn't quite work for me.

For a novel that is (should have been) character-driven, the ten-odd POV characters lacked distinct voices. There are two types of third person writing: that which comes from inside a character, and that which comes from outside, i.e. from an omniscient narrator. Technically, this book has both, with some chapters from an almost pansophical ancestral chorus. For the most part, however, chapters are from the POV of "The Prophets" vast cast of characters on the Mississipi plantation. The problem is that these characters voices are mostly indistinguishable from each other; every character speaks, thinks, and philosophises in the exact same voice. For me, this made it hard to form an emotional connection with the characters, and left the story feeling unthethered. I think this novel would have benefitted from leaning into the 'external' third person -- this would have allowed Jones to observe and describe in the way he wanted to, without it feeling like the characters coherence suffered.

While at times gorgeous, Robert Jones Jr's prose erred on the side of being overwritten. I will be the first to admit that there were definitely metaphors and references here that went over my head -- I am a white Australian, and Jones has said that he wrote with a black American audience in mind. But, this incongruence doesn't account for the entire novel. I think perhaps this writing style would have worked for me had this been a 150 pg novella, but as it stands, it became exhausting, and worsened the afformentioned probems with character voice.

Plot-wise, this book works. Story-wise, this book works. Conceptually, the characters are excellent. It's just a shame that the prose ultimately lets itself down. 

While it took me awhile to get into the book and begin to understand the characters and story as it was being laid out, it picked up tremendously and pulled me in and then broke my heart. The author has a way of letting you into each character’s heart and mind while still keeping the main characters the main characters. While difficult to read at times, it is a beautifully tragic story. 

Very strong with regards to character development + building tension between characters by seeing many different POVs, but to what end? The ending was explosive but a bit disappointing. For me, the flashbacks to a precolonial African society didn't add much as they weren't well enough connected to the rest of the story. The character work was remarkable enough though that I would pick up this author's next work, there's definitely great potential here.