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amandalorianxo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was drenched in sadness but using metaphor and purple prose ish ~ poetic language, it doesn’t fully hit you until certain scenes. The depiction of the events of life in a plantation in Mississippi were uncomfortable at times - content / trigger warning include - rape (not just done by the father but by the son as well) abuse (physical / verbal and emotional) as well as other incidences of belittling the slaves. Isaiah and Samuel are supposed to be the center of this story but we get very little in their pov. Instead we receive other viewpoints, and it turns out the head of the plantation is upset that Isaiah and Samuel aren’t producing children to supplement the “growth” So Amos, an older slave, tries to get the people to go against the duo in exchange for no harm to go to Essie ( even though Amos is unfaithful to her) it’s not homosexuality that Amos / Paul is against but the preaching of homophobia. Case in point, Tim (slave master’s son) is aware he too isn’t straight and tries to experiment with Isaiah and Samuel. If we didn’t get so many POV’s (despite the short chapters)my feelings might have changed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Sexual content
botanbibliophile's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder, and Colonisation
ladygetslit's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This is a powerful book filled with so much pain. It’s definitely worth reading, but I can’t say that I enjoyed reading it. My main complaints: there are so many characters and they each seem to want their chance to shine, which is not my favorite style of storytelling; also, the whole book felt very heavy-handed, like it was trying really hard to be Important Literature. I would’ve enjoyed this more if it focused purely on Isaiah and Samuel’s relationship, or even a comparison between them and their ancestors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Colonisation
kshertz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a very hard read. I think a lot of it went over my head honestly. The time of enslaved people with absolutely no holding back and no filters. I was constantly in tears or sick to my stomach. Which is definitely the seeming point. Isaiah and Samuel find love only again to be ripped apart. There was never going to be a happy ending during this time. It’s just all pain. Which makes it a hard, but necessary read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ayannasarah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence
maevebm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As with most books with multiple perspectives, the author runs the
risk of some characters not connecting with the reader. I found myself only interested in a few characters and stories. which made the majority of the book a bit of a chore to read. I will say Jones has an incredible way of using language to create beautiful
imagery and voices. Although at times, I found it a bit pompous and over-the-top.
I think it's worth reading this novel because it does tell a moving
story about people and love and hatred and humanity.
risk of some characters not connecting with the reader. I found myself only interested in a few characters and stories. which made the majority of the book a bit of a chore to read. I will say Jones has an incredible way of using language to create beautiful
imagery and voices. Although at times, I found it a bit pompous and over-the-top.
I think it's worth reading this novel because it does tell a moving
story about people and love and hatred and humanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
marcellaandherbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Let me start by saying this book is phenomenal, it has been quit some time since I read a debut novel this strong.
It is the story of life on a cotton plantation in Mississippi. The book switches perspective in each chapter, from both the enslaved people and the plantation owners, aswell as some chapters told from past tribes in Africa and greek chorus style chapters from the ancestors. All these voices however, pivot around two men in love, Samuel and Isaiah. The book is about their relationship and how they find love and comfort in eachother whilest tensions on the plantation reach a crescendo.
This isn't an easy book. One, for its subject matter. It comes with the content warnings you might expect from a book dealing with slavery. But it also isn't a straightforward story. It switches around from different perspectives, it jumps back and forth in time, and the writing, whilest beautiful and lyrical, also uses a lot of similes and metaphors. It's a book that takes a bit more effort and concentration to read in my opinion, but I promise it pays off.
It is a weighted book, weighted with history and wisdom and trauma and sadness of generations of enslaved people. And at the same time it has notes of lightness and love and hope in the story of Samuel and Isaiah. Painful and soothing at the same time.
There is so many layers to unpack in this story, I feel like I've only scratched the surface in my first read, so I have an inkling I will be returning to this book in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Religious bigotry
jesshindes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
'The Prophets' is author Robert Jones Jr's first book and it's an ambitious - and successful - debut. It tells the story of Isaiah and Samuel, whose love helps them survive the demands and miseries of life as slaves on a cotton plantation; but Jones's scope takes us far beyond his two lead characters. The point of view shifts with each chapter, letting the reader into the lives and thoughts not only of many other slaves on the plantation (shout-out to Maggie, who I absolutely loved) but also of the white family in the big house. In some of the most powerful sections of Jones's novel, he also takes us back to Africa and the arrival of Portuguese slavers in a tribal community, showing the reaction of these 'skinless men' to a society whose norms around gender and sexuality are quite different than their own. We also spend time in the suffocating confines of a slaving ship, which is as vividly and carefully depicted as the rest of Jones's novel.
Jones never shies away from the brutality and inhumanity of slavery, which meant that this was hard going in places; but he leavens the novel with language that is always thoughtful and often beautiful, and the narrative offers moments of peace, hope, and even triumph amongst the general misery of Elizabeth Plantation. Without spoiling too much, I loved the magical threads that wove through this story, which serve as a connection back to Africa and can be read as a way of maintaining humanity and power in a setting designed to deprive its inhabitants of both - without ever minimising or skirting the real horrors that are being described. 'The Prophets' is not a light read but it is a very good one.
Jones never shies away from the brutality and inhumanity of slavery, which meant that this was hard going in places; but he leavens the novel with language that is always thoughtful and often beautiful, and the narrative offers moments of peace, hope, and even triumph amongst the general misery of Elizabeth Plantation. Without spoiling too much, I loved the magical threads that wove through this story, which serve as a connection back to Africa and can be read as a way of maintaining humanity and power in a setting designed to deprive its inhabitants of both - without ever minimising or skirting the real horrors that are being described. 'The Prophets' is not a light read but it is a very good one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Homophobia and Mental illness
bookedbyelizabeth's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Sexual harassment
taria's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Colonisation
Moderate: Homophobia, Trafficking, and Kidnapping