Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

17 reviews

cait's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Men and toubab shared far more than either would ever admit. Just ask anyone who had ever been at their mercy. They both took what they wanted; asking was never a courtesy. Both smiled first, but pain always followed.

 The Prophets is a novel that takes some time to get into. As with many books about slavery, it is a distressing and uncomfortable read. We follow the occupants of a cotton plantation known as Empty as desperation leads one man to Christ and the rest to destruction. Wanting nothing more than to have his sort-of wife be excused from the forced inseminations, Amos decides to appease the plantation owner by turning to Christianity and spreading it amongst the other slaves, grasping particularly onto the "sins" he perceives are being committed by Isaiah and Samuel in the privacy of their barn. Though the duo is known for their hard work and kind natures, being the only men in Empty who don't participate in the forced rape of slave women at their master's command, it isn't long before the members of the community turn on them, just so they can have someone to look down upon.

This is a difficult story to put into words. It is equal parts fascinating and horrifying, beautiful and hideous. The way it delves into generational trauma and blood memory is fascinating. Jones did such an incredible job of fleshing out these characters within their limited amount of designated pages and completing the story so that it circles back in on itself. This is the sort of novel that makes you really think. I've heard it's the kind of story that, if you explore it a second time, you discover was deeper and more detailed than you originally imagined.

But, while this is a story of race and racism, I think that it is also a story of power and misogyny. Like the steps of a ladder: White over black and men over women. As you go down the rungs of the ladder, though, who has the least amount of power: Black women ... or black men who do not obey the "rules" of manhood? And why and by who was it decided that the thing that made these two boys lesser was the fact that they alone never laid a single hand upon anyone unwilling to be touched? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Violence

maggiekateb's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Blood, Confinement, Excrement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

invaderlinz's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Grief, Gore, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Child death, and Death of parent

jennikreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, and Blood

davidrb's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An absolute triumph of writing, characterization, and execution. The first review I'm writing here, and for good reason. I think this is going to be my favorite of 2021. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

emilybolivia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This synopsis falls so short. I was privileged to listen to the author, Robert Jones, Jr., speak about this novel with fellow author Deesha Philyaw last week. Originally intended to be a narrative from Isaiah's perspective, Mr. Jones shared "What their love needed was witnesses." He created and wrote more than 10 witnesses to their relationship, both Black slaves and White slaveholders and overseer. The result was a profound exploration of deeply personal Antebellum South experiences including voices and stories from ancestors and the horrors of the Middle Passage journey. The scope of voices just left me in awe. It was immersive. Ms. Philyaw said, "each page is a gift". Reading this novel was a full-body, mind-blowing experience in both its beauty and its tragedy. 

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The normalizing of Isaiah and Samuel's love was refreshing and affirming. The treatment of gender identity and roles was thought-provoking. The strength, wisdom, tenacity, and beauty of the Black women was artful and real. The White people were written with care and, Mr. Jones shared, great consideration for their motivations. One must confront their humanity. From the book, "there was no such thing as monsters. Every travesty that had ever been committed had been committed by plain people and every person had it in them."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence