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A review by pravda_iskra
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-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
2.0
The story that is contained in this book is powerful and moving. I enjoyed the historical interludes and the short chapters that were the voices of the ancestors reaching out to talk to the diaspora. I loved Isaiah and Samuel. There was so much potential here.
The words describing that story are an overwritten, purple prose mess that is almost impossible to parse even as a native English speaker. I had to reread passages multiple times to glean their meaning. Every sentence and paragraph is layered with endless metaphor and a description of the minutiae that do nothing to aid one’s understanding of the text. And because every chapter is from someone else’s point of view, we never get what ultimately I was looking for: the focus on Isaiah and Samuel and their love for each other, not how other people responded to it.
The words describing that story are an overwritten, purple prose mess that is almost impossible to parse even as a native English speaker. I had to reread passages multiple times to glean their meaning. Every sentence and paragraph is layered with endless metaphor and a description of the minutiae that do nothing to aid one’s understanding of the text. And because every chapter is from someone else’s point of view, we never get what ultimately I was looking for: the focus on Isaiah and Samuel and their love for each other, not how other people responded to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, and Violence