Alright y’all...I’m not sure how to review this masterpiece. It’s a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me (easily). I’m happy Book of the Month offered it in January. The Prophets already made the New York Times bestseller list (as it should). It’s a novel that will be talked about throughout 2021 and I’m sure it will make end of year wrap up lists, best of lists, etc. ⁣
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The most powerful aspect of this novel (to me, as a person who identifies as a straight, white woman) is how this book was NOT written with the white gaze in mind. White people, and white women specifically, did not seem to be the target audience, when often in publishing, we ARE the target readership. The author, Robert Jones Jr, says in his acknowledgment to Toni Morrison “You said if I couldn’t find the book I wanted to read, then I must write it. So I did.” And, y’all, Jones WROTE it. It took me a while to read portions of this book, stomach the detailed descriptions of conditions on slave ships, reflect on the white characters like Ms. Ruth and James, etc