3.5 Rounded Up.

What more can be said about this novel that hasn't been. The hype here is real. This is a stunning debut. I also would say this is a book like you've never read before, it's not the Underground Railroad, it is a work that stands completely on its own.

The story follows Isaiah and Samuel, two men who are enslaved and given the role of animal caretakers. They are also in love and their love is a well known secret and yet it is threatened when one of the other slaves at the plantation becomes evangelized. Violence descends on the plantation.

Here's what I'll say this book is not easy. It is not easy in the sense that the material is challenging and graphic. But it is also challenging in literary prowess. This book has a lot of time shifts and shifting perspectives and it's not always clear what is going on. There are a lot of biblical allusions that certainly went over my head. This isn't a book you can read in the background of something else, it is a journey and requires your focus and time. Ultimately since I chose to listen on audio I couldn't give it my complete focus (I work and listen to audio). A lot of it went over my head but I want to reread it and just completely adore it like I know I could, but right now with my limited absorption of the material, it didn't quite make it to incredible for me. Do I still think the writing is extraordinary? Yes, am I still thinking about it? Yes. This is a book that takes effort but I think you'll be rewarded. My rating will likely improve with reread because I will catch things I didn't on audio.

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."