Scan barcode
bookishcitygal's review against another edition
1.0
I honestly did not finish it. I struggled with it and halfway through decided it wasn’t worth it. The author seems to be trying so hard to write “beautifully” that you lose all semblance of storyline or plot. The concept drew me in but the writing was superfluous and drawn out.
caiocesar's review against another edition
5.0
Eu não sei nem o que escrever depois de terminar essa leitura. Estou arrepiado!
Os personagens principais são cativantes e são donos de uma belíssima história de amor, mas estou maravilhado com a dedicação do autor ao criar as personagens femininas. Levo cada uma delas em mim depois desse livro.
Muito grato por poder ter conhecido essa história.
Os personagens principais são cativantes e são donos de uma belíssima história de amor, mas estou maravilhado com a dedicação do autor ao criar as personagens femininas. Levo cada uma delas em mim depois desse livro.
Muito grato por poder ter conhecido essa história.
darkskybooks's review against another edition
2.0
I found this book extremely difficult. It has a heavy, deep, theme in its discussion about homosexuality within slave communities in the US. These are deep and difficult subjects, which the book delved into with a suitable degree of sensitivity. The relationship and abuse of the era is powerfully documented.
This is definitely and unashamedly literary fiction. There is a beautiful poetic prose which becomes somewhat overly verbose for me. The flowery language hides are rather skimpy plot with very little in the way of development. The premise is simple enough - one of the slaves is trying to ingratiate himself with the owners by becoming a preacher and exposing the gay relationship that the central characters have. The hypocrisy and distrust pile upon each other. It is an interesting study in how such communities can end up pursuing their own. This is all very slow burn and buried in a very wordy style. Not a lot happened for most of the book.
I am not a big literary fiction fan and ultimately the prose really turned me off. This was way to verbose for me. I can appreciate that for those who like this style this could be a good work, but I found it all a bit obtuse and densely written, with the story buried to deep in the text to be clear and ultimately engaging. The themes are powerful and sympathetically written, but the writing style just was not for me.
This is definitely and unashamedly literary fiction. There is a beautiful poetic prose which becomes somewhat overly verbose for me. The flowery language hides are rather skimpy plot with very little in the way of development. The premise is simple enough - one of the slaves is trying to ingratiate himself with the owners by becoming a preacher and exposing the gay relationship that the central characters have. The hypocrisy and distrust pile upon each other. It is an interesting study in how such communities can end up pursuing their own. This is all very slow burn and buried in a very wordy style. Not a lot happened for most of the book.
I am not a big literary fiction fan and ultimately the prose really turned me off. This was way to verbose for me. I can appreciate that for those who like this style this could be a good work, but I found it all a bit obtuse and densely written, with the story buried to deep in the text to be clear and ultimately engaging. The themes are powerful and sympathetically written, but the writing style just was not for me.
shhhh_shereading's review against another edition
Such a great book. Eloquent and vibrant writing. The characters come alive and remain with you through Jones writing. this is a breathtaking book that wrenched tears, smiles, and laughter from my soul. So thankful to have read this book. Upon completion, I awoke thinking of Isaiah and Puah and wanting to know more of their stories.
jasoncfish's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
5.0
miriamb123's review against another edition
2.75
Unfortunately Vassar did in fact disappoint with their first year common reading book. I was excited to read this based off of the description because I enjoy queer, historical, and literary fiction. However...the writing was not it. It was hard for me to dislike the book because it dealt with such heavy topics such as slavery, racism, and homophobia. So what I will say is, I appreciate that it brought light to the experiences and stories of queer enslaved people who existed but who we often don't think about in the discussion about enslaved people and their disgusting treatment. It gave a new perspective on an issue we tend to think about a lot when talking about US History, specifically the systemic racism embedded into the history of the United States. My issue with the book is that off the bat, it came across as almost too lyrical and all over the place. I know what the author was trying to do, he was trying to create this dream-like, ethereal writing style but it just didn't work. Right off the bat I had an issue with the confusing writing style and this issue did not stop there. The relationship...oh it had so much potential but it just fell flat. We never really got any characterization of them or development of the relationship, we were just told that Samuel and Isaiah were in love and they were this great couple. I also felt like the switching around between POVs was too much because we never got to learn about the individual characters and there were too many of them for their perspectives to be developed. These issues with the writing and writing style made the book confusing and not enjoyable. I feel like the only characters we got to have real characterization and development of and who I cared about were Maggie and Essie. Also Timothy's character was interesting. I also thought the ending was dumb and didn't really explain anything, and it felt over the top and dramatic....like there's no way that actually would have happened on a plantation in Mississippi. In short, I was disappointed by The Prophets and I'm kinda scared for when the author is going to come and give a talk to us.
jthunderrr's review against another edition
4.0
This is a powerful novel that centers the beautiful,
light emanating relationship of two enslaved men and the memory (or lack thereof) of ancestors in the antebellum south. It is refreshing and important to see queer relationships lovingly centered in historical fiction.
While Isaiah and Samuel’s story is the fulcrum of the story, we get to know many other characters who live on Elizabeth (Empty) plantation - and their traumas, their intertwined and complicated relationships with each other, their hopes, their strength, their memories. Jones captures the horror and confinement of plantation life while acknowledging fleeting moments of connection and natural beauty.
The structure of the novel - alternating perspectives, the omniscient “prophets,” and the chapter titles that reference books (and characters) in the Bible worked fine for the storytelling, and to highlight the juxtaposition of white (manipulative) Christianity with ancestral spirituality.
I recently read both Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, and there are some similarities in storytelling here.
I really struggled with the prose. It is lyrical and meandering and employs so many commas. Some really beautiful, profound, poetic passages - but they are buried and lose their luminescence alongside the other distracting word salad. I think this book could have benefited from another round of editing.
light emanating relationship of two enslaved men and the memory (or lack thereof) of ancestors in the antebellum south. It is refreshing and important to see queer relationships lovingly centered in historical fiction.
While Isaiah and Samuel’s story is the fulcrum of the story, we get to know many other characters who live on Elizabeth (Empty) plantation - and their traumas, their intertwined and complicated relationships with each other, their hopes, their strength, their memories. Jones captures the horror and confinement of plantation life while acknowledging fleeting moments of connection and natural beauty.
The structure of the novel - alternating perspectives, the omniscient “prophets,” and the chapter titles that reference books (and characters) in the Bible worked fine for the storytelling, and to highlight the juxtaposition of white (manipulative) Christianity with ancestral spirituality.
I recently read both Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, and there are some similarities in storytelling here.
I really struggled with the prose. It is lyrical and meandering and employs so many commas. Some really beautiful, profound, poetic passages - but they are buried and lose their luminescence alongside the other distracting word salad. I think this book could have benefited from another round of editing.
jdschuster's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
claire_melanie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.0