This is Pynchonesque, which is a derogatory way of saying that it is written for sexists who think of themselves as highbrow. I wanted to like Reed's alt-history take on Black spirituality and identity in the 1920s but you can't tell a story about the world and leave out 51% of the population! There are two named female characters, they have a cumulative six pages of content, and they exist to give pussy to the male characters. In light of that, even the stunning parts of this novel fall apart.