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Best Book of the Year
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Finalist for the National Book Award
One of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year
One of the New York Times Best Historical Fiction of the Year
Instant New York Times Bestseller
A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.
Isaiah was Samuels and Samuel was Isaiahs. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older mana fellow slaveseeks to gain favor by preaching the masters gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuels love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantations harmony.
With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr., fiercely summons the voices of slaver and enslaved alike, from Isaiah and Samuel to the calculating slave master to the long line of women that surround them, women who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuriesof ancestors and future generations to comeculminates in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets fearlessly reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.
