Palmares

2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Fiction A NPR BOOKS WE LOVE 2021 Selection A New York Times ΓÇ£Biggest New Books Coming Out in SeptemberΓÇ¥ Selection ┬╖ A New York Times Book Review Editors Choice Pick ┬╖ A Guardian ΓÇ£50 Biggest Books of Autumn 2021ΓÇ¥ Selection ┬╖ An Esquire ΓÇ£Best Books of Fall 2021ΓÇ¥ Selection ┬╖ A Buzzfeed ΓÇ£Best Books Coming Out This FallΓÇ¥ Selection ┬╖ A Bustle ΓÇ£Most Anticipated Books of September 2021ΓÇ¥ Selection ┬╖ A LitHub ΓÇ£22 Novels You Need to Read This FallΓÇ¥ Selection ┬╖ A Kirkus Reviews ΓÇ£16 Best Books to Read in SeptemberΓÇ¥ Selection ┬╖ A Root September ΓÇ£PageTurnerΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£This story shimmers. Shakes. Wails. Moves to rhythms long forgotten . . . in many ways: holy. [A] masterpiece.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöThe New York Times Book Review The epic rendering of a Black womanΓÇÖs journey through slavery and liberation,set in 17th-century colonial Brazil; the return of a major voice in American literature. First discovered and edited by Toni MorrisonGayl Jones has been described as one of the great literary writers of the 20th century. Nowfor the first time in over 20 yearsJones is ready to publish again. Palmares is the first of five new works by Gayl Jones to be published in the next two yearsrewarding longtime fans and bringing her talent to a new generation of readers. Intricate and compellingPalmares recounts the journey of Almeydaa Black slave girl who comes of age on Portuguese plantations and escapes to a fugitive slave settlement called Palmares. Following its destructionAlmeyda embarks on a journey across colonial Brazil to find her husbandlost in battle. Her story brings to life a world impacted by greedconquestand colonial desire. She encounters a mad lexicographerdesperate to avoid military service; a village that praises a god living in a nearby cave; and a medicine woman who offers great magicat a greater price. Combining the authorΓÇÖs mastery of language and voice with her unique brand of mythology and magical realismJones reimagines the historical novel. The result is a sweeping saga spanning a quarter centurywith vibrant settings and unforgettable characterssteeped in the rich oral tradition of its world. Of Gayl Jonesthe New Yorker notedΓÇ£[Her] great achievement is to reckon with both history and interiorityand to collapse the boundary between them.ΓÇ¥ Like nothing else before itPalmares embodies this gift.