The Prophets

Best Book of the Year NPR ΓÇó The Washington Post ΓÇó Boston Globe ΓÇó TIME ΓÇó USA Today ΓÇó Entertainment Weekly ΓÇó Real Simple ΓÇó Parade ΓÇó Buzzfeed ΓÇó Electric Literature ΓÇó LitHub ΓÇó BookRiot ΓÇó PopSugar ΓÇó Goop ΓÇó Library Journal ΓÇó BookBub ΓÇó KCRW ΓÇó Finalist for the National Book Award ΓÇó One of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year ΓÇó One of the New York Times Best Historical Fiction of the Year ΓÇó 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 otherand a betrayal that threatens their existence. Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginningand the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animalsbut also to each othertransforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refugea source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older manΓÇöa fellow slaveΓÇöseeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantationthe enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel’s lovewhich was once so simpleis seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation’s harmony. With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni MorrisonRobert JonesJr.fiercely summons the voices of slaver and enslaved alikefrom Isaiah and Samuel to the calculating slave master to the long line of women that surround themwomen who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuriesΓÇöof ancestors and future generations to comeΓÇöculminates in a climactic reckoningThe Prophets fearlessly reveals the pain and suffering of inheritancebut is also shot through with hopebeautyand truthportraying the enormousheroic power of love.