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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Novel (Oprahs Book Club 2.0) Hardcover – Deckle Edge, August 24, 2021

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 8,018 ratings

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An instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION • ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S "GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS" • BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 • WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York Times TimeWashington Post • Oprah Daily • PeopleBoston GlobeBookPageBooklistKirkusAtlanta Journal-Constitution • Chicago Public Library

Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel • Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction • Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction • Nominee for the NAACP Image Award

"Epic. . . . I was just enraptured by the lineage and the story of this modern African-American family. . . . I’ve never read anything quite like it. It just consumed me." —Oprah Winfrey

The NAACP Image Award-winning poet makes her fiction debut with this magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with all the luminescence and force of HomegoingSing, Unburied, Sing; and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era. 

The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness,” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.

Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.

To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.

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From the Publisher

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Novel Honoree Fanonne Jeffers An Oprah's Book Club Pick

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Novel Honoree Fanonne Jeffers Angie Thomas

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Novel Honoree Fanonne Jeffers Dolen Perkins-Valdez

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Novel Honoree Fanonne Jeffers Jacqueline Woodson

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Whatever must be said to get you to heft this daunting debut novel by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, I’ll say, because The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is the kind of book that comes around only once a decade. Yes, at roughly 800 pages, it is, indeed, a mountain to climb, but the journey is engrossing, and the view from the summit will transform your understanding of America. . . . With the depth of its intelligence and the breadth of its vision, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is simply magnificent.” — Ron Charles, Washington Post

“Triumphant. . . . Quite simply the best book that I have read in a very, very long time. . . . An epic tale of adventure that brings to mind characters you never forget: Meg Murry in A Wrinkle in Time, Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, Huckleberry Finn. . . . The historical archives of Black Americans are too often filled with broad outlines of what happened. . . . One of the many triumphs of Love Songs is how Jeffers transforms this large history into a story that feels specific and cinematic in the telling. . . . Just as Toni Morrison did in Beloved, Jeffers uses fiction to fill in the gaping blanks of those who have been rendered nameless and therefore storyless. . . . A sweeping, masterly debut.” — Veronica Chambers, New York Times Book Review

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Boisis epic in its scope. [It] traces the story of a family, the town in Georgia where they come from, and their migration outward over generations. The word epic is overused these days, but this book was meant to be an epic and it is. . . . This is one of the most American books I have ever read. It’s a book about the United States. It’s a book about the legacy of slavery in this country. . . . And it’s also a book about traumas and loves that sustain over generations.” — Noel King, NPR

“[An] ambitious début novel, by a noted poet. . . . Jeffers amasses details, richly rendering suffering and resistance.”  — New Yorker

“A feat of beauty and breadth.” — Time, 100 Must-Read Books of the Year

“This sweeping, brilliant and beautiful narrative is at once a love song to Black girlhood, family, history, joy, pain . . . and so much more. In Jeffers's deft hands, the story of race and love in America becomes the great American novel.” — Jacqueline Woodson, author of Red at the Bone and Another Brooklyn

"Stunning." — People, Top 10 Books of the Year

“A sweeping matriarchal epic that leads readers through a majestic tour of race, family, and love in America, this striking debut novel by an award-winning poet is, indeed, the Great American Novel at its finest.” — Joshunda Sanders, Boston Globe’s Best Books of the Year

“With The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, Jeffers has created an opus, an indelible entry to the canon of contemporary American literature and one of the foundational fictional texts of Black literature worthy of sitting alongside Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing.” — Latria Graham, Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

“Stupendously good. . . . Jeffers’ renditions of Black family traditions and the burden of respectability politics are spot-on, and made me wish the book was even longer.” — Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR Best Books of the Year

“As one of the most prolific poets of our time, Jeffers has penned a family saga that is just as brilliant as it is necessary, just as intimate as it is expansive. An outstanding portrait of an American family and in turn, an outstanding portrait of America.” — Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give

“This ambitious debut novel by a National Book Award-nominated poet chronicles the journey of an American family from the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our present day, and one Black woman’s coming-to-terms with her legacy." — Barbara VanDenburgh, USA Today

“[A] generational magnum opus.” — O, the Oprah Magazine

“Utterly remarkable.” — Karla Strand, Ms.

“A vibrant and tender coming-of-age novel. Ailey Pearl Garfield is a young girl reckoning with what it means to be a Black woman in America. . . . [Ailey’s] journey features complex and intimate narratives of love and heartbreak from her family’s two centuries in the American South, giving her not only insight into her family’s complicated past, but also the tools to imagine her own future.” — Time

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, from acclaimed poet and first-time novelist Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, has hit every note—and the finished product feels like a Southern gospel song that makes the chest swell with emotion.” — Nylah Burton, Shondaland

"If you read one book this year, choose this one. I went to bed thinking of Ailey Pearl Garfield and woke up thinking of her. With the arrival of this epic novel of family, race, and ancestral legacy, one of America's finest poets has announced herself as a storyteller of the highest magnitude. Absolutely brilliant." — Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench and Balm

“[A] soaring debut [and] a moving portrait of an American family and its history. It’s beautifully told—it’s sexy, confrontational, tragic—and does exactly what good historical fiction should: holds you fast, brings you closer to history and humanity, and sticks with you for days.” — Genevieve Walker, San Francisco Chronicle

“Prepare to be wholly engrossed. . . . This profound reading experience brought me a deep awareness of intergenerational trauma and triumph. [A] phenomenal saga. . . . Jeffers’s Ailey Pearl Garfield is one of the most fully realized central protagonists and interlocutors that I’ve encountered in fiction. Jeffers celebrates Black women not as saints or saviors, but brilliant survivors who embody joy and genius along with their history.” — Lauren LeBlanc, Observer

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is an investment, but a worthy one. It's the kind of epic that deserves its own place in the sun.” — Chris Vognar, Star Tribune

“It’s not often I get to the last few chapters of an 816-page book and wish it wouldn’t end so soon. But that’s what happened when I read The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, the stunner of a debut novel by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. It’s historical fiction in which a solid base of research is brought brilliantly to life by a cast of memorable characters and irresistible storytelling.” — Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times

“From our earliest roots, African and Indigenous, to our present-day realities weighed down by inequity and injustice, Jeffers writes about all of us with such tenderness and deep knowing. Hers is the gorgeous prose one expects from a gifted, accomplished poet, masterful and stunning, as she explores both the bountiful resilience of Black folks and the insidious depravity wrought by white supremacy. These Love Songs make for a frank, feminist, and unforgettable read.” — Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

“A story filled with suffering, resilience—and a surprising twist.” — Perdita Buchan, New York Journal of Books

"A sprawling, ambitious debut novel that is as impassioned in promoting Black women’s autonomy as it is insistent on acknowledging our common humanity. . . . Jeffers, a celebrated poet, manages the difficult task of blending the sweeping with the intimate. . . . If this isn’t the Great American Novel, it's a mighty attempt at achieving one." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Poet Jeffers reinvigorates the multigenerational saga in her first novel, an audacious, mellifluous love song to an African American family. . . . Jeffers’ lyrical cadences shimmer. . . . Incandescent and not to be missed.” — Lesley Williams, Booklist (starred review)

"In her debut novel, celebrated poet Honorée Fanonne Jeffers weaves an epic ancestral story. . . . From slavery to freedom, discrimination to justice, tradition to unorthodoxy, this story covers large parts of not just of Ailey’s heritage but also America’s. . . . The result is a dazzling tale of love and loss. . . . Comparisons to Toni Morrison are bound to be made and. . . . The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Boisearns its place among such company, as Jeffers engages with and builds upon the legacy of African American literature as carefully and masterfully as she does the narrative of Ailey’s family." — Eric Ponce, BookPage

“In this dazzling debut, generations of high yellow and brown ‘skin-ded’ women in one Georgia family explore the complexities of kin, the legacies of trauma, with all the sharp corners and blind alleys of real life. Wise, funny, deeply moving, I can’t tell you how much I love this book. A few times a generation a book comes along that gathers you up with its force, its insights, its sound and fury, its lyrical beauty. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is one of those books. Not merely a good novel, but a great and important one.” — Stephanie Powell Watts, author of No One Is Coming to Save Us

“A staggering and ambitious saga. . . .Themes of family, class, higher education, feminism, and colorism yield many rich layers. Readers will be floored." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Textually connected to the works of Harriet Jacobs, Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison, to name a few, [The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is] a judicious study of American history that humanizes its participants through exploration of their stories. . . . Reminiscent of both Alex Haley’s Roots and Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, the novel captures the spiritual resilience of African American women. . . . An amazing first novel." — Adele Newson-Horst, World Literature Today

“At once ambitious and intimate . . . [it] calls to mind the brilliant work of Yaa Gyasi in 'Homegoing'. . . the inherent poetry of its language makes the novel absolutely exhilarating. The achievement of Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is certainly in the risks she is willing to take.” — Steven Whitton, Anniston Star 

“Three talented narrators transport listeners with this absorbing novel. This lyrical debut, which is at once expansive and intimate, explores timely issues of intergenerational trauma, colorism, class divides, and higher education. . . . Narrator Adenrele Ojo could teach a master class in narration with her flawless portrayals of the intelligent, sensitive Ailey; her wise, courageous Uncle Root; and the other unforgettable contemporary family members.” — AudioFile

“For me, this doesn't take much thought. It is THE novel of the year. This astonishing work is the first fiction by a writer whose poetry collections are profound and beautiful. In this book, a young woman follows her family history into the recesses of slavery in America. The young woman is a historian, so we are following her into her stunning access to the documentation of her family's capture and beyond, to the present.” — Michael Silverblatt, KCRW’s Top 10 Books of the Year

About the Author

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is a fiction writer, poet, and essayist. She is the author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick, The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was nominated for the National Book Award, and five poetry collections, including the NAACP Image Award-winning The Age of Phillis, also nominated for the National Book Award. She teaches at the University of Oklahoma, where she holds the Paul and Carol Daube Sutton Chair in English.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper; First Edition (August 24, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 816 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 006294293X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062942937
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.88 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 8,018 ratings

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Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is a poet, fiction writer, and essayist. Her first novel, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, is forthcoming from Harper in July 2021; in addition, she’s the author of five books of poetry, most recently, The Age of Phillis (Wesleyan, 2020), based upon fifteen years of research on the life and times of Phillis Wheatley (Peters), a formerly enslaved person who was the first African American woman to publish a book. Jeffers’s poems, stories, and essays have appeared in American Poetry Review, Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry (Norton 2013), Callaloo, Common-Place: The Journal of Early American Life, The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race (Scribner 2016), The Kenyon Review, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among others. She is the recipient of fellowships from the American Antiquarian Society, the Aspen Summer Words Conference, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Witter Bynner Foundation through the Library of Congress, and she has been honored with two lifetime achievement notations, the Harper Lee Award for Literary Distinction, and induction into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. Jeffers is Critic-at-Large for The Kenyon Review and Professor of English at University of Oklahoma.

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4.6 out of 5 stars
8,018 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They describe the story as vivid, interesting, and enlightening. Readers praise the rich language and historical content. The storytelling chronicles multiple generations of different ethnicities. Character development is appreciated.

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112 customers mention "Readability"108 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it engaging and well-written, with a fascinating story that keeps them interested until the end. Readers appreciate the insights from the people who inhabited the land in Chicasetta. While it's lengthy, they consider it worth the time spent reading it, with its mix of poetry, history, literature, politics, and romance.

"...cannot imagine anyone regretting purchasing this book, and investing hours in reading it, gaining the privilege of participating in a world view..." Read more

"This is a very well written book that kept me interested to the end. I do love the generational story and the characters...." Read more

"This was an excellent book. It contained a full history lesson rolled into a storyline...." Read more

"...but after I got my mind right and gave it a good try, I got to the greatness that everyone has been raving about, and I was not prepared to love..." Read more

97 customers mention "Story quality"90 positive7 negative

Customers find the story vivid and engaging. They appreciate the overlapping stories of several generations of a family set in Georgia. The story is described as enlightening, with themes of strength, courage, and redemption. Readers describe the book as mesmerizing, heartbreaking, and necessary.

"...but Native Americans and White people too, in a way that is raw and real and impactful, because of the pain, cruelty, humanness, kindness, and..." Read more

"...Also a very interesting meditation on the way people interpret skin color to have some deeper meaning." Read more

"This is a very well written book that kept me interested to the end. I do love the generational story and the characters...." Read more

"I’m at a loss for words. This story was so vivid that I thought it was nonfiction and/or autobiographical at first...." Read more

61 customers mention "Writing quality"49 positive12 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book to be good. They appreciate the rich language and culture throughout. The author weaves times when indigenous ancestors controlled land in Georgia. The book gives voice to different people in the long history of Ailey's family.

"...quite a good value considering the number of pages and the quality of the writing so far. UPDATE: 10 days later... *****..." Read more

"...She talks straight including both the good and the bad and does not seem to hold her tongue with sensitive matters...." Read more

"It helps to experience ancestral memories and warmth and inclusiveness in fiction because it helps shape it for us personally...." Read more

"...The book gives voice to different people in the long history of Ailey’s family...." Read more

49 customers mention "Historical content"46 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the historical content mixed with modern day drama. They find the book's focus on tying the past to the present insightful and thought-provoking. Readers appreciate the nonlinear narrative that changes perspective and eras, painting exquisite images of how the past and present are interconnected. The scholarly references are insightful and thought-provoking, providing valuable information not previously told in this way.

"...Americans and White people too, in a way that is raw and real and impactful, because of the pain, cruelty, humanness, kindness, and familial love..." Read more

"This was an excellent book. It contained a full history lesson rolled into a storyline...." Read more

"...Lots of historical information about Native Americans encounters with early colonial settlers, as well as captured Africans, and their enslavers...." Read more

"...The characterization was superb and the historical details were well nigh perfect. Ailey—and her family—have such strong voices...." Read more

44 customers mention "Storytelling"44 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storytelling. They find it interesting to learn about ancestors and how the story connects with the present. The book is described as a beautiful story about the lineage of one family, with interesting stories about ancestors. It helps readers experience ancestral memories and warmth in fiction.

"...I feel like I’ve had a vital glimpse into what Black people and Native Americans have experienced, and White people too—one that I could gain in no..." Read more

"...piece of the land in a place (now called Georgia) by tracing the heritage of one young woman. It was enthralling and devastating...." Read more

"...It’s full of interesting stories about ancestors and how it’s tied to what’s happening in the 20th century...." Read more

"...It chronicles the lives of multiple generations of multiple ethnicities, as depicted in the multi-page family tree shown at the beginning of the..." Read more

38 customers mention "Character development"30 positive8 negative

Customers enjoy the character development. They find the story engaging, with an emotional saga of the characters' lives from early US history to the present. The book explores themes like humanness, kindness, and familial love.

"...that is raw and real and impactful, because of the pain, cruelty, humanness, kindness, and familial love that permeates this novel...." Read more

"...with different characters as the center, but it's all pulled together by one central character, Ailey...." Read more

"...Most of the characters have fairly well developed personas and I enjoyed getting a chance to “meet” most of them...." Read more

"...I disagree. This novel contains dozens of characters, each with their own POV...." Read more

33 customers mention "Heartbreaking"23 positive10 negative

Customers have different views on the book. Some find it moving and emotional, while others find parts of it painful to read. The book chronicles tragic events in a dispassionate way.

"...people too, in a way that is raw and real and impactful, because of the pain, cruelty, humanness, kindness, and familial love that permeates this..." Read more

"...It was enthralling and devastating...." Read more

"...This stuff is difficult to read, not only because it is so horrific, but also because such ghastly behavior is not limited to fiction...." Read more

"...I felt every emotion throughout the pages: pride, joy, sadness, anger, frustration, happiness...." Read more

19 customers mention "Length"9 positive10 negative

Customers have different views on the book's length. Some find it too long and say it could have been shortened to 200 pages. Others say it's worth the time spent and the story is engaging.

"Enjoyed reading this book. It’s long but worth the time in reading it...." Read more

"A book this long—too long, really—is bound to be immersive...." Read more

"This book is like no other I have ever read. It is indeed very long; I confess to skimming a couple of times but that had to do with my eagerness..." Read more

"...I can’t do this book justice. It’s nearly 800 pages long but I wanted it to be even longer...." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2021
    *****
    I have just begun to read this book today--when it arrived--and wanted to address the quality of the book and the deckle edge. Many people are "reviewing" this wonderful novel by rating it low and complaining about "the poor quality" of the book and the paper, stating that they've never seen anything like it before.

    The book is simply produced with a "deckle edge", which is a rough, untidy, rugged edge. Many books, both hardback and paperback, of today and of years ago, are made with this type of page edge on the right and left edges of the book. I am guessing that the critics have not seen this before. It is not the prettiest deckle, as I think it is a little tiny bit rough, but if so many people hadn't complained, I'd never have noticed it. It looks like it was intended to be that way. I personally love a deckle edge like this.

    The paper quality is wonderful and doesn't feather or bleed through when highlighted or underlined in regular ballpoint pen.

    I do think that it is as nice as any other hardback I've purchased, and not defective or inferior!

    I have only begun to read this, and will edit this "review" with an actual review of the novel later when I finish it. I just didn't think it fair to this marvelously talented author that people look at the reviews (of which there are 14 as of the time of this writing) and see extremely low reviews--when there are just simply quite a few people unfamiliar with both deckle edges and the evaluation of paper quality!

    Also, all of the pagination seems fine. It appears that some people are believing that they are experiencing rather strange problems. This appears to me to be a fine hardback book, and actually quite a good value considering the number of pages and the quality of the writing so far.

    UPDATE: 10 days later...

    *****
    The first thing I want to recommend about this book is that people purchase the hardback version. The reason is that in the process of learning about all of the characters here, the reader keeps referring back to the genealogy of the ancestors in the front of the book. So many times. I know this sounds like a huge hassle, but it is NOT—it is a part of understanding a whole community of ancestors, and it is necessary to really understand the many, many facets of their story.

    Also I looked back again and again at the chapters in the table of contents that were flashbacks in time for reference. Of course you can do this with an e-reader but it is much more cumbersome. This is a precious story, one that I will read and re-read, and it is one that I keep notes in and want to refer back to. I know that this can be done as well with a Kindle, but it is different, and I strongly prefer a physical hardback book. Think of your favorite book ever, and if you want that to be in a hardback form, you want this one to be the same.

    I read this book in ten days and it was a beautiful adventure, one that I wished would never end. It is the story of not just of a woman (though it is that too), but the story of a people—all of the main character’s ancestors too. All those who came before her. The main character’s story cannot be understood apart from them. In reading this story, I came to experience this in a very profound way—how we are all connected to those who came before us, and how they all are a very real part of us now. Of course, I would have said that I recognized this before I read the book, but now I understand this in a really visceral way as well.

    This book is a portal into seeing a part of a people’s experience that I could not experience any other way. Not just African Americans, but Native Americans and White people too, in a way that is raw and real and impactful, because of the pain, cruelty, humanness, kindness, and familial love that permeates this novel.

    I want to give a trigger warning as this book reflects the reality of harsh living in the early part of our country’s history, including stories of abuse and violations of all types. None of it is gratuitous though, and much of the details are left to the imagination, expressed as people of that time would if they were sharing it with others.

    The novel takes place for the most part in Chicasetta, Georgia, and follows many generations of the people who lived there. It is inclusive in that it enables the readers to witness the thoughts, decisions, and justifications of many loving actions and even more horrendous and grotesque actions. In other words, it is a human experience for this time in history. I felt like I entered into a place that would be closed off to me because of time, race, and geography. I felt privileged to hear these precious stories. Even though this is fiction, I do think that the stories are familiar and common to so many families of that time. And to those alive now, too.

    I just finished now this book and am so sad to leave these characters behind. I cannot imagine anyone regretting purchasing this book, and investing hours in reading it, gaining the privilege of participating in a world view that this so comprehensive that they’d never be invited it into otherwise. I feel like I’ve had a vital glimpse into what Black people and Native Americans have experienced, and White people too—one that I could gain in no other way.

    Highest recommendation, one of my favorite books, ever.
    *****
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024
    A real review would take many pages. But in short, this story helps recapture the history of a piece of the land in a place (now called Georgia) by tracing the heritage of one young woman. It was enthralling and devastating. There is a significant amount of child sexual abuse - I wonder if that was partially to give any reader the same feeling of revulsion that the main character feels when researching the history of slavery. I was left feeling like I had a better understanding of the full atrocity of slavery (not that I didn’t know that it was horrific and barbaric, but now I also felt it in my heart and soul in a new way). A powerful testament to the strength it takes to survive adversity. Also a very interesting meditation on the way people interpret skin color to have some deeper meaning.
    13 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2022
    This is a very well written book that kept me interested to the end. I do love the generational story and the characters. It is written like a bunch of smaller stories with different characters as the center, but it's all pulled together by one central character, Ailey. I found the family tree to be a bit complicated and the break out at the front did help to keep things straight. I did not like the ending. It seemed a bit rushed to me and I wonder if certain parts in the middle could have been cut to give some time to really flesh out a good ending for this story. I will love to read more of author's work.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2024
    This was an excellent book. It contained a full history lesson rolled into a storyline. I learned a lot of new information about history and it was nice to finally read a tell where they are being brutally honest about the race discord in our society as well as the truth of what had occurred on our lands ages ago. She talks straight including both the good and the bad and does not seem to hold her tongue with sensitive matters. I'm glad she brought a lot of this to Light. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2024
    I’m at a loss for words. This story was so vivid that I thought it was nonfiction and/or autobiographical at first. I had this book in my kindle library for years, and kept starting and stopping because it seemed so stiff at first, like a history textbook, but after I got my mind right and gave it a good try, I got to the greatness that everyone has been raving about, and I was not prepared to love it so much. I have referred it to everyone I know, and it will become a definite re-read for me. Absolutely beautiful work of art. 10/10 Recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2024
    The story line is great 👍
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2024
    Enjoyed reading this book. It’s long but worth the time in reading it. If you’re interested in history and modern history mixed together then this is a great book. I laughed, cried, and sat on the edge of my seat while reading this book. It’s full of interesting stories about ancestors and how it’s tied to what’s happening in the 20th century. It’s a book that is very popular and hard to check out from the library or other book websites. So, that’s what makes it even more interesting.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2024
    Very interesting overlapping stories of several generations of a family, set mostly in Georgia. Lots of historical information about Native Americans encounters with early colonial settlers, as well as captured Africans, and their enslavers. Flash scene to a descendant of all three strains who is doing historical research on life and times in the old South. She relates her childhood history as well as her contemporary life as it’s developing. Various timelines are interwoven throughout the book. Seems like every book I read these days has several timelines and character stories to keep track of simultaneously. Most of the characters have fairly well developed personas and I enjoyed getting a chance to “meet” most of them. (Some truly evil ones I wish she could have omitted from the story!)
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Ana
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excelente 👍🏼
    Reviewed in Mexico on October 28, 2021
    Un libro de ficción histórica donde vamos a conocer a Ailey y sus ancestros.
    El libro está contado en dos tiempos y a lo largo de la historia vamos brincando del pasado al presente.
    Un libro con temas de racismo, esclavitud, abuso y feminismo.
    ¡Muchos personajes!
  • Jane Sujer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book re: black and indigenous people!
    Reviewed in Canada on October 16, 2021
    Showed the historical aspect of the white man taking from the Indigenous people and their treatment of African Americans. Also the importance of the colour of one's skin! Excellently tied the past to the present through flashback chapters!
  • Shakespeareandme
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding & important
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2024
    This novel is a remarkable, compelling, immersive Black feminist history of southern America. Though fiction, it is brilliantly researched, delivering a profound meditation on American history, with characters who live on beyond the page. It’s utterly moving and an honour to read. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
  • Dr. Gerhard Tiefenbacher
    5.0 out of 5 stars Konsequent aus der Perspektive schwarzer Frauen geschrieben
    Reviewed in Germany on September 19, 2022
    Ein 800 Seiten starker Roman, der viel zu kurz ist. Ich hätte gerne noch weitergelesen.
  • a.khare
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Sweeping Epic
    Reviewed in India on September 23, 2021
    Books with a hefty page count have a very daunting task. They have to be brilliant and keep your undivided attention or be mediocre. Jeffers manages to keep you engaged page after page with her beautifully written characters. This is historical fiction at its best. The impact of the brutal exploitation of the native Indians and the black people on the mindsets of the current generation is well documented. It is not a easy task to write a synopsis of this book as there are several characters. At times it got confusing for me and I had to keep going to and fro between the pages. Though the cast of characters is giving before the first chapter I would suggest making your own notes or chart them out according to your sensibilities.
    Do not be daunted by its size, take a deep breath and dive in!