Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

72 reviews

jade_smith's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

 Firstly, I want to acknowledge that this book occupies an important place in the literary landscape. It tells a story that was important to tell, and I'm glad it's been received with acclaim. I don't doubt that this novel has done a lot of important things for a lot of people -- and I don't wish for my criticism to be taken as a mark that this was a "bad book." It wasn't.

This being said, it didn't quite work for me.

For a novel that is (should have been) character-driven, the ten-odd POV characters lacked distinct voices. There are two types of third person writing: that which comes from inside a character, and that which comes from outside, i.e. from an omniscient narrator. Technically, this book has both, with some chapters from an almost pansophical ancestral chorus. For the most part, however, chapters are from the POV of "The Prophets" vast cast of characters on the Mississipi plantation. The problem is that these characters voices are mostly indistinguishable from each other; every character speaks, thinks, and philosophises in the exact same voice. For me, this made it hard to form an emotional connection with the characters, and left the story feeling unthethered. I think this novel would have benefitted from leaning into the 'external' third person -- this would have allowed Jones to observe and describe in the way he wanted to, without it feeling like the characters coherence suffered.

While at times gorgeous, Robert Jones Jr's prose erred on the side of being overwritten. I will be the first to admit that there were definitely metaphors and references here that went over my head -- I am a white Australian, and Jones has said that he wrote with a black American audience in mind. But, this incongruence doesn't account for the entire novel. I think perhaps this writing style would have worked for me had this been a 150 pg novella, but as it stands, it became exhausting, and worsened the afformentioned probems with character voice.

Plot-wise, this book works. Story-wise, this book works. Conceptually, the characters are excellent. It's just a shame that the prose ultimately lets itself down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Transphobia and Vomit

kiwialexa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

I just hope this book makes enough white readers feel enough anger and shame to contact our electeds about reparations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Religious trauma, Environmental degradation

redrosieroses's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Beautiful and important book. Honestly the best book I have ever read. I encourage everyone to read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder, and Colonisation

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.0

This is the kind of book that is always described as beautiful and heartbreaking, but that’s a fitting description. The Prophets differs from other narratives of enslavement that I’ve read, and I really appreciated the efforts here to do something different. I enjoyed the storytelling from multiple perspectives and the complexity of the characters. The writing style was lyrical to the degree that it sometimes tops over into being difficult to follow. Well worth a read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Excrement

rideauriverreads's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

lisztaffe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

emzireads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

antidietleah's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

badmom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Robert Jones Jr. weaves an ultimately gorgeous tapestry from an ugly point in history using  the voices of enslaved people, their African ancestors, and the enslavers. The language is poetic throughout, drawing reality truthfully yet landing on the ways people rose above, how they survived and dreamed and loved, and created the life they deserved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Outing, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, and Cannibalism