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kiwialexa's review against another edition
- 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
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
noahsingh's review against another edition
3.75
Pros:
-Everyone has already said this but yeah obviously the writing is really good.
- Enjoyed that we get a perspective chapter from almost every enslaved character. Especially enjoyed Maggie and Sarah's perspectives.
-Samuel and Kayodes relationship is beautifully written. Its the first book I've read set during the transatlantic slave trade with focuses on queer black characters, and it was really interesting to read a perspective on that.
-I loved loved loved the King Asuka chapters, my only complaint there is that I wish there had been a lot more of that narrative in general. Same for Sarah's narrative. The exploration of black queerness and transness as not yet warped by slavery and colonialism is definitely one of the strongest aspects of this book to me.
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Cons:
-Not enough time spent with each characters, and I didn't see the need for Paul's chapters being so long.
-I personally don't enjoy too much description/poetic language which gets in the way of the actual narrative, which I think this book suffered from a bit. Its all very well-written but I think some of it could have definitely been cut down. But this is a personal bias of mine obvy.
-Some elements of the book were underdeveloped, for example the Beulah/Be Auntie connection, the Seven/Vs the Seven aunts, etc
-So so so much (trigger warning) rape. I understand it's historically accurate to the enslavement of black individuals in America but the explicitness and repeated graphic descriptions seemed unnecessary and kinda excessive for me. For example,
-A lot of the characters don't get a conclusive ending, of course that's hard to do when most of the characters are enslaved individuals and escape from slavery was practically impossible.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Deadnaming, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
lisztaffe's review against another edition
- 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
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
kshertz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
amberinbookland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
charleshasalibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War
maggiekateb's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
invaderlinz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
n_asyikin_'s review against another edition
- 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
Interspersed in between were ancestral voices, providing a touch of the supernatural & spiritual; once again, acting as a sort of purveyor of the truth for a group of people who saw their humanity, identity & history erased. These "ancestral voices" returning what was stolen in increment, providing a "break" between the distinct character-specific narration.
Jones gave dimensions to each perspective by enabling readers to compare how their perspectives were influenced by their social standings & their inherent needs. Jones did so by contrasting characters based on their similarity & putting said similarity through the lens of their differences; intersectional identities being the main modulator. Through them, readers were able to explore & infer what motivated each character, see how the 'self' interacted with the external world to drive certain behaviour. This built a complex structure which may require some time for readers to process & digest. At the end though, your time should be worth it. Take it as an in-depth look into each character as the story progressed.
The writings were unbelievably beautiful with its lyricism; the symbolisms used should be perceived as significant, representing the voices of those typically forced not to have any. That beauty can cushioned the brutal reality the characters faced at times, yet also stressed it on others; I thought Jones balanced it out neatly. One constant was how the story felt that it encapsulated something tremendous, beyond what was held amongst its pages.
Please heed to the trigger warnings. I personally found some scenes to be really heavy, so do take care while reading this. That being said, "The Prophets" was a powerful read about re-owning one's being, identity, & history. It spoke about how love could be a balm in a cruel reality. It was unforgiving in its resonance, & deserved to be heard.
Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Murder
davidrb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder