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seawarrior's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Brutally and beautifully told, The Prophets portrays how love and identity endure and transcend even the most desecrated of places. While Isaiah and Samuel are the worthy leading couple of The Prophets, the novel heavily focuses on the unwanted strength the Black women of the story have been shouldered with, and how they uplift themselves and their families for generations. Each of Jones' characters are fully realized, complex people. He does not shy away from exploring their deepest angers and darkest secrets, pushing us to understand their actions even if we do not, or should not, forgive them. He writes with a style is so lyrical it's almost poetic, and instills wisdom and truth on every page. Throughout the book, Jones unflinchingly depicts the horror of slavery without reveling in it. He tells traumatic scenarios from multiple perspectives and many understandings, shadowing survivors in hope and their perpetrators with terror. This book is sure to become a modern classic, and I'd highly recommend it to others. However, please note the content warnings below.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol