
Literary fiction
The Prophets
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An endangered love between two enslaved men is at the heart of this expansive, devastating, and lyrical debut.
400+ pages
LGBTQ+ themes
Critically acclaimed
Graphic violence
Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel’s love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation’s harmony.
With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr. fiercely summons the voices of slaver and the enslaved alike to tell the story of these two men; from Amos the preacher to the calculating slave-master himself to the long line of women that surround them, women who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuries—of ancestors and future generations to come—culminate in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets masterfully reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.
You do not yet know us.
You do not yet understand.
We who are from the dark, speaking in the seven voices. Because seven is the only divine number. Because that is who we are and who we have always been.
And this is law.
By the end, you will know. And you will ask why we did not tell you sooner. Do you think you are the first to have asked that question?
You are not.
There is, however, an answer. There is always an answer. But you have not yet earned it. You do not know who you are. How could you possibly reckon with who we are?
You are not lost so much as you are betrayed by fools who mistook glimmer for power. They gave away all the symbols that hold sway. The penance for this is lasting. Your blood will have long been diluted by the time reason finally takes hold. Or the world itself will have been reduced to ash, making memory beside the point. But yes, you have been wronged. And you will do wrong. Again. And again. And again. Until finally, you wake. Which is why we are here, speaking with you now.
A story is coming.
Your story is coming.
I crave books that are simultaneously attentive to the big things and the little things. Books that explore the deepest questions about life and love and death and history and identity—and that animate these questions by way of infinitesimal human interactions. A surprising gesture, a subtle moment of duplicity, an unlikely flash of kindness, conjured so vividly that it haunts me long after I finish reading. In The Prophets, Robert Jones, Jr., nimbly navigates this delicate interplay between the epic and the microscopic, between historical crises and interpersonal ones.
This is a devastating book, an evocation of and reckoning with the deep stain of slavery. But there is, at the center of The Prophets, amid the grief and horror, a refuge: the relationship between Isaiah and Samuel, two young men enslaved on the Mississippi plantation known as Empty. Their passion for each other, the dignity they bestow on each other, the small world they create and protect together, forms the core of the book. Swirling around this powerful love story is a kaleidoscopic array of characters; we enter the worlds and minds of the enslaved, the enslavers, the female kings and male wives in Kosongo territory in the ancestral homeland.
In this awe-inspiring debut, Robert Jones, Jr.,’s inventiveness with form and language is matched by his profound emotional acuity. The Prophets is a courageous book, unflinching in its examination of the most painful and most tender aspects of life and history.
Jill K.
Wadmalaw island , SC
“Fierceness should always be tempered with kindness...” “There could never be peace, only moments in which war wasn’t overwhelming.” “My son, some people’s hearts, they just...beat the wrong way.”
Victoria L.
Brick , NJ
This is a book I never would have chosen on my own but am so grateful to have read. I learned so much and felt other’s pain so deeply. This contains parts of history we aren’t taught, but need to know
Mariah S.
Madison, WI
Such a beautiful, heart-wrenching, cruel story of forbidden love and its hardships. Masterful writing and detail. I felt so many emotions—anger, sadness, joy—I felt it all. A moving, poignant story.
Katherine R.
Lancaster , OH
What a gorgeous story of love, loss and redemption. I can’t say I loved the ending but sometimes you just don’t get the ending you want. The story was gorgeous and the characters were spellbinding.
Jamera E.
Junction City, KS
So raw, and thoughtful, and poetic. Wow. It took me a while to get through this one, not because it wasn’t good. But because it was so triggering for me being a black & queer woman in the US. Amazing.