The Prophets

I’ve tried twice to read this book and find myself painfully trekking through the same first 50 pages. I want to like this book so badly but it’s written in such a way that I just can’t understand anything. It hasn’t captured my attention and I need to find it a new home with someone who will love it more.

This book was so much more than expected! It’s prose is so beautiful and poetic but the plot and character still feel grounded and realistic. I love love love the rotating perspectives. Hearing about a character from someone else’s POV and then getting to read from the character’s POV was so rich and was an ingenious way to bring nuanced perspectives topics of religion, race, gender, sexuality and power. I love that this book is about Black gay characters but it doesn’t just make that the focus. It puts them in context as whole people and as a part of a community and really dives into how their love impacts them, their circumstances, and their community and vice versa. I was skeptical of the Toni Morrison comparisons @ first but I think they’re well earned! I highly recommended this book to anyone, especially Black people, who want a rich story, well written characters, and want to think about race gender sexuality and power differently.