REVIEW: The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr

If you’ve been hearing a lot of noise about a book from the States called The Prophets, it’s with good reason. Robert Jones Jr’s novel is a literary wonder and reminds me of what I love so much about debut fiction; its tenacious scope for experimentation and the sheer joy that one can sense the writer takes in the power and beauty of language. If you read one book this month, make it this one.

Robert Jones Jr (Photo by Alberto Vargas).

The Prophets tells the story of Samuel and Isaiah, two Black boys enslaved on an American plantation who have grown up together so closely that as adults they have become lovers. Theirs is a breathtaking bond of love, one in which they can share quiet joys amidst the brutality of their everyday existence. But their love fails to escape the scrutiny of others, namely the plantation owner who would have them ‘breed’ for him and another enslaved man named Amos, who is committed to bringing the word of God to the plantation for complicated reasons of his own. The consequences wrought by the refusal of Samuel and Isaiah to bow to the whims of those who would subdue them come to be felt by all on the plantation in many lingering ways.

What’s remarkable about Robert Jones Jr’s novel is found in the way that it unearths rare moments of joy and sets them alight against the backdrop of racist cruelty on the plantation (known to the slaves as Empty). The triumphant defiance of Samuel and Isaiah’s love feels all the more radiant given the inevitable pain that you know they will suffer later. But this book doesn’t linger unduly on the pain of the enslaved – there is hope to be found in this story.

The Prophets brings together a magnificent cast of characters beyond Samuel and Isaiah, from the enslaved to their ancestors, as well as the voices of seven prophets speaking from beyond the grave to guide them. The blending of their stories allows the novel to cast off the voice of the traditional historical novel for one that speaks to the body of work set down by Black writers such as Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston. These novels have captured the words and the complicated mix of sorrow, spite and love felt by their subjects, as The Prophets does now so beautifully. This is no simple work of fictional historical re-creation; it feels like a living, breathing thing.

At its core, The Prophets is a breathtaking literary exploration of queer, Black love, invoked by the author to show the depth of human resilience – a rare achievement for a debut author that I hope to read more from in the future.

—The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr (Hachette Books Australia) is out now.

The Prophets

by Robert Jones Jr

The Halifax plantation is known as Empty by the slaves who work it under the pitiless gaze of its overseers and its owner, Massa Paul. Two young enslaved men, Samuel and Isaiah dwell among the animals they keep in the barn, helping out in the fields when their day is done. But the barn is their haven, a space of radiance and love - away from the blistering sun and the cruelty of the toubabs - where they can be alone together.

But, Amos - a fellow slave - has begun to direct suspicion towards the two men and their refusal to bend...

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Olivia Fricot

Olivia Fricot (she/her) is Booktopia's Senior Content Producer and editor of the Booktopian blog. She has too many plants and not enough bookshelves, and you can usually find her reading, baking, or talking to said plants. She is pro-Oxford comma.

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