Discussion: The Prophets

[Alisha]

Adrienna wrote: "BernieMck wrote: "Alisha wrote: "Not gonna lie, I did not enjoy the ending. Like at all. I understand there was always an undertone of magic realism throughout the book… the constant consultation w..."

Sure did. Essie hugged and squeezed him to death :(

[Alisha]

Taylor wrote: "I finished the book today & I am still reeling from the last few chapters. The riot after Samuel’s death was by far the best series of chapters. It was fast paced, loads of discoveries were being u..."

I agree, the riot scene was definitely a great climax. Everything came to a head. But didn’t resolve good enough for some of them.

Julia wrote: "I finished the book over the weekend and still need time to fully digest it. I have not been very active on the discussion board but I've been keeping up with all the great points made!

I will mo..."

I agree. The strongest characteristic of this book, for me, was the poetic writing. Jones has a beautiful way of painting a scene, a character’s emotions, etc. with his words.

Even when I didn’t necessarily like a character, Jones got me engrossed in their story just by the way he described them.

I definitely would not have minded some more imagery of Ruth’s demise LOL

Elewa and Kosii’s “fight scene” was one of my favorite scenes of the book. I agree, the tenderness was so beautiful.

This book was extremely feminine to me. That’s the best way I know how to describe it, and I mean that in a very inclusive way. I love that Jones knew how to write in such an emotional way, and made the characters so expressive with their own unique emotions. Samuel’s outer toughness yet inner softness. Isaiah’s gentleness. Beulah’s sexuality. Puah’s romanticism. Amos’s fear-driven love. Essie’s trauma. Maggie’s tough love. Every character really jumped out of the page.

[Anna]

Rachel wrote: "I'm only just getting to read this now and I'm finding it so interesting that the book is dedicated to 'Mother Morrison and Father Baldwin'. The writing reminded me so much of Morrison's in particu..."

Yes! I was moved by how vulnerable the author was in order to illustrate some of these really dark portrayals of men. But as Julia says in her message, this was in between plenty of tender, loving moments between the men in this novel. But it's true that not many of these moments of male tenderness are toward women.

[Adrienna]

funny how many of us gave it 4 stars based on the rambling of the ancestors at the end. Many passages of the ancestors left me in the wind.

[Tiffany]

What I loved most about this book was Jones' descriptive style, and yet I'm hesitant to say it was Morrison-like. He definitely has his own unique voice - it's direct and intricate.

Thanks for all the great quotes, especially BernieMck. I listened to the audio version and the quotes had me wishing I had it in at least ebook form.

The Kings chapter blew me away. I heard from a woman living in Ghana who said that Africans, as a whole, are a lot less uptight about sexuality than Americans. That made sense since a good portion of the American psyche came from Puritans. I'm glad he wrote an actual love story.

I do have a few questions though; I need to get a print version to reread some sections:
Did Isaiah drown in the river?

Do we have to imagine how the revolt started? I know Samuel took out Timothy. I thought Amos might have come back to himself when he saw the small symbol of the scythe & lightning on the door.
Does that symbol represent an actual organization?

The revolt surprised me & made me proud. It reminded me of Nat Turner's Rebellion only because I thought Amos found his right mind & rebelled.

[Alisha]

Adrienna wrote: "funny how many of us gave it 4 stars based on the rambling of the ancestors at the end. Many passages of the ancestors left me in the wind."

I was ok with most of the ancestors chapters, until the very last one. The last one was too abstract. I would love if the author gave a step-by-step walkthrough with that chapter.

[Alisha]

TIFFANY wrote: "What I loved most about this book was Jones' descriptive style, and yet I'm hesitant to say it was Morrison-like. He definitely has his own unique voice - it's direct and intricate.

Thanks for all..."

I’m pretty sure Isaiah successfully made it to the other side. But the fact that he had a whole hallucination that Samuel was there with him… I can see why someone might think he drowned/died. That’s interesting to consider!

I consider the revolt the result of 1) Samuel killing Timothy and then 2) Samuel’s subsequent lynching. It was the lynching that made the slaves rise up.

I’m fuzzy on when Amos saw a scythe. Was that right before he went to Paul to snitch?

But I don’t believe Amos ever saw the truth (i.e. the harm in his actions). If I remember correctly, he tried to gather people around Paul’s body to mourn him. And his last words in the book was still in defense of why he turned on S&I. He said “I was just trying to protect us” or something like that.

So, in the end, to the best of my recollection, Amos was still brainwashed and still a turncoat.

[ColumbusReads]

There’s always an “Amos” in these slave and Neo-slave narratives it appears. Similar to this, in Whitehead’s Underground Railroad, it was the little Black boy, Homer.

Also,

I’m not one to re-read books per se, but this is one I will definitely read again at some point. I love the authors style and the poetic prose but I still feel there’s more in the story itself that I need to unravel. Unfortunately, my library copy is due like tomorrow.

[BernieMck]

I am watching Robert’s Jones Jr on IG live and he says The ancestors or the 7 are Elewa’s aunts.

[Adrienna]

Elewa aunts?

[ColumbusReads]

What a book! As I said before, I’ll be reading this book again. Maybe not anytime soon - and I’m not usually one to reread books but this one will be the exception. I just feel that there’s more I can get out of it. Like I have no idea what rating to give this book. I’m all over tge place.

Thanks to everyone who participated. What’s your lasting thoughts on this book? I love the authors audaciousness and the fact that he was willing to present this story to us. I’ve followed him on twitter for years and this is just the type of book I expected from him.

What’s your lasting thoughts?

[Alisha]

Still mad about that ending/last chapter tbh. LOL. Sad how a bad ending just leaves a bad aftertaste.

But again. It was nice to see an example of poetic writing that is not arduous to read and makes you slow down and enjoy/savor the writing, instead of wanting to skip pages.

I’d read it again, but kinda skim just to get to/read those wonderfully constructed sentences. The plot, and even some characters, I could live without indulging in all over again.

To expand on what I mean by the plot… for example, I realize I’m kinda mad there was no official final face off between Isaiah and Amos. That’s just one of the conflicts presented in the plot that did not wrap up satisfactorily.

Or how shortly Sarah’s love story (with one of Beulah’s daughters, if I recall correctly?) was mentioned then tossed.

The book was chaotic at times. Cramming a lot in without bringing it all to proper closure. I will look back on this book first and foremost as a love story. After S&I, the next most relevant characters (in no particular order) are, in my opinion: Maggie, Paul, Tim. They exemplify the grief of slavery, the second most important element of the story (after it being a love story). Maggie’s hardened exterior, not acknowledging that she’s Samuel’s mother until the very end. The equal yet opposite ways Paul and Tim abuse their power. These characters/storylines were the most riveting for me (after S&I, of course).

All other side characters/storylines are like side dishes. Not the main meal.

[Tiffany]

Alisha wrote: "TIFFANY wrote: "What I loved most about this book was Jones' descriptive style, and yet I'm hesitant to say it was Morrison-like. He definitely has his own unique voice - it's direct and intricate...."

Amos saw the Scythe & Lightning symbol right as he was about to enter Paul's study. It was very tiny, but it made him pause. According to the internets, the scythe represents Kronos or the god of time. The lightning bolt represents Zeus, the god of time & king of the gods. I didn't realize that Zeus is Kronos & Rhea's son. Rhea is associated with fertility. Damn, nor did I know Rhea & Kronos were brother & sister! In Wikipedia, it's now known as the Flash & Circle Symbol and represents fascists in modern times. Sounds like the United States - This is America.

This is why I love literature. That symbol represents father & son - a family business. The mother being associated with fertility, it's not a far leap that they would create the family business around breeding. The incest plays out in this Greek history, as well as in Ruth's life. With all the hate & rage consuming their lives, it seems natural this heartless & callous family would make money breeding enslaved people with no concern for their humanity.

Thanks, Alisha. Hallucination fits the bill as Isaiah's last thoughts.

[Sarah]

I just finished it and loved it, gave it 5 stars.

The ending didn't bother me. I assumed it was a hallucination on Isaiah's part, but I also like the interpretation that he might have drown as he swam away and the ending takes place in the spirit world.

Someone on a previous page mentioned how well the author writes women, and I appreciated that as well.

LOVED THIS.

[Sarah]

Re: the title. I think every character in the book is a prophet. If you read carefully, every single viewpoint character, white and Black, has a vision at some point, even if it's just seeing a shadow where one shouldn't be, up to seeing one of your dead ancestors across a field.

[Carole]

What an incredible discussion! I loved both it and the book. Read an advance copy of The Prophets end of last year and was blown away but didn’t feel like I recalled enough to participate in this discussion. Just want to say thanks and bravo to all for bringing such depth and honesty.