Reviews

Accolades and reviews for The Prophets

Winner of the 2022 Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. Winner of the 2022 NAIBA Book of the Year Award for Fiction. Winner of the All Ways Black Debut Author of the Year Award. Finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. Finalist for the 2021 Prix Médicis Etrange. Finalist for the 2021 Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine. Finalist for the 2022 Chautauqua Prize. Shortlisted for the 2021 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Shortlisted for the 2021 Crook’s Corner Book Prize. Longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award. Longlisted for 2021 The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Longlisted for the 2021 Prix Fémina. Longlisted for the 2022 Dublin Literary Award. Longlisted for the 2022 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Longlisted for the 2022 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. Honorable Mention for Lambda Literary’s 2022 Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction. Nominated for the 2022 African Americans on the Move Book Club (AAMBC) Debut Author Award.

The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2021 (Time).  The 10 Best Books of 2021 (Entertainment Weekly). Best Books of 2021 (USA Today). 10 Best Works of Historical Fiction (The New York Times). 10 Most Notable LGBTQ Books of 2021 (NBC). KCRW’s Top 10 Books of 2021 (KCRW). The 12 Best Books of 2021 (goop). 12 2021 Books to Inspire Faith and Justice (Sojourners). 12 Important Fiction Books of 2021 (The Englewood Review). 13 Best Romance Novels of 2021 (NPR). Best Books of 2021 (Buzzfeed). 15 Best Books of 2021 (Orange Country Register). 15 Best Fictional Books By Black Authors (Vibe). The Best Books of 2021 (BookBub). The 19 Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2021 (Buzzfeed). 19 of the Best Books of 2021 (Ask.com). Best Books of 2021 (The Boston Globe). 20 Best Fiction of 2021 (Bookpage). 25 Best Novels of the Year (Electric Literature). 40 Best Books of 2021 (Parade). 50 Notable Works of Fiction (The Washington Post). 59 Best Books of 2021 (Real Simple). 85 Best New 2021 Books (Marie Clare). 100 Notable Books of 2021 (The New York Times). 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 (Time). The Best Books of the Year 2021 (BBC). Best Books of 2021: Books We Love (NPR). Best Books of 2021 (Book Riot). Best Literary Fiction of 2021 (Library Journal). Named one of “The 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature” (The New York Times)

“[An] often lyrical and rebellious love story embedded within a tender call-out to Black readers, reaching across time and form to shake something old, mighty in the blood. . . “The Prophets” attempts to give its Black characters and Black audience the same gifts — our right names, our Black knowing, a freedom outside of time and circumstance. . . What a fiery kindness that ending, this book. A book I entered hesitantly, cautiously, I exited anew — something in me unloosed, running. May this book cast its spell on all of us, restore to us some memory of our most warrior and softest selves.” — Danez Smith, The New York Times

“An extraordinary, vivid novel written with heart and imagination….The Prophets really dazzles.” —NPR, Weekend Edition

“[I]t’s not a stretch when this magnificent debut by Robert Jones Jr is compared with the works of Toni Morrison. Both authors take up the mantle to create stories no-one else had the gumption to write. They wield worlds and wise words in a powerful, unforgettable way. The Prophets is a benediction. [It] is a necessary jolt to the world. ★★★★★“— Jennifer Platt, The Sunday Times

“It is not hyperbole to say that The Prophets, which explores black queer lives on a Mississippi plantation known among the enslaved as ‘Empty’, evokes the best of Toni Morrison, while being its own distinct and virtuosic work. It is hard to believe this is a debut.”— Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, The Guardian

“The Prophets, Jones’ debut novel, is a marvel, as much an extraordinary queer love story as a devastating and inimitable portrayal of the agony endured by slaves in the antebellum South. . . Jones’ stunning storytelling crafts deep and powerful portraits of not only Samuel and Isaiah, but also the many others at the plantation. . . Each chapter is its own work of art, delving deep into each character’s heart and mind and creating a rhythmic tapestry of profound love and unbearable pain. . . The Prophets is a novel, but feels almost like poetry, with every word holding a weight and power that will continue to astound those who lose themselves in its pages.” — Molly Sprayregen, Associated Press

“He writes with what feels like a spirit-led blessing from those who were enslaved as well as the likes of Octavia Butler, Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison, layering his narrative with a tone reminiscent of James Baldwin. The Prophets is not only a novel, it is a graduate seminar in Black queer and gender expansive theory.” – Tahirah J. Walker, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“The Prophets is hallucinatory, magical, allegorical and yet permanently in the pursuit of historical and eternal truths, the resurrection of lost perspectives and the uplifting of unheard voices. Read it, but slowly, one complex, virtuosic, heartbreaking chapter at a time. Ambitiously imagined and hauntingly alive, The Prophets writes into being the interwoven stories of people caught in the vortex of fate and discrimination, powerless yet with powers of their own: of bravery and wonder, empathy and endurance.” — Sahil Pradhan, A Hindu’s View

“[Jones] richly renders the perspectives of the enslaved and their enslavers, allowing for a complexity that a story with a single point of view would miss. The novel contains multitudes, among them a love story, an epic, an origin story, and a spiritual journey. This formidable debut weaves the ancestral past with the characters’ present to illuminate histories, realities, and possibilities that are just beyond reach. . . [A] testament to Black queer love and storytelling.” — Elinam Agbo, Sojourner

“Spectacular. . . An intimate, poetic, queer love story and a detailed and excruciating portrait of life on a Mississippi plantation. Jones excels at ensemble storytelling, treating each character with compassion while also being brutally unsparing about the system they’re living under and the harmful compromises people living under this system sometimes made to survive.” — TheGrio

“[Los Profetas is un] torrencial debut novelístico. [U]no de los debuts más contundentes arribados desde Estados Unidos en los últimos años.” [The Prophets is a torrential novelistic debut. One of the most forceful debuts from the United States in recent years.” — Juan Cervera, Rockdelux

“Raw and miserably powerful, this lyrical debut will be making waves for years after its initial publication. The Prophets is going to be on college curriculums in years to come, a modern classic in the making.” — Fiona Murphy, SHEMazing

“It requires great deftness to place a gay couple at the center of a story set in a time when the very words for their relationship had not yet been invented. Jones wisely takes a discursive approach, interlacing his main story with chapters inspired by the Bible [or] fueled by incantatory tales from pre-colonial Africa. . .Allow them to cast their spell. Together they bring historical sweep, magic, and flights of lyricism to the earthbound world.” — Claude Peck, The Gay & Lesbian Review

“Jones complicates our national imaginary by centering the homosexual love and desire between two enslaved Black men as the centrifugal force in his highly praised first novel The Prophets. . . Jones skillfully brings us to a deep place of imagining and uncovers a discarded memory of two young men in love that transcends time. . . This novel is sophisticatedly constructed; it offers deep introspections and projections onto the screen of the modern world. . . The Prophets is a bold leap forward that will make new literature possible in its wake.” — Sarah Schulman, Lambda Literary

“A book that carefully conjures portraits…a shimmering tale of love…a scintillating debut.” — Keith Bain, Daily Maverick

“A love story about two young enslaved Black men in the antebellum South is a hard premise to pull off, and yet with The Prophets, Robert Jones Jr. wildly succeeds. The Prophets contains some of the most gorgeous writing I’ve read.” —  Jeffrey Masters, The Advocate

“Robert Jones Jr. makes an early case for book of the year with The Prophets. Although The Prophets is his debut novel, Robert Jones Jr. is no stranger to critical thinking in craft, criticism and analysis. Jones, and his stunner of a novel, embody what can only be called art. . . Operatic. . . As the story layers itself and picks up to a devastating pace toward the end, it bursts forth in a crack of lightning and the reader is left aflame. The Prophets is an astounding book, at once potent and universe-level expansive, a sky unto itself. With it — and with his work at Son of Baldwin — Jones establishes himself as a writer, thinker and creative force to watch.” — Sarah Neilson, The Seattle Times

“An incredible read…A masterpiece.” – New York Magazine

“The Prophets chronicles much cruelty and misery and violence, as is inevitable in a book about slavery. But it’s not really a pessimistic book. Rather, the novel itself functions as an act of love and resistance, by expressing solidarity with those who love despite sanctions and oppression.  Patriarchy and white supremacy insist on rigid roles for Black and white, male and female. The Prophets imagines a different past, and a different future.” — Noah Berlatsky, The Observer

“Robert Jones Jr….taps into his brilliant dome to unearth an engrossing and magically written debut novel. The Prophets is packed with otherworldly, and supremely artful storytelling. ★★★★ out of four.” — Darryl Robertson, USA TODAY

“Mythic, epic, prophetic, mystic, poetic, erotic, magic, pyrogenic, majestic, authentic—all these words should be lavished on this debut novel from Robert Jones Jr. ” — Christina H., BookPeople

“The Prophets shades in this history that has been erased and whitewashed in America. This is historical fiction that feels essential, like a prayer to the past. ★★★★” — Katie Goh, The Skinny

“Robert Jones Jr.’s debut novel The Prophets feels like it might be a classic one day. . . Kaleidoscopic. . . Audre Lorde wrote, ‘Unless one lives and loves in the trenches, it is difficult to remember that the war against dehumanization is ceaseless.’ An ambitious debut, The Prophets is right there in the trenches, firing shots.” — Anita Felicelli, San Francisco Chronicle

“This beautifully written story is heartbreaking and inspiring all at once.” — Kami Phillips, CNN

“The writing is beautifully evocative – a book you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve finished it.” — Joanne Finney, Good Housekeeping

“[The Prophets] reminds us enslaved people loved fiercely, adorned themselves and dreamed freely. Jones’s debut novel is an important contribution to American letters, Black queer studies and the present moment’s profound reckoning with the legacy of America’s racialized violence.” — Naomi Jackson, The Washington Post

“Jones uses structure and voice to celebrate plurality. His story is many stories: and stories not only as histories but also celebrations, warnings, prophecies…This is writing which is epic, expansive, exacting.” — Jess Moody, Lunate

“The Prophets is indeed an outstanding novel, delivering tender, close-up intimacy, but also a great sweep of history. ” — Holly Williams, The Guardian/The Observer

“The Prophets is one of the most powerful Black queer historical novels ever written.” – Adam Vitcavage, Electric Literature

“In his powerful debut novel, The Prophets, Robert Jones Jr. depicts in exquisite, often excruciating detail the social ruination that slavery brought to the antebellum South. . . Labeling The Prophets a ‘gay slave story’ fails to fully describe its ambition and imaginative richness. Jones’ astounding achievement is to open a world where love somehow dares to speak its name alongside our greatest national shame.” – Claude Peck, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“The Prophets heralds the arrival of a monumental talent in Robert Jones, Jr., whose debut novel has the vibrating power of a thunder clap and the tender intimacy of a secret whispered by a loved one in the darkest night. . .Though Jones, Jr. is unflinching in his portrayal of the evils of white supremacy and fanaticism, he threads his novels with shimmering strands of hope, of heroism, and of reminders of how humanity has persevered even in the most inhumane of times.” — Kristin Iversen, Refinery29

“A striking debut. . . Exceptional storytelling. . . There is no minor character in “The Prophets,” which delivers a dazzling gallery of unforgettable portraits. . . And by highlighting lives over plantation life—the humanity of the slaves over the inhumanity of slavery—the narrative remains centered on a Blackness with an imagination that doesn’t need whiteness in order to exist, breathe or even be free.”  — Rigoberto González, Los Angeles Times

“Jones may be best known as the blogger “Son of Baldwin.” His extraordinary debut, with its sinuous, multivoiced narrative, will change that.” — Bethann Patrick, Washington Post

“[A] bewitching literary debut…Robert Jones Jr.’s The Prophets is an important new work and an integral addition to this period’s literary canon.” — Latria Graham, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“[A] scintillating portrait of Black queerness and a bleak account of slavery in the antebellum South, captured in Jones’ lyrical yet incisive prose.” – Annabel Gutterman, Time

“A love story of the most tragic proportions, revered writer Robert Jones, Jr. uses his debut novel to pry open our collective hearts.” — Seija Rankin, Entertainment Weekly

“[A] grand achievement. Known as the founder of the “Son of Baldwin” social justice blog, Jones does its namesake quite proud. A–” — David Canfield, Entertainment Weekly

“Jones is already a master stylist, writing gorgeous, lyrical and readable prose about some of the ugliest things that human beings feel and do to one another. Sometimes the prose reads like scripture. At other times, it’s poetry.” — Dr. Carole V. Bell, BookPage (starred review)

“…exactingly rendered characters.” — Vanity Fair

“Jones masterfully weaves a narrative that serves as a warning from the past, a prophecy for the future, and a testament to the present. His writing defies all great American novels that have come before, and in doing so becomes one of the greatest I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.” — Gage Tarlton, Indie Next List (#1 Pick)

Jones delivers unto us a brutal and beautiful love story between two enslaved men on a Mississippi plantation, a tale of rage and grace, of refuge among the ruins.” — Michelle Hart, O Magazine

“[W]hat a magnificent story it is.” – Emily Burack, alma.

“Kaleidoscopic…Anchored by the love story of two young men, this lyrical story evokes a vast spectrum of emotion and creates an epic that feels epic in scope, but also like each chapter is its own private universe.” – Lelia Nebeker, Northern Virginia Magazine

“Exquisite…A masterfully told story that will haunt readers from beginning to end.” — Lesley Williams, Booklist (starred review)

“This is a first novel, but I hope it took years and years to write since it is so powerful and beautiful.” — Edmund White, Publishers Weekly (Starred Signature Review)

“An ambitious, imaginative, and important tale of Black queerness through history.” — Kirkus

“This first novel brims with so much confidence and artful flourish that it’s hard to believe it’s Jones’s first book.” — Stephen Schmidt, Library Journal (Starred Review)

“This is a magnificent novel. Truly. At its heart, it is a love story set against the brutality of slavery. The bond Isaiah and Samuel share is so beautifully written, so romantic, so powerful. I loved everything about this novel. There were so many rich, fascinating secondary characters–Be Auntie, Essie, Maggie, Sarah. This is a novel that has real dimension. The structure is fascinating. The way the story is told from so many perspectives, while maintaining cohesion is remarkable. I really have only superlatives to offer. There is nothing quite like this book.” — Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist

“How devastating and glorious this is. Epic in its scale, intimate in its force, and lyrical in its beauty. The Prophets shakes right down to the bone what the American novel is, should do, and can be. That shuffling sound you hear is Morrison, Baldwin, and Angelou whooping and hollering both in pride, and wonder.” – Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf