The Prophets

*A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * 'This visionary and deeply evocative debut carves a radiant love story out of the bleakest of landscapes.' Waterstones - Best Books to Look Out For in 2021 'An Outstanding novel' Guardian 'A lyrical, poetic novel' Independent ' Epic in its scale' Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf 'A rare marvel' Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous ' Magisterial' Courttia Newland, author of A River Called Time ' A spellbinding debut' COSMO 'Ambitious and intense' Vanity Fair ---------------------------- One of: The New York Times Book Review's Books to Watch for in January The Washington Post's 10 Books to Read in January TIME's 10 New Books You Should Read in January O, the Oprah Magazine's 32 LGBTQ Books That Will Change the Literary Landscape in 2021 Cosmopolitan's New LGBTQ+ Books to Add to Your Reading List BuzzFeed's Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of 2021 Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021 The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of 2021 -------------------------- In this blinding debut, Robert Jones Jr. blends the lyricism of Toni Morrison with the vivid prose of Zora Neale Hurston to characterise the forceful, enduring bond of love, and what happens when brutality threatens the purest form of serenity. 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. Their flickering glances, unspoken words and wilful intention, revealing a truth that threatens to rock the stability of the plantation. And preaching the words of Massa Paul's gospel, he betrays them. The culminating pages of The Prophets summon a choral voice of those who have suffered in silence, with blistering humanity, as the day of reckoning arrives at the Halifax plantation. Love, in all its permutations, is the discovery at the heart of Robert Jones Jr's breathtaking debut, The Prophets.

*A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * 'This visionary and deeply evocative debut carves a radiant love story out of the bleakest of landscapes.' Waterstones - Best Books to Look Out For in 2021 'An Outstanding novel' Guardian 'A lyrical, poetic novel' Independent ' Epic in its scale' Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf 'A rare marvel' Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous ' Magisterial' Courttia Newland, author of A River Called Time ' A spellbinding debut' COSMO 'Ambitious and intense' Vanity Fair ---------------------------- One of: The New York Times Book Review's Books to Watch for in January The Washington Post's 10 Books to Read in January TIME's 10 New Books You Should Read in January O, the Oprah Magazine's 32 LGBTQ Books That Will Change the Literary Landscape in 2021 Cosmopolitan's New LGBTQ+ Books to Add to Your Reading List BuzzFeed's Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of 2021 Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021 The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of 2021 -------------------------- In this blinding debut, Robert Jones Jr. blends the lyricism of Toni Morrison with the vivid prose of Zora Neale Hurston to characterise the forceful, enduring bond of love, and what happens when brutality threatens the purest form of serenity. 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. Their flickering glances, unspoken words and wilful intention, revealing a truth that threatens to rock the stability of the plantation. And preaching the words of Massa Paul's gospel, he betrays them. The culminating pages of The Prophets summon a choral voice of those who have suffered in silence, with blistering humanity, as the day of reckoning arrives at the Halifax plantation. Love, in all its permutations, is the discovery at the heart of Robert Jones Jr's breathtaking debut, The Prophets.

Best Book of the Year NPR - The Washington Post - Boston Globe - TIME - USA Today - Entertainment Weekly - Real Simple - Parade - Buzzfeed - Electric Literature - LitHub - BookRiot - PopSugar - Goop - Library Journal - BookBub - KCRW - Finalist for the National Book Award - One of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year - One of the New York Times Best Historical Fiction of the Year - Instant New York Times Bestseller A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence. 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 enslaved alike, from Isaiah and Samuel to the calculating slave master 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--culminates in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets fearlessly reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.

Best Book of the Year NPR - The Washington Post - Boston Globe - TIME - USA Today - Entertainment Weekly - Real Simple - Parade - Buzzfeed - Electric Literature - LitHub - BookRiot - PopSugar - Goop - Library Journal - BookBub - KCRW - Finalist for the National Book Award - One of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year - One of the New York Times Best Historical Fiction of the Year - Instant New York Times Bestseller A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence. 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 enslaved alike, from Isaiah and Samuel to the calculating slave master 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--culminates in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets fearlessly reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.

"This book has monumental stature. It is fresh and vivid. . . aflame with prophetic vision." --James Muilenburg From the author of Man is Not Alone and God in Search of Man, comes Abraham Heschel's 1962 masterpiece of Biblical scholarship, The Prophets. Abraham J. Heschel's The Prophets, originally published in 1962, provides a unique opportunity for readers of the Old Testament, both Christian and Jewish, to gain fresh and deep knowledge of Israel's prophetic movement. The book includes detailed examinations of the stories of the prophets Amos, Hosea, Isahiah, Micah, Jeremiah, as well as explorations of the theology and philosophy of pathos, the theory of ecstasy in modern religious scholarship, an excavation of the relationship between prophecy and psychosis, and a comparative view of prophets throughout the world. Heschel's project is excavate and examine the consciousness of the prophets: not just the content of their prophecies, but the type of faith-based experience they personified. Heschel's exegetical skill and profound understanding of the prophets opens the door to new insight into the philosophy of religion - a wonderful text for anyone interested in the dialectic of the divine-human encounter.

"This book has monumental stature. It is fresh and vivid. . . aflame with prophetic vision." --James Muilenburg From the author of Man is Not Alone and God in Search of Man, comes Abraham Heschel's 1962 masterpiece of Biblical scholarship, The Prophets. Abraham J. Heschel's The Prophets, originally published in 1962, provides a unique opportunity for readers of the Old Testament, both Christian and Jewish, to gain fresh and deep knowledge of Israel's prophetic movement. The book includes detailed examinations of the stories of the prophets Amos, Hosea, Isahiah, Micah, Jeremiah, as well as explorations of the theology and philosophy of pathos, the theory of ecstasy in modern religious scholarship, an excavation of the relationship between prophecy and psychosis, and a comparative view of prophets throughout the world. Heschel's project is excavate and examine the consciousness of the prophets: not just the content of their prophecies, but the type of faith-based experience they personified. Heschel's exegetical skill and profound understanding of the prophets opens the door to new insight into the philosophy of religion - a wonderful text for anyone interested in the dialectic of the divine-human encounter.