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Welcome to a magical world where coloring pictures brings them to life! Lots of fun combined with...

Ghost Town: Mystery Match Game
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Epic journey leads you in abandoned township to help the cute local characters. Exciting plot about...

Florida Marco Polo Handbook
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For advice you can trust, look no further than Marco Polo. The Florida Marco Polo Handbook offers...

My Fairy Pony - Dress Up Game For Girls
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Welcome to Fairy Pony Forest, where you get to dress up and interact with your cute pony friends! As...

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Baby's Musical Hands is an award-winning musical toy for babies and toddlers for the iPad, iPhone,...

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Poetry by Heart - based on the hugely successful nationwide schools competition, 200 magical poems...

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'A SKILLFUL TRIUMPH' Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist - 'IRRESISTIBLE' Emma Donoghue, author...

ClareR (5950 KP) rated The Prophets in Books
Jan 5, 2021
The story centres around the slaves on the Elizabeth Plantation (also known as ‘Empty’ to the slaves), and in particular, Samuel and Isaiah. They are betrayed by the other slaves, as if by revealing their love, it will make their lives safer. Of course this is not the case, as we see when we read the chapters centred around some of the other slaves. We learn about the inhumane treatment of the slaves by their immoral white owners (or toubabs, as they are called by their black slaves). I felt that the white people in this book had a mad, mentally unhinged quality about them: after all, how else could you reconcile treating human beings worse than animals?
I found the chapters written from the African people’s perspective, as they were free then captured and imprisoned, so interesting. It made them even more real to me. These were real people (as opposed to the animals that they were seen as by the slavers) with families, traditions, lives, loves and beliefs. The scenes on board the slave ships were harrowing.
It has taken me over a week to tackle this review. This book really affected me deeply, and there were many times that I had to put the book down and walk away. Then, I would feel guilty that I had the luxury of doing just that, unlike the slaves who lived every moment of their lives as some white mans possession to do with as he saw fit.
I can’t believe that this is a debut novel. The writing is beautiful, even in the most horrific moments. The magical elements add a suggestion of hope and the indomitable spirit of these people. And the ending is just perfection. I’m sure that this book will win awards - it SHOULD win - and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to read it.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me access to this book via NetGalley. It has been a privilege to read it.