Novel set in antebellum MISSISSIPPI

22nd April 2021

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr., novel set in antebellum Mississippi.

This is Robert Jones Jr’s debut novel although it’s difficult to believe that for this novel is breath-taking in its excellence – powerful, emotive, ground-breaking and thought-provoking.

The story centres around two young black slaves, Samuel and Isaiah, who have been inseparable since childhood when they were brought to the Halifax plantation, or “Empty” as the slaves name it.  Their owner has the intention of using these two fine specimens for breeding but they take the risk of defying his wishes and choose to love each other instead.  Their love is viewed with a kindly eye by everyone until they are betrayed by their fellow slave, Amos, who has begun to preach Christianity to the slaves, believing that it might provide a means to achieve better treatment for them all.  Soon, inevitably, opinion turns against the young lovers.

One of the most powerful things about this wonderful novel is the portrayal of the relationship between Samuel and Isaiah.  It is utterly believable, tender and poignant. But we are also given a lot more than just these two – the whole novel is peopled by a truly impressive and very varied cast of intriguing characters. Jones gives us a real insight into each character’s motivation, from the slave owner and his troubled wife to the powerless and somehow still powerful slave women who find their own ways to fight back and who are all tied in different ways to Samuel and Isaiah.

The setting, an antebellum Mississippi slave plantation is evoked powerfully both in terms of time and place. The author’s prose style is rich in natural imagery which gives the reader the chance to experience the smells, the tastes the sounds of the place.  The Prophets also takes us back in time to explore the past ancestors of Samuel and Isaiah, who are descended from the Kosongo people in an unnamed part of Africa.  We learn that the Kosongo are notable for their fluid notions of gender and, in some of the most poignant passages of the novel, we hear the story of Kosii and Elewa, male lovers who were, like Samuel and Isaiah, bonded from birth.

Jones’ admiration of Toni Morrison is evident on every page but Jones has achieved a remarkable and distinctive voice of his own in The Prophets. This is lyrical prose at its best, full of images, symbolism and metaphor. It is also extremely thought-provoking. Jones explores the way in which the slave trade took away its victims’ futures but also their past, their history, their links with ancestors, their beliefs and language.  There is an all-pervading sense of the loss of these things throughout the book and in the heart of each slave character.  It may be just good timing but the themes of the novel seem to have great contemporary relevance also, when black people are, once again, compelled to march and protest to be heard.

If there are flaws to this debut novel, such as the lack of conversation or odd passages where the prose feels a bit laboured, or the fact that the plot sometimes gets lost in favour of exploring political issues (which could have been sorted with a bit more editing), then all is forgiven when you reach the ending. And what an ending it is. The last chapters sweep the reader along and finally take you to a place that is painful and yet optimistic and uplifting.

Ellen for the TripFiction Team

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