Chosen as a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by Oprah’s Book Club Elle Reader’s Digest The
Rumpus Kirkus Reviews The Millions Lit Hub and more An inventive ode to self-determination
and also a surrealistic vision of Black life as forged within the crucible of American history
. . . [written in] lush ornamental prose.” —The New Yorker Fans of The Underground Railroad
The Water Dancer and Let Us Descend will devour this lyrical and surreal saga.” —Oprah Daily
From a writer of singular voice and vision a mesmerizing epic that reimagines the past to
explore the true nature of freedom In this ingenious sweeping novel Phillip B. Williams
introduces us to an enigmatic woman named Saint a fearsome conjurer who in the 1830s
annihilates plantations all over Arkansas to rescue the people enslaved there. She brings those
she has freed to a haven of her own creation: a town just north of St. Louis magically
concealed from outsiders named Ours. It is in this miraculous place that Saint’s grand
experiment—a truly secluded community where her people may flourish—takes root. But although
Saint does her best to protect the inhabitants of Ours over time her conjuring and memories
begin to betray her leaving the town vulnerable to intrusions by newcomers with powers of
their own. As the cracks in Saint’s creation are exposed some begin to wonder whether the
community’s safety might be yet another form of bondage. Set over the course of four decades
and steeped in a rich tradition of American literature informed by Black surrealism mythology
and spirituality Ours is a stunning exploration of the possibilities and limitations of love
and freedom by a writer of capacious vision and talent.
