★★★★★ Toniahe 01.09.2023 amazon.de

This is the story of Isaiah and Samuel, slaves on a Mississippi plantation, who are destined to defend their young love against all odds and adverse circumstances. Touching on what it means to love, lose, and presevere in the face of adversity, it paints a bleak but gripping picture of slavery in colonial America and makes for a truly exceptional debut novel.This book has a rather simple but masterfully exectued premise, and what it lacks in suspense is made up by a great narrative structure and beautiful writing: This is easily one of the most lyrically written books I ever read, intensely descriptive, and brimming with lenghty but beautiful metaphors - making the reading experience itself somewhat of an adventure here.Additionally, I found the way the author plays with gender and gender roles and the way he depicts the relationships between the different characters very enlightening to read, and though it was not always an easy read I practically flew through the pages.