USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Prophets’: A gay slave ‘ rebellion’
Homosexuality is at least as old as the Old Testament, but outside of a handful of scholarly reads that explore homosexuality (“A Desired Past,” “Intimate Matters” and “Zami: A New Spelling of my Name,” among others), the overall body of work shedding light on Black queer life is scant.
Along comes Robert Jones Jr., who taps into his brilliant dome to unearth an engrossing and magically written debut novel, “The Prophets” ( G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 400 pp., eeee). Jones’ freshman opus takes readers into the lives of two enslaved men, Isaiah and Samuel, who manage to sustain a romantic relationship on a Mississippi plantation.
Residing on Halifax Plantation – known as Empty because of its rural Mississippi location, and an allusion for the hollow existence of slave life – enslaved stable workers Isaiah and Samuel indulge in a romance that’s not as hidden as they believe. Right away, Jones borrows from celebrated scholar Robin D. G. Kelley, who writes about race and resistance, by re- creating small acts of slave rebellion. “The Prophets” begins with Isaiah, who is more aggressive than his lover, trying to make love to Samuel. “So, you risk whupping, then?” Samuel asks. “You forget? We ain’t even gotta do this much to risk whupping,” Isaiah responds.
Rebellion is one of the themes that stitches together the fabric of “The Prophets.” Maggie, a fellow slave, wet nurse and cook, indirectly takes part in the gay couple’s rebellion. “There were
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Haines says out of the three, Holzhauer was “the only successful villain.”
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