u003cbu003eBest Book of the Yearu003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003eNPR • u003ciu003eThe Washington Post • u003cbu003eu003ciu003eBoston Globeu003c/iu003e u003c/bu003e• TIME • USA Today • Entertainment Weekly • Real Simple • Parade • Buzzfeed • Electric Literature • LitHub • BookRiot • PopSugar • Goop • Library Journal • BookBub •u003c/iu003e KCRW u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003e• Finalist for the National Book Awardu003cbru003eu003cbu003e• One of the u003ciu003eNew York Timesu003c/iu003e Notable Books of the Yearu003cbru003eu003c/bu003e• One of the u003ciu003eNew York Timesu003c/iu003e Best Historical Fiction of the Yearu003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003e• Instant u003ciu003eNew York Timesu003c/iu003e Bestseller u003cbru003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003eA singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.u003c/bu003e u003cbru003eu003cbru003eIsaiah was Samuel's and Samuel was Isaiah's. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master's gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel's love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation's harmony. u003cbru003eu003cbru003e With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr., fiercely summons the voices of slaver and enslaved alike, from Isaiah and Samuel to the calculating slave master to the long line of women that surround them, women who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuries—of ancestors and future generations to come—culminates in a climactic reckoning, u003ciu003eThe Prophets u003c/iu003efearlessly reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.