Chosen as the Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by Oprah's Book Club, Elle, Reader's Digest, The Rumpus, Kirkus Reviews, The Millions, Lit Hub, and more.
« Fans of The Underground Railroad, The Water Dancer and Let Us Descends will devour this lyrical and surreal tale. —Oprah Daily
From a writer with a unique voice and vision, a riveting epic that revisits the past to explore the true nature of freedom
In this skillful and radical novel hey, Phillip B. Williams introduces us to a mysterious woman named Saint, a fearsome magician who, in the 1830s, destroyed plantations across Arkansas to save the slaves there. She took the people she freed to a refuge of her own creation: a town just north of St. Louis, magically hidden from outsiders, is named Bear.It was in this magical place that Saint's great experiment – a truly isolated community where his people could thrive – took root. But although the Saint tries her best to protect the people of Ours, over time, illusions and memories begin to betray her, leaving the town vulnerable to invasion by newcomers with their own powers. Surname. As the cracks in Saint's creation were exposed, some began to wonder if the community's security was another form of slavery.
Set four decades and drawing on a rich American literary tradition inflected by surrealism, black mythology, and spirituality, our book is a stunning exploration of the possibilities The possibilities and limits of love and freedom from a writer with vast vision and talent.
