This is a novel that is epic in scale, yet also tied to the minutiae of daily life. Scattered chapters throughout look to an African past, and a polyamorous King who goes by she and her, but they jar against the bleak plantation life, and the plethora of characters we meet living there. Perhaps the unsettled feeling for the reader is intentional? At its heart shines the tale of black, queer love between two young men, Samuel and Isaiah.
All it took was a moment, so both of them understood how precious time was. Imagine having as much of it as you wanted. To sing songs. Or to wash in a glittering river beneath a lucid sun, arms open to hold your one, whose breath was now your breath, inhale, exhale, same rhythm, same smile returned.
