Wow...I feel like this book is much too important for me to simply say whether I “enjoyed” it. Robert Jones’ inversions of history, self, and intimacy in this book are stunning. I was drawn not just to his portrait of the love between two enslaved men, but to the many times slavery rendered love inaccessible for the Black people on “Empty”, a Mississippi plantation owned by Paul Halifax.

What does Paul, son of Jonah and father of Timothy (talk about naming!), make accessible in place of love? Religion, particularly to Amos, who is introduced as an Uncle Tom-like figure, and fleshed out to be something more as he becomes a preacher in order to carve out a sliver of security for his wife. In both the format and plot of this novel, Jones deploys the Bible as “the master’s tool.” Various books (mostly Old Testament) are used as chapter titles, and Paul’s interpretation of the text is passed down to Amos, who uses his newfound religion against Samuel and Isaiah. I appreciated how Jones honestly showed the harm Amos caused this couple, while also keeping in mind that he too was making impossible choices in the face of unimaginable oppression. Under Jones’ care, we see how Amos adopts a “stop acting out before you make things harder for us” approach to the other slaves on Empty, a common survival pattern in abusive environments.

Beyond Amos, I think I really appreciated how Jones affirmed Samuel and Isaiah’s relationship without trying to “reclaim” scripture. When drawing historical parallels and moral standards to show how loving their relationship is, he points to their African ancestors, many of whom never knew Christianity. He also shines a light on how when something or someone is used for evil, they can never fully be separated from this past. Gender, sexuality, and religion all have an anti-Black “utility” in the world of Empty; these constructs and belief systems help organize the oppression of those enslaved. Jones is well aware of this history, and thus doesn’t concern himself with salvaging Isaiah and Samuel’s “right” to be men, gay, or Christians. As someone who is moving away from searching for a biblical justification for my sexuality towards believing that no book should be able to prove or disprove my humanity, I appreciated where Jones lands in this regard.

Despite all of this incredible artistry and theory-made-fiction, I can’t really say I had a good time reading this book. Jones’ prose was too flowery for me to easily follow, and I found myself skipping through sections that meandered for too long. There are too many narrators in the “present” period, and three different time periods to keep track of, at least one of which I could have done without. I feel like the way you can tell this was his debut novel is because it feels like all the literary ideas he’d ever had made their way in here. This urge to get it all out is surely understandable, but ultimately felt overwhelming for me as a reader.

I would still recommend this book, just because the topics are so resonant and I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this. However, I would recommend taking your time and maybe opting for the audiobook.