Ours
A Novel
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4.2 • 5 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, People, Los Angeles Times, NPR, and more
Winner of France’s Prix du Premier Roman Étranger
“An inventive ode to self-determination and also a surrealistic vision of Black life as forged within the crucible of American history . . . [written in] lush, ornamental prose.” —The New Yorker
“Fans of The Underground Railroad, The Water Dancer, and Let Us Descend will devour this lyrical and surreal saga.” —Oprah Daily
From a writer of singular voice and vision, a mesmerizing epic that reimagines the past to explore the true nature of freedom
In this ingenious, sweeping novel, Phillip B. Williams introduces us to an enigmatic woman named Saint, a fearsome conjurer who, in the 1830s, annihilates plantations all over Arkansas to rescue the people enslaved there. She brings those she has freed to a haven of her own creation: a town just north of St. Louis, magically concealed from outsiders, named Ours.
It is in this miraculous place that Saint’s grand experiment—a truly secluded community where her people may flourish—takes root. But although Saint does her best to protect the inhabitants of Ours, over time, her conjuring and memories begin to betray her, leaving the town vulnerable to intrusions by newcomers with powers of their own. As the cracks in Saint’s creation are exposed, some begin to wonder whether the community’s safety might be yet another form of bondage.
Set over the course of four decades and steeped in a rich tradition of American literature informed by Black surrealism, mythology, and spirituality, Ours is a stunning exploration of the possibilities and limitations of love and freedom by a writer of capacious vision and talent.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The ambitious and lyrical debut novel from poet Williams (Mutiny) portrays a Missouri town populated by formerly enslaved people who've escaped their bonds with help from a conjurer. The epic begins in 1834, north of St. Louis, when a free Black woman named Saint manages to purchase a plot of land in Graysville, a community planned for white people, by offering $1,500 against an asking price of $200. After the sale is completed, the white residents flee, and Saint renames the town Ours. She then frees all the enslaved people at six plantations by casting a spell on the white owners that renders them fatally ill. The town continues to grow and remains unmolested because Saint's spells, which she was never properly trained to use, have inadvertently caused a "white plague" that causes the deaths of all local white people who believe Black folks are inferior. By the late 1840s, Saint's prohibition on leaving the town causes residents to question whether they're truly free, and she faces scrutiny for her imperfect conjuring abilities. The story runs on a bit too long, but the prose is often lively (newly liberated children "moved in the heat, the fire yanking sweat from their bodies, their naked feet sliding on the grass"). Williams's accomplished narrative leaves readers with much to ponder.
