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Published Sep 2021
504 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
The epic rendering of a Black woman's journey through slavery and liberation, set in 17th-century colonial Brazil; the return of a major voice in American literature.
First discovered and edited by Toni Morrison, Gayl Jones has been described as one of the great literary writers of the 20th century. Now, for the first time in over 20 years, Jones is ready to publish again. Palmares is the first of five new works by Gayl Jones to be published in the next two years, rewarding longtime fans and bringing her talent to a new generation of readers.
Intricate and compelling, Palmares recounts the journey of Almeyda, a Black slave girl who comes of age on Portuguese plantations and escapes to a fugitive slave settlement called Palmares. Following its destruction, Almeyda embarks on a journey across colonial Brazil to find her husband, lost in battle.
Her story brings to life a world impacted by greed, conquest, and colonial desire. She encounters a mad lexicographer, desperate to avoid military service; a village that praises a god living in a nearby cave; and a medicine woman who offers great magic, at a greater price.
Combining the author's mastery of language and voice with her unique brand of mythology and magical realism, Jones reimagines the historical novel. The result is a sweeping saga spanning a quarter century, with vibrant settings and unforgettable characters, steeped in the rich oral tradition of its world. Of Gayl Jones, the New Yorker noted, "[Her] great achievement is to reckon with both history and interiority, and to collapse the boundary between them." Like nothing else before it, Palmares embodies this gift.
Palmares is the first book in what is said to be a six volume series, all to be released by end of 2022.
"Those familiar with Corregidora (1975) and Eva's Man (1976) will not be surprised by the sustained intensity of both imagery and tone. There is also sheer wonder, insightful compassion, and droll wit to be found among the book's riches. Jones seems to have come through a life as tumultuous as her heroine's with her storytelling gifts not only intact, but enhanced and enriching. It is marvelous, in every sense, to have a new Gayl Jones novel to talk about." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[A]n epic and inventive saga that weaves together magic, mythology, and Portuguese colonial history...The magical elements are difficult to get an initial purchase on...but Jones brings her established incisiveness and linguistic flair to the horrifyingly accurate portrayal of racial struggle. All in all, it's a triumphant return." - Publishers Weekly
"Jones makes a strong return with a mesmerizing epic of late seventeenth-century Brazil...Jones' storytelling exerts a powerful pull, and readers will achieve complete immersion in a setting in which African and Indigenous cultures are memorably delineated...Mystical sequences give the plot additional depth and texture...[A] superb reclamation of the historical novel." - Booklist
"A remarkable new outing from a major voice in American letters." - Esquire
"The story ends not exactly in medias res, but on a beat that begs continuation. This feeling of masterpiece-in-and-as-process is deliberate, and genius. "Palmares" is the first of five new works by Gayl Jones to come in the next two years. After suffering the author's absence for far too long, we — the witnesses longing for texts like hers, the borderline sacred — can rejoice at her return." -- New York Times, Robert Jones Jr.
"Gayl Jones conjures with deep intimacy and immediacy a brutal world that is centuries past but fully alive with spirit and mystery. Page after breathtaking page, her prose is intricate, mesmerizing, and endlessly inventive and subversive. Palmares is absolutely stunning!" - Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
"Palmares enfolds the reader in a bygone world, with a glance to our own, and has a great whispering lushness that is both magical and panoramic." - Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People
This information about Palmares was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Connecticut College, "Koiné 1971"
Gayl Jones was born in Kentucky in 1949. She attended Connecticut College and Brown University, and has taught at Wellesley and the University of Michigan. Her landmark books include Corregidora, Eva's Man, and The Healing, the last a National Book Award finalist and New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her book Palmares was named a New York Times Editors' Choice and has received countless other accolades.
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