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In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing dystopian novel set in an alternate United States―a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences of their profound power imbalance.
Solenne Bonet lives in Texas where choice no longer exists. An algorithm determines a Black woman's occupation, spouse, and residence. Solenne finds solace in penning the biography of Henriette, an ancestor who'd been an enslaved concubine to a wealthy planter in 1800s Louisiana. But history repeats itself when Solenne, lonely and naïve, finds herself entangled with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking government official. Solenne finds the psychological bond unbearable, so she considers alternatives. With Henriette as her guide, she must decide whether and how to leave behind all she knows.
Inspired by the lives of enslaved concubines to U.S. politicians and planters, this speculative fiction novel, The Blueprint, unfolds over dual timelines to explore bodily autonomy, hypocrisy, and power imbalances through the lens of the nation's most unprotected: a Black girl.
"Rashad's fantastic debut evokes familiar history, such as Sally Hemings' forced relationship with Thomas Jefferson, yet is also wholly new, weaving together vividly imagined characters in Solenne and Henriette and deftly moving through multiple time periods while capturing Solenne's haunted yet strong voice... . Horrifying, captivating, and full of urgency." —Kirkus Reviews
"A consuming debut ... a provocative and worthy mash-up of historical and speculative fiction." —Publishers Weekly
"The Blueprint is an astounding work, an unflinching portrait of misogyny and racism in a speculative world terrifyingly close to our own. Rae Giana Rashad chronicles the generational ghosts of womanhood, and how we understand ourselves through the stories of those we come from, in a way I've never read before. A remarkable new talent, and a timeless literary voice." —Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push
This information about The Blueprint 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.
Rae Giana Rashad is the PEN-nominated author of The Blueprint. A native Texan, she lives in the Dallas area with her husband and children. Sweet Water is her second novel.
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