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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

By: Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo, Karen Chilton, Prentice Onayemi
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Publisher's summary

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION • A FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR FICTION • SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE

A New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year • A Time Must-Read Book of the Year • A Washington Post 10 Best Books of the Year • An Oprah Daily Top 20 Books of the Year • A BookPage Best Fiction Book of the Year • A Booklist 10 Best First Novels of the Year • A Kirkus 100 Best Novels of the Year • A Parade Pick • A Chicago Public Library Top 10 Best Books of the Year

An Instant Washington Post, USA Today, and Indie Bestseller

"Epic…. I was just enraptured by the lineage and the story of this modern African-American family…. A combination of historical and modern story—I’ve never read anything quite like it. It just consumed me." —Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Book Club Pick

An Indie Next Pick • A New York Times Book Everyone Will Be Talking About • A People 5 Best Books of the Summer • A Good Morning America 15 Summer Book Club Picks • An Essence Best Book of the Summer • A Washington Post 10 Books of the Month • A CNN Best Book of the Month • A Time 11 Best Books of the Month • A Ms. Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Goodreads Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A BookPage Writer to Watch • A USA Today Book Not to Miss • A Chicago Tribune Summer Must-Read • An Observer Best Summer Book • A Millions Most Anticipated Book • A Ms. Book of the Month • A Well-Read Black Girl Book Club Pick • A BiblioLifestyle Most Anticipated Literary Book of the Summer • A Deep South Best Book of the Summer • Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

The 2020 NAACP Image Award-winning poet makes her fiction debut with this National Book Award-longlisted, magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with all the luminescence and force of Homegoing; Sing, Unburied, Sing; and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era.

The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness,” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s problem on her shoulders.

Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.

To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Honoree Fanonne Jeffers (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

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  • Overall
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A engrossing multilayered tale

If you are looking for a straightforward story of a family, this is not the book for you. This story weaves across generations, intertwining families, relationships, conflicts, secrets and sorrows along the way. Additionally, if you generally like your books under 300 pages, this is not a book for you. But, if you want depth of character and great storytelling, you will be rewarded for your perseverance by selecting this book. I completed the Audible version and loved every minute of it. I found myself at points laughing out loud, crying, and actually talking to the narrator. As the story progresses, you are moved by the characters plight or angered by their behavior. The story evokes an emotional reaction with its telling, but good storytelling should.

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Excellent, Exceptional, Extraordinary MUST READ

I am absolutely blown away and speechless by this talented author. Honoree Fanonne Jeffers takes writing and storytelling to the highest levels. The characters are deeply developed, the story is expertly told from multiple viewpoints while keeping a cohesive plot that transports you to so many times and places in American history. The passion is so palatable you can't help but be swept up into the intimate lives of these complex men and women who are struggling with their own demons and conflicts. Don't even hesitate because of the length of the book, I promise you won't want it to end.

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American History at its Best!

This book brings together a n example of a nation 's history that has been kept quiet and ignored by the United States of America: African American/ Native American/ American history. It brings to us a saga about a family that has many secrets that has plagues generations from the Native Americans of the land, the African slaves who toiled the land, and the Caucasian Americans that took the land and its peoples to make them their possession. It shows all their histories, and how it belongs to the present new generation; she contacts all sides of her family. The beauty of their history; the voices that were ignored are finally able to speak to the present generation; she visits all the family, African American, Native American and Caucasian American. This book should be in every household, and taught in the classroom. It gives hope for people to find themselves, and where they are needed in society. Excellent!

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Excellent novel!

I loved this novel even if was 800 pages long. It is a must read.

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What a wonderful work of fiction!

I truly enjoyed this book. The author did a beautiful job of storytelling with its the different characters and historical reflections. I would recommend this book for freshman course reading.

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I feel honored

Wow, my heart feels full in appreciation for the imagination, creativity, research, artistry, and skill that went into this book. A glorious, sweeping, magnificent opus.

Terrific narration; I imagine at some point audio books will have several narrators to cover various characters, which will add to the richness.

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Must listen

Fabulous audiobook. Incredibly informative while also beautiful written. Narrator did a wonderful job. Character development was on point. Highly recommend.

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Total Experience

Reading the The Songs of W. E. B. DuBois was an amazing experience. Breaking down any particular part would take away from the entire journey. I appreciate the time, love and energy it took to create it.

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Narration is annoying

Not sure how great or not this book is because I couldn’t stand the reader. The voices in the sample are beautiful but the narration of the kids voice is grating. I was hoping for more of Prentice but it never happened.
Hoping to read the print copy.

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Excellent in every way!

Couldn't stop thinking about this story, if I can call it that. This literary experience feels like so much more than that small five-letter word.

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