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Book SynopsisA TOP TEN NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICKONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVOURITE BOOKS OF THE YEARAstonishing A great work infused with love and honesty' Alice Walker, author of The Color PurpleDeeply moving it is magnificent' Sarah Winman, author of Still LifeA remarkable work' Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)Epic It just consumed me'' Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Book ClubThe kind of book that comes around only once a decade'' Washington PostA breath-taking debut novel that chronicles the journey of generations of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade to our own tumultuous eraThe 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.From an early age, Ailey fights a battle to feel like she belongs, made all the more difficult by a ho
Trade Review‘Astonishing… I lived in this novel for three weeks. It is long. It is a journey. It is something so remarkable I’m not sure we collectively ever even dreamed it.’ Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple
’A major, almost 800-page novel that beautifully, and traumatically, weaves a spell of a story about more than ten generations of an American family—indigenous, African and European. It’s going to be a long time before I stop thinking about Ailey and Uncle Root. A remarkable work’ Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)
‘Once in a while a book comes along whose scope in storytelling is breath-taking. Whose characters are so vivid they embody a sense of rich familiarity. A book I urge everyone to read. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is that book’ Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
‘The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is the kind of book that comes around only once a decade … With the depth of its intelligence and the breadth of its vision, Love Songs is simply magnificent’ Washington Post
‘Quite simply the best book that I have read in a very, very long time… Just as Toni Morrison did in Beloved, Jeffers uses fiction to fill in the gaping blanks of those who have been rendered nameless and therefore storyless… A sweeping, masterly debut’ New York Times
‘Just as brilliant as it is necessary, just as intimate as it is expansive. An outstanding portrait of an American family and in turn, an outstanding portrait of America’ Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give
‘It’s awe-inspiring. Massive, unflagging, gripping, gorgeous. A sweeping family saga that is also history at its most intimate and vital. I will be recommending it everyone I know. Unforgettable’ Stef Penney, author of The Tenderness of Wolves
