Heralding the arrival of a breathtaking new literary talent, Johnson's searing debut details a visceral racist attack in Charlottesville and the complex interplay between a group of the targeted, holed up in Thomas Jefferson's historic plantation home.
'ELECTRIFYING' Colson Whitehead
'ABSOLUTELY UNFORGETTABLE' Roxane Gay
At a time of rolling blackouts and terrible storms battering America, the neighbourhood of First Street, Charlottesville comes under attack by violent white supremacists. A group of friends, families and strangers flee together in an abandoned bus and head for the hills above town.
Led by Da'Naisha Love, they arrive at Monticello, the historic plantation-home of Thomas Jefferson, deserted but for its ghosts. As a young Black descendant of Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Da'Naisha has a complex relationship with the house. Tentative at first, the group explores rooms, forages on the grounds, and finds a kind of shelter. But the terror from their town is coming closer, and soon they have an impossible decision to make.
My Monticello is the story of nineteen heart-stopping days of refuge and reclamation, told by Da'Naisha with courage and with grace. This deeply moving novel is a searing indictment of racism past and present, and a powerful vision of resistance, community and hope.
'ONE OF THE FINEST NOVELS OF 2021 and A FUTURE CLASSIC' The Bookseller
Early readers love My Monticello (reviews from NetGalley):
'So much to love... A truly astonishing debut' *****
'What an incredible voice she has' *****
'Deserves the praise heaped upon it' *****
'Johnson's writing is vivid and bold' ****
'The end is terrific, terrifying and mind blowing' ****
'Raw, powerful and a great contemporary voice' ****
'Definitely deserves a spot on your reading list' ****
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9781787303027
Number of pages: 192
Weight: 316 g
Dimensions: 222 x 144 x 22 mm
Riveting storytelling. This incandescent work speaks not just to the moment, but to history - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A badass debut by any measure - nimble, knowing, and electrifying - Colson Whitehead, twice-Pulitzer Prize winning author of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD and THE NICKEL BOYS
An electric new literary voice - Esquire
Absolutely unforgettable. Johnson's prose soars to remarkable heights - Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of HUNGER and AYITI
Unputdownable... Extraordinarily powerful... One of the finest books of 2021 and a future classic - The Bookseller, Book of the Month
My Monticello is a magnificent debut that holds so much in its gaze. This breathtaking, artful book is a gift - Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A BURNING
I was enthralled from the opening lines of this book. Stunning - Charles Yu, National Book Award-winning author of INTERIOR CHINATOWN
This is a stunning debut by a brilliant and original new voice - Danielle Evans, award-winning author of THE OFFICE OF HISTORICAL CORRECTIONS
Johnson's debut book is stellar - Kirkus (starred review)
A powerful and beautiful read - Nina Pottell, Prima
An extraordinary debut from a gifted writer with an unflinching view of history and what may come of it. - Washington Post
Johnson is a great observer. The novel is full of stunningly precise figurative language... [it's] utterly absorbing...a meditation of how the brutal past of slavery still has a potent legacy in contemporary America; it also portrays the redemptive powers of love and care - Tomiwa Owolade, Daily Telegraph
This powerful and memorable book is a must-read - Joanne Finney, Good Housekeeping
A powerful, thought-provoking novel - Sarra Manning, Red
[A] tenderly rendered apocalyptic novella... Johnson is an unusually sensitive writer, combining a mood of impending doom with language of soulful beauty - Claire Allfree, Daily Mail
This brief, brilliant gut-punch of a novel is frighteningly plausible... Lush, harrowing, and entirely believable - a marvel of economy - Paul Connolly, Metro
My Monticello is short, satisfying and punchy: more debuts should be like this - John Self, The Times
Stunning - Eithne Farry, Mail on Sunday
Chilling, affecting and intelligent - Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday
This brief, brilliant gut-punch of a novel is frighteningly plausible - Paul Connolly, Metro, Christmas Gift Guide 2021*
My Monticello is a bleak story but reading it elicits the same kind of sensation that comes from listening to a poignant blues song: there is pleasure in its creation without denying the pain of the subject - Colin Grant, Guardian
A history lesson, a fable, an inquiry into the nature of historic monuments, a heartfelt tale of community and above all a nail-biting story. - Guardian
This is one of the most exciting debuts of 2021. The story starts with America battling storms and blackouts when a neighbourhood is attacked by white supremacists. A handful of folks flee the scene and find refuge in... More
My Monticello is a visceral and at times hard-to-read novella, but it’s also a story which is difficult to put down.
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4.5 stars
Monticello is a Palladian mansion in Charlottesville, Virginia, the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson who is estimated to have had about 130 slaves there. This includes Sally Hemings, a biracial slave...
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