cover image Antebellum

Antebellum

R. Kayeen Thomas. S&S/. Strebor, $15 trade paper (480p) ISBN 978-1-593-0942-56

In his wildly original second novel, Thomas (Light: Stories of Urban Resurrection) tells the story of Moses Jenkins—otherwise known as superstar rapper Da Nigga—and his firsthand knowledge of his ancestors’ path. After writing an attack song about a rival rap group and surviving an attempted hit on live TV, Moses is shot on his mother’s front steps and wakes up in the antebellum South as a slave. Used to commanding legions of people with little effort, the proud and cocky superstar soon learns—through horrifyingly graphic descriptions of torture—that he has no power in the past. But as he manages to stay alive, Moses demonstrates his own brand of strength and courage to his fellow slaves, including medicine woman Aunt Sarah, taciturn Roka, and Ella, a dead ringer for his 21st-century manager, SaTia. As Moses toggles through present-day and the past, the question arises: has he died or is this all a dream? Whatever the case, Moses—beneath the bling and bluster—is a changed man, no matter what the year. A gripping read aptly demonstrating the horrific conditions in which slaves had to survive—and the importance of never forgetting one’s roots. (July)