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AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION

"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

Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize • 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 Time 11 Best Books of the Month • A Washington Post 10 Books of the Month • A CNN Best Book of the Month • A Ms. Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Goodreads Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Book Page 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 National Book Award–nominated poet makes her fiction debut with this 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.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: An Oprah's Book Club Novel by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers is a powerful and poignant novel that tells the story of Ailey Pearl Garfield, a young African American woman who is coming of age in the early 20th century. The novel follows Ailey as she navigates the complexities of race, class, and identity in a time of great social and political upheaval.

Ailey is a gifted singer, and her voice becomes a powerful force for change. She uses her music to speak out against injustice and to inspire others to fight for their rights. The novel follows Ailey's journey as she finds her voice and uses it to make a difference in the world.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel that is sure to stay with you long after you finish reading it. The novel is a must-read for anyone who is interested in African American history, social justice, or the power of music.

Here are some of the key themes explored in the novel:

• Race and Identity: The novel explores the complexities of race and identity in a time of great social and political upheaval. Ailey Pearl Garfield is a young African American woman who is coming of age in the early 20th century, and she must navigate the challenges of growing up in a segregated society.
• The Power of Music: Music plays a powerful role in the novel. Ailey Pearl Garfield is a gifted singer, and her voice becomes a powerful force for change. She uses her music to speak out against injustice and to inspire others to fight for their rights.
• Social Justice: The novel also explores the theme of social justice. Ailey Pearl Garfield is a witness to the many injustices that African Americans face in the early 20th century, and she becomes a vocal advocate for change.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is a powerful and moving novel that is sure to stay with you long after you finish reading it. The novel is a must-read for anyone who is interested in African American history, social justice, or the power of music.