There is James, the overseer, who is not much better off than the slaves and deeply despises them for it. There is Tim, Paul’s son, a painter with abolitionist sympathies who is drawn to the two boys as a sinner to forbidden fruit. Then there is the ethereal Ruth, Paul’s wife, who lives amid her own delusions and turns against Samuel and Isaiah after a perceived slight.

In this way, the book examines the rupture of genealogies and the creation of the American slave, contrasting eclectic worlds and belief systems – the African world that the enslaved are descended from, and the new world of the antebellum south. The slave trade demolishes the Kosongo people, some of whom are taken on a brutal journey across the Atlantic. The Kosongo are notable for their fluid notions of gender: we meet Kosii and Elewa, male lovers whose spirits, like Samuel and Isaiah, were bonded from birth, and who play a special role in the world and customs of the Kosongo. The story goes back in time to explore the genealogy of Samuel and Isaiah, who are descended from the Kosongo people in an unnamed part of Africa. There are the prophets of the title, “speaking in the seven voices”, who communicate from the world of the dead and try to offer the enslaved some guidance. The novel boasts an impressive cast of characters.

Little by little, Amos succeeds in turning the slave community, which has been protective of Samuel and Isaiah and their love, against them. Amos tries to protect Essie from further assault by ingratiating himself with Paul he becomes his protege and begins to preach the Christian gospel to the enslaved. The encounter produces Solomon, which numbs Essie and angers Amos, a slave who loves and hopes to build a life with her on the plantation. Impatient for results, Paul rapes a slave named Essie whom Isaiah has failed to impregnate. They refuse to do so, instead finding refuge and pleasure in their romance, which inspires in them a delightful if heartbreaking joy. To Paul, the slave owner, the pair are “young bucks” fit for breeding more slaves to work on his plantation.

The prophets book robert jones jr