Wash
Published by Grove Atlantic
“A lyrical story of courageous human beings transcending the cruelty and degradation of their slave-holding society.” —The Dallas Morning News
Winner of the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize
One of Time Magazine’s “21 Female Authors You Should Be Reading”
Named a Best Book of 2013 by The Wall Street Journal
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
An O, the Oprah Magazine Top Ten Pick
In early 1800s Tennessee, two men find themselves locked in an intimate power struggle. Richardson, a troubled Revolutionary War veteran, has spent his life fighting not only for his country but also for wealth and status. When the pressures of westward expansion and debt threaten to destroy everything he’s built, he sets Washington, a young man he owns, to work as his breeding sire. Wash, the first member of his family to be born into slavery, struggles to hold onto his only solace: the spirituality inherited from his shamanic mother. As he navigates the treacherous currents of his position, despair and disease lead him to a potent healer named Pallas. Their tender love unfolds against this turbulent backdrop while she inspires him to forge a new understanding of his heritage and his place in it. Once Richardson and Wash find themselves at a crossroads, all three lives are pushed to the brink.
“A masterly literary work . . . Haunting, tender and superbly measured, Wash is both redemptive and affirming.” —Major Jackson, The New York Times Book Review
Winner of the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize
One of Time Magazine’s “21 Female Authors You Should Be Reading”
Named a Best Book of 2013 by The Wall Street Journal
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
An O, the Oprah Magazine Top Ten Pick
In early 1800s Tennessee, two men find themselves locked in an intimate power struggle. Richardson, a troubled Revolutionary War veteran, has spent his life fighting not only for his country but also for wealth and status. When the pressures of westward expansion and debt threaten to destroy everything he’s built, he sets Washington, a young man he owns, to work as his breeding sire. Wash, the first member of his family to be born into slavery, struggles to hold onto his only solace: the spirituality inherited from his shamanic mother. As he navigates the treacherous currents of his position, despair and disease lead him to a potent healer named Pallas. Their tender love unfolds against this turbulent backdrop while she inspires him to forge a new understanding of his heritage and his place in it. Once Richardson and Wash find themselves at a crossroads, all three lives are pushed to the brink.
“A masterly literary work . . . Haunting, tender and superbly measured, Wash is both redemptive and affirming.” —Major Jackson, The New York Times Book Review
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