Libertie: A Times Book of the Month and Roxane Gay's Book Club May Pick

by Kaitlyn Greenidge

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2021 * LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 PEN AMERICA OPEN BOOK AWARD

A Times Book of the Month

One of Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club Picks

'A feat of monumental thematic imagination' - The New York Times

Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Brooklyn after the Civil War, Libertie Sampson was all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, had a vision for their future together: Libertie would go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother's choices and is hungry for something else - is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother who can pass, Libertie has skin that is too dark. When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it - for herself and for generations to come.

'A soaring exploration of what "freedom" truly means ... an elegantly layered, beautifully rendered tour de force that is not to be missed' - Roxane Gay

• ISBN10: 178816900X
• ISBN13: 9781788169004
• Publish Date: 29 April 2021 (first published 30 March 2021)
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 28 June 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Serpent's Tail
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

I'm not quite sure how I feel about Libertie. I finished it, but I'm not sure I truly grasped what the story was all about. The prose was easy to read. The world was beautifully written. I felt empathy for Libertie (and annoyance) with her. But I'm not sure I understood the message the author was trying to convey. Perhaps after I sit with it for awhile or encounter other readers, it will come to light. But right now, I'm caught between like and dislike.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.