The Furrows

Praise

“A triumph . . . so visceral it leaves the reader breathless.”—New York Magazine

“A novel that reclaims and refashions the genre of the elegy, charging it with as much eros as pathos.”—The New Yorker

“With warmth and dexterity, Serpell has crafted a narrative that underscores how loss can show us the depths of our love.”—Time

“Intimate . . . a miasmic journey through grief and identity, terror and uncertainty, that is finely and compellingly wrought.”—Los Angeles Times

“The Furrows is an English major’s dream date. Serpell taps influences across genres, from Virginia Woolf to Dashiell Hammett to Toni Morrison.”—The Star Tribune

“Surreal and magical . . . confirms Serpell’s place as one of the most innovative and intelligent writers today.”—Financial Times

“A wrenching examination of grief, memory, and reality . . .  Let this breathtaking novel roll over you in waves.”—Esquire

“Is there anything more exciting than an artist in their prime? The Furrows follows Namwali Serpell’s tremendous debut . . . with an even more intimate, subversive novel . . .”—Chicago Tribune

“A gorgeous, surreal meditation on identity and mourning, one that squeezes the heartstrings and rarely relaxes its grip.”—Vulture

“A powerful exploration of grief, memory, and loss that becomes part of a larger story of Black identity and double consciousness.”—Poets & Writers

“Enthralling . . . Serpell [is] utterly unafraid to fuse and forge genres, turning up the levels of suspense, mystery, and even romance.”—The A.V. Club

“This extraordinary new novel explores love, loss, and longing in new and unexpected ways.”—Ms.

“[A] gorgeous new novel about grief, hope, and what W.E.B. Du Bois called ‘double consciousness.’”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Already earning its author comparisons to Toni Morrison. . . Destined to end up on every Best of the Year list.”—Lit Hub

“Serpell continues to expand the possibilities of what literature can accomplish.”—Booklist

“Stylistically refreshing and emotionally intense, cementing Serpell’s place among the best writers going.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A ghost story, a murder mystery, a thriller, a redemptive love story that never loses its knife edge of danger. A daring and masterful novel about how we respond to the mystery of death.”—Kiran Desai
 
“A genuine tour de force.”—Jonathan Lethem

“A piercing, sharply written novel about the conjuring power of loss.”—Raven Leilani

“Riveting.”—Tracy K. Smith
  
“A triumph, a book that succeeds brilliantly in reconfiguring and retuning itself.”—Jamel Brinkley
 
“Thrilling [in] its ability to constantly surprise and keep us on the edge of our seats.”—Maaza Mengiste
 
“Who could have imagined that a novel about loss and long grieving could be so soaring, so sexy, so luminously beautiful and poetic.”—Neel Mukherjee

“A deeply felt novel that deserves to be read.”—Nicole Dennis-Benn