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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

By: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo, Karen Chilton, Prentice Onayemi
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About this listen

Immerse yourself in a celebration of Black womanhood and an epic tale of the stories that span generations.

Ailey Pearl Garfield grows up between the City in the north and summers spent in her mother’s small hometown of Chicasetta, Georgia. From an early age, she finds herself in a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hurt in her past, 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 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.

‘Mesmerising… magnificent’ Independent

‘Astonishing… A great work infused with love and honesty’ Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

‘Gripping, gorgeous. A sweeping family saga that is also history at its most intimate and vital’ Stef Penney, author of The Tenderness of Wolves

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION • SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN LITERARY PRIZE

20 Highest Rated Books on Goodreads 2025 • New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year • Time 10 Best Books of the Year • Washington Post 10 Best Books of the Year • People 10 Best Books of the Year • Booklist 10 Best First Novels of the Year

©2021 Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited African American Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

‘Prepare to be wholly engrossed… Phenomenal’ Observer

‘Utterly essential’ iNews

‘Intimate, considered, beautifully written and perceived, ambitious and ultimately satisfying. Outstanding’ Daily Mail

‘Astonishing… I lived in this novel for three weeks. It is long. It is a journey. It is something so remarkable I’m not sure we collectively ever even dreamed it.’ Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

‘Beautifully, and traumatically, weaves a spell of a story about more than ten generations of an American family―indigenous, African and European… Remarkable’ Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)

‘Breath-taking … A book I urge everyone to read. It is deeply moving and deeply informative. It is magnificent’ Sarah Winman, author of Still Life

‘Exceptional in the way it engages so deeply and emphatically with history’ Guardian

‘Epic and intimate… an extraordinary achievement’ The Spectator

‘A work of profound beauty’ Irish Times

‘Extraordinary … moving and evocative’ TLS

‘The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is the kind of book that comes around only once a decade … Simply magnificent’ Washington Post

‘Quite simply the best book that I have read in a very, very long time’ New York Times

‘Just as brilliant as it is necessary, just as intimate as it is expansive. An outstanding portrait of an American family and in turn, an outstanding portrait of America’ Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give

‘Masterful and stunning … These Love Songs make for a frank, feminist, and unforgettable read’ Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
All stars
Most relevant
Despite the laborious 29+ hours read, I managed to consume it over only four days, the reason? My inability to stop listening. The realness of the various voices of all the characters and the depth of the feelings stirred up in me at the indignity of the treatment of the slaves meant I had to see it through. Then there was the humour mixed with unutterably vile descriptions of brutality of the slave master,lead me on a roller coaster of emotions I’d have preferred not to have been stirred towards,nonetheless I am grateful for the
honesty and bravery it must have taken the author to write. CH

An extraordinary read

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Slow burner but well worth persevering. It’s shines a light on current days issues but at the same time shows how these issues have remained consistent throughout history. Thought provoking and full of feeling.

Slow burner but worth every minute

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I was right to trust in the reviews. A gripping work of literary fiction with it's foundation firmly rooted in history. I loved every moment

Brilliant

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thoroughly enjoyed the story of the multiple generations, fascinating insight into what each has has to face and overcome.

fascinating

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Loved it so much I bought the kindle version. The quotes, the stories, shifting through time. Wish I could read more
Read and share. A book for every activist academic and white person invested in understanding the historical impact of slavery on our contemporary times

Amazing

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