Yonder

A Novel

By: Jabari Asim

Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Lamarr Gulley, JD Jackson, Adam Lazarre-White, Imani Jade Powers, Janina Edwards

The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.

They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They are taught their captors’ tongues and their beliefs but they have a language and rituals all their own.

In a world that would be allegorical if it weren’t saturated in harsh truths, Cato and William meet at Placid Hall, a plantation in an unspecified part of the American South. Subject to the whims of their tyrannical and eccentric captor, Cannonball Greene, they never know what harm may befall them: inhumane physical toil in the plantation’s quarry by day, a beating by night, or the sale of a loved one at any moment. It’s that cruel practice—the wanton destruction of love, the belief that Black people aren’t even capable of loving—that hurts the most.

It hurts the reserved and stubborn William, who finds himself falling for Margaret, a small but mighty woman with self-possession beyond her years. And it hurts Cato, whose first love, Iris, was sold off with no forewarning. He now finds solace in his hearty band of friends, including William, who is like a brother; Margaret; Little Zander; and Milton, a gifted artist. There is also Pandora, with thick braids and long limbs, whose beauty calls to him.

Their relationships begin to fray when a visiting minister with a mysterious past starts to fill their heads with ideas about independence. He tells them that with freedom comes the right to choose the small things—when to dine, when to begin and end work—as well as the big things, such as whom and how to love. Do they follow the preacher and pursue the unknown? Confined in a landscape marked by deceit and uncertainty, who can they trust?

In an elegant work of monumental imagination that will reorient how we think of the legacy of America’s shameful past, Jabari Asim presents a beautiful, powerful, and elegiac novel that examines intimacy and longing in the quarters while asking a vital question: What would happen if an enslaved person risked everything for love?

Critic reviews

"Chameleonic writer Asim’s second novel after A Taste of Honey (2010) gets historical with a cast
of enslaved Black characters—searingly called the Stolen, their white enslavers rightfully are
Thieves—who attempt to survive the atrocities of the antebellum South. “All of us have two
tongues,” Janina Edwards opens as the narrator. “The first is for them. A broken joke of
language . . . The second is for us. It is a song of dreams and drums, whispered promises and
incantations.” And yet for each of the Stolen, the intimacy of their communications with each
other “can bring us to ruin,” risking vulnerabilities that reveal fears, desperation, joy, and most
especially love. Each of the remarkable, seasoned narrators seems well aware how the stunning
beauty of Asim’s lyrical writing ironically serves to amplify the brutality woven throughout. Adam
Lazarre White is measured William, who, driven by an inner strength, leans toward a gentleness
nurtured by his love for Margaret, who is at turns desperate and determined in Joniece Abbott-
Pratt’s presentation. JD Jackson aches as soulful Cato. Lamarr Gulley inspires both suspicion
and hope as freedom-encouraging Preacher Ransom. A single production quibble looms: that
rare who-read-whom would have added closing excellence." (Terry Hong)

"This is the beautiful story, painful in many places, of Cato and William, two enslaved men who meet in unimaginable conditions with the promise of freedom on the horizon. A talented cast, made up of Joniece Abbott–Pratt, Lamarr Gulley, JD Jackson, Adam Lazarre–White, Imani Jade Powers, and Janina Edwards, rise to the challenge of fleshing out the pain and beauty at the heart of this novel. Each narrator unflinchingly describes harsh conditions, separations of parents from children, and casual brutalities. Lazarre–White, Jackson, and Gulley provide rich baritones laced with soft Southern accents for the male characters. Abott–Pratt, Powers, and Edwards portray the strong, suffering women. Listeners will want to keep in mind the mature nature of this content and where they play these chapters."

poignant

Loved the story. Loved the narration. The brutality of the Thieves against the strengths of the Stollen is quite poignant. Highly recommended.

Powerful story of strength, faith and love

I finished listening to this book a couple of weeks ago and I can’t get it out of my mind. Very moving and beautiful account of enslaved people finding ways to overcome the violence and inhumanity of slavery. Excellent narration.

Rushed ending

The first 3/4s of this book were excellent. The characters and the story telling were enchanting and rich. That being said, the ending felt rushed and the sci-fi bend was unnecessary and made the story lose it's tension. It reminded me of a movie where too many ideas get thrown in and the main idea gets lost.

Great listen

I'd give it 6 stars if i could. Although portions can take your breath its great.

Powerful

a raw powerful look at what might have been the reality of life as a plantation slave. but certainly relatable to modern times in that we have seen how commonplace and acceptable cruelty and lack of respect for human life can become