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Rashad, Rae Giana

9780063330115, 0063330113

Paperback

 

In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing novel set in an alternate United States—a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences.

 

 “The Blueprint is an astounding work, an unflinching portrait of misogyny and racism in a speculative world terrifyingly close to our own. Rae Giana Rashad chronicles the generational ghosts of womanhood and how we understand ourselves through the stories of those we come from in a way I’ve never read before. A remarkable new talent and a timeless literary voice.”—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

 

 “Rashad pulls off a near-impossible feat. . . . Every sentence cuts as Rashad explores the intricacies of power and subjection.”—Washington Post

 

Solenne Bonet lives in Texas, where choice no longer exists. An algorithm determines a Black woman’s occupation, spouse, and residence. Solenne takes solace in penning the biography of Henriette, an ancestor who’d been an enslaved concubine to a wealthy planter in1800s Louisiana. But history repeats itself when Solenne, lonely and naive, becomes entangled with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking government official. Solenne finds the psychological bond unbearable, so she considers alternatives. With Henriette as her guide, she must decide whether and how to leave behind all she knows.

 

 Inspired by the lives of enslaved concubines to United States politicians and planters, The Blueprint unfolds over dual timelines to explore bodily autonomy, hypocrisy, and power imbalances through the lens of the nation’s most unprotected: a Black female.

The Blueprint (Paperback)

SKU: 9780063330115
$18.99Price
Ships by Feb. 11, 2025
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