Exquisite writing that drew me on ..even clarity in setting out timelines and generations at opening was impressive ..but it's the voice and the nuance about love that finally comes through. I'd been reading du Bois recently and was attracted by that name in title, so I was slightly expecting something Different but more-than-settled for this beauty.

A breath taking first novel from Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. Its tells the complex storyline of an interconnected and multigenerational family from colonial times, through the civil war to the present. It is a history book as well as work of fiction. Well researched. The story is interspersed with poetry from WEB Du Bois. A long read, but a memorable one.

An absolutely phenomenal historical fiction that's worthy of all it's praise! What really shines through is the amount of research that has gone into Love Songs, and the passion that the author had to tell this story.

An ambitious and epic book. It's very long but rarely boring. I found the university scenes a little confusing but that's probably because I don't know much about the sorority system. The characters are wonderful and the whole saga is fascinating. I didn't 'love it' but I did find it extremely good.

This is an astonishing book and hard to believe it’s a debut novel. It is so accomplished in its rich characterisation, complex timelines, and beautiful writing. It’s obvious that the author is a poet but the language drives the book rather than allowing it to outshine what is being said.

A family saga about a woman who traces her lineage and a way for us to learn with her about the experience of race inequality in America. It is a clever mechanism to reflect where we are as a world.

The book is heart breaking in parts, funny in parts and a triumph in the whole and deserves to be widely read.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

This is a deep, long novel full of heart and heartache, truly engrossing and very easy to recommend. It is epic yet intimate and fully deserving of the accolades which have been bestowed upon it. Highly recommend.

An ambitious and sweeping depiction of multiple generations of one African American family, as they navigate questions of identity and family history through several eras of American history. Covering topics of colonialism, the slave trade, and culture, although this is a mountainous read, it is no doubt packed with rich detail and beautiful prose.

This book is a brilliant achievement! An expanding, ambitious multigenerational history told through beautiful prose - it is only made more complete and fulfilling by the inclusion of WEB Dubois’ work - it is well amalgamated and the final result is a pleasurable read!

A really important novel that very much highlights the centuries of pain and pressure American Black communities have faced, during and as a legacy of slavery. A bit unremitting at times but important that it's out there and being read.

I heard so much hype for this novel in America and was excited to get to it and it did not disappoint. Full of great characters and interesting storytelling this is a strong debut novel. The way Honoree Fanonne Jeffers weaves together the story of Ailey and her family with the story of their ancestors is done so deftly making this a powerful read. Reminded me of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi with a touch of Betty by Tiffany McDaniel both favourite books from past years. Even though this is a chunky book I was utterly captivated throughout.

This book is truly epic, not only is it long but the story is a incredibly complex covering multiple timelines of interconnected families over centuries in Georgia. The reoccurring protagonist it is Ailey Pearl Garfield, whose reconciliation with her family history past and present plays becomes increasingly
critical to her forming her own identity. Uncovering generations of bondage, savagery and resilience as well as how her ancestors white, African American and indigenous Americans had impacted upon each other it is a uniquely American story. Harrowing and moving in equal measure, it is a demanding read for those that love generational family dramas.

How do you review a book like The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers? A book that so many loved, that has worn so many accolades already, a book that’s so very important, that covers just so much?

This read was mighty, both in scope and in the time it took me to get through it. But then the story deserved to be savoured and laid out as it was. I won’t go into any details as it’s an epic family saga spanning over 400 years, from when the Native Americans still owned their own land and lived according to their rules to the here and now.

Told in alternating chapters (more recent times) and songs (the story of the ancestors), this book covers it all: the forced relocation of the the indigenous peoples, slavery, emancipation, Jim Crow, racism, sexism, feminism…whoaaaa you might think — and you’d be right.

It is a big book but I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Although I have to put a special shout out here to Lydia and her story. My heart broke for her and I’m sure I’ll never look at the world in quite the same way again.

A book that deserves to be read and savoured. Make time for it, because it so very much deserves it!

Beautifully written and a must read! A complex story mixed with abuse, pain and the side of healing.

This was such a good book. I love historical fiction, especially when it is about eras/ situations that I previously knew nothing about and this was definitely one of those books. It was so well researched and so compelling in its narrative that not only did I love reading it but I felt that I learned too. A really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Where do I even begin with this novel? The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is a truly stunning, expansive novel following generations of the same family and does an incredible job of mapping out their past, present and future.

I truly loved this book and how immersive it was and how deeply I felt connected to the various characters, with our present day protagonist Ailey being the absolute star. I also loved Lydia, Ailey's older sister who I felt such a deep, resounding empathy for. All of the characters are honestly so well developed and since we get such an expansive view into their lives - it's hard not to feel empathy for them and even if we don't always agree with their choices, we understand them and that's perhaps one of the most beautiful things about this novel. The way it offers us these characters and their stories and depicts them in their full humanity - both their triumphs and flaws and everything in between.

The novel is a tale of family at it's core and belonging - of how to define yourself in a world which tries to box you in and how coming back to a sense of home can provide healing and reconcile those feelings of isolation. I honestly adored Ailey's family - her mother, father and sisters and extended family but especially her great uncle, Uncle Root who is her safe place to land no matter what she experiences. I really enjoyed how Jeffers depicts this complex family who fall together and apart over all these years - both as individuals and together and it's just SO well done.

Overall - this book is a gorgeous piece of art, it's a long, chunky read but definitely well worth the read so I hope you don't let the size put you off - you won't be able to stop reading!

Wow! An absolute epic. This is an amazing novel, and even more so as a debut by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. She's a biggie at a little over 800 pages, and a timespan of hundreds of years, drawing on a tapestry of multiple generations of multi-racial people in America's South. Much of the book is seen through the eyes Ailey Garfield who was born in the 1970s. Her family had lived on the same plot of land since the 1700s, and we see how this land was initially snatched from the indigenous peoples of the South, and how this same land was used as a cotton plantation and worked by slaves. Unfortunately, this brings in themes of abuse, rape and violence, so this is something to watch out for. Post emancipation, Black people in the South faced issues like the KKK. I was a little shocked to read that after slavery, Black people had no monetary value to the white man, and that's when lynchings become more common. There are some upsetting but valid educational details, and I can't imagine the amount of research Jeffers had to conduct.

I loved that all the different strands of the story are tied together by Ailey at the end of the novel, in the way that she's researching her family history. I think maybe the only very small negative I would have is that I did get a wee bit confused by the going backwards and forwards in time - I didn[t feel like it was always very clear, and there are a lot of characters to remember too. There is a family tree at the start of the book, but this isn't always easy to go back to in an e-book, as this version was. But I would really highly recommend! I had never even heard of WEB Du Bois, and Jeffers points to other books about slavery, such as the journals of Fanny Kemble, abolitionist and wife of a Georgian plantation owner.

Wow! Where do I even begin to write a review of this enormous tour-de force?

This amazingly detailed and fact filled novel spans many generations of an African-American family, way back to their African and part-Cherokee roots. The characters are larger than life and truly believable and, I could picture the homes and surroundings of the different generations of this family, even though I am not familiar with America and nor do I have African-American blood.

At times the account of treatment to slaves and their desperation was really harrowing, but the story has to be told, and the wonderful change particularly of the women characters from restrained earlier generations to strong modern women, and the men that surround them was marvelous to behold.

I cannot imagine the amount of time it took to research all the fact necessary to tell this story, and relate it in a way that was not like reading a history textbook. The author has such style! My one comment is that it could have easily been divided into a trilogy, let alone more books, and busy as I am, it has taken me three full months to read it. I can easily imagine it being dramatised, so vivid are the characters. The only reason I gave it four stars rather than five is the length of the novel, the content and visualisation is absolutely superb.

This novel is such a beautiful experience, and one which I’m grateful to have known. Deeply researched, filled with emotion, and with an unfathomable ability to pull you into the lives of its characters, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is something very important.

Jeffers weaves the past into the present as she chronicles the ancestry of a Black family in America. Stories flick around in time as we piece together the connections and begin to understand the family tree and the dynamics which are attached.

Our character focus is primarily on the women of the family; we see their power contrasting against their struggles, we see how women are the essential components within a family, we see them rise and fall. There’s a lot of commentary on the role of Black women and what’s expected of them, both by white people and by Black men. Jeffers does well to show us this happening in both past and present narratives, whilst also allowing her characters to strive for more than just settling into the expectations of others.

And despite the gorgeous prose, the wonderful structure, and the skill Jeffers has in reaching out from the page and grasping you by the neck, it’s the characters who really make this novel special.

The novel also offers required and much appreciated history lessons. I’m sure we all know our school teachings have been diluted and whitewashed, and to discover the real stories we must dig deeply. Jeffers teaches a great deal here about America’s true history; the important things without justification, and the horrific things with peoples’ faces attached to them.

Eight hundred pages without a single word wasted, each of them dripping with beauty, emotion, layers, and importance. Jeffers has done an incredible thing here, something to be savoured and appreciated for its depth, honesty, and tenacity.

“These are the incongruities of memory. It is hard to hold on to the entirety of something, but pieces may be held up to light.”

I absolutely loved this book! An immersive and deeply satisfying emotional journey through black and indigenous history, told through the lense of a protagonist who is growing in her female power. The hardships and suffering she and her ancestors and her family faced in their lifetimes was devastating. The way the history, coming of age story and family saga weaves together was impeccable.

It is easy to see that Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’s debut novel is the work of a poet. The canvas was big and this was a family saga with all the heart breaking intensity one would expect, executed with skill and precision. A powerful and gripping novel and a hugely impressive debut.