My Monticello

A powerful call for collectivism and one of the biggest American debuts of 2021In a time of rolling blackouts and terrible storms battering America, the neighbourhood of 1st Street, Charlottesville is attacked by violent white supremacists.Families, friends and strangers flee for their lives in an abandoned bus, taking refuge in Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's historic plantation home in the hills above town.Over nineteen heart-stopping days the group find ways to care for and sustain one another as the world burns beneath them.Told by Da'Naisha Love, a young Black descendant of Jefferson and Sally Hemings, My Monticello is a searing indictment of racism past and present, and a powerful vision of resistance, hope and love.

“A badass debut by any measure -- nimble, knowing, and electrifying.”

Riveting storytelling. This incandescent work speaks not just to the moment, but to history Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A badass debut by any measure - nimble, knowing, and electrifying Colson Whitehead, twice-Pulitzer Prize winning author of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD and THE NICKEL BOYS
An electric new literary voice Esquire
Absolutely unforgettable. Johnson's prose soars to remarkable heights Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of HUNGER and AYITI
Unputdownable... Extraordinarily powerful... One of the finest books of 2021 and a future classic The Bookseller, Book of the Month
My Monticello is a magnificent debut that holds so much in its gaze. This breathtaking, artful book is a gift Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A BURNING
I was enthralled from the opening lines of this book. Stunning Charles Yu, National Book Award-winning author of INTERIOR CHINATOWN
This is a stunning debut by a brilliant and original new voice Danielle Evans, award-winning author of THE OFFICE OF HISTORICAL CORRECTIONS
Johnson's debut book is stellar Kirkus (starred review)
A powerful and beautiful read -- Nina Pottell Prima
An extraordinary debut from a gifted writer with an unflinching view of history and what may come of it. Washington Post
Johnson is a great observer. The novel is full of stunningly precise figurative language... [it's] utterly absorbing...a meditation of how the brutal past of slavery still has a potent legacy in contemporary America; it also portrays the redemptive powers of love and care -- Tomiwa Owolade Daily Telegraph
This powerful and memorable book is a must-read -- Joanne Finney Good Housekeeping
A powerful, thought-provoking novel -- Sarra Manning Red
[A] tenderly rendered apocalyptic novella... Johnson is an unusually sensitive writer, combining a mood of impending doom with language of soulful beauty -- Claire Allfree Daily Mail
This brief, brilliant gut-punch of a novel is frighteningly plausible... Lush, harrowing, and entirely believable - a marvel of economy -- Paul Connolly Metro
My Monticello is short, satisfying and punchy: more debuts should be like this -- John Self The Times
Stunning -- Eithne Farry Mail on Sunday
Chilling, affecting and intelligent -- Stuart Kelly Scotland on Sunday
This brief, brilliant gut-punch of a novel is frighteningly plausible -- Paul Connolly Metro, Christmas Gift Guide 2021
My Monticello is a bleak story but reading it elicits the same kind of sensation that comes from listening to a poignant blues song: there is pleasure in its creation without denying the pain of the subject -- Colin Grant Guardian
A history lesson, a fable, an inquiry into the nature of historic monuments, a heartfelt tale of community and above all a nail-biting story. Guardian

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson's writing has appeared in Guernica and the Guardian and has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories 2018, guest edited by Roxane Gay. My Monticello is her debut. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.