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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Graphic violence at sea including the horrors of the Middle Passage; slaves are killed; a brutal revolt
Language
Some
Period-appropriate language; sailors' rough speech
Sexual Content
Some
Brief sexual references; not a significant element
Substance Use
Barely any
Occasional alcohol use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological horror of slavery, racial identity, and what freedom means for someone shaped by bondage; a god figure whose nature is deeply unsettling
What this book is about
Rutherford Calhoun, a freed slave and petty thief in 1830s New Orleans, escapes his debts by stowing away on a ship — which turns out to be the Republic, a slave trader. The ship's strange captain, a cargo of the captured Allmuseri people, and a mysterious crate containing a god from Africa transform Calhoun's voyage into a spiritual and physical journey. Johnson's Pulitzer Prize winner is a philosophical sea adventure about identity, freedom, and the horror of slavery.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Graphic depictions of the slave trade
Violence and murder at sea
Philosophical horror about the nature of slavery
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