Libertie
(eBook)

A New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2021 and Best Historical Fiction Pick A Best Book of the Year: Washington Post, TIME, Los Angeles Times, and Christian Science Monitor "A stunning look at what freedom really means." -The New York Times Coming of age in a free Black community in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson is all too aware that her mother, a physician, has a vision for their future together: Libertie is to go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie is hungry for something else-is there really only one way to be independent? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her light-skinned mother, she will not be able to pass for white. When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises a better life on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it-for herself and for generations to come. Inspired by the life of one of the first Black female doctors in the United States, critically acclaimed and Whiting Award-winning author Kaitlyn Greenidge returns with an unforgettable and immersive novel that will resonate with readers eager to understand our present through a deep, moving, and lyrical dive into our past. Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel, We Love You, Charlie Freeman, was one of the New York Times Critics' Top 10 Books of 2016 and a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She is a contributing writer for the New York Times and the features director at Harper's Bazaar, and her writing has also appeared in Vogue, Glamour, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University's Lewis Center for the Arts, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Substack, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. #1 Indie Next Pick (April 2021) A Roxane Gay Audacious Book Club Selection A For Colored Girls Book Club Selection A Well-Read Black Girl Book Club Selection Winner of the New England Book Award and New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Award for Fiction "Kaitlyn Greenidge's historical fiction unites the African diaspora. Libertie is a feat of monumental thematic imagination . . . Greenidge both mines history and transcends time, centering her post-Civil-War New York story around an enduring quest for freedom . . . The sheer force of Greenidge's vision for [Libertie], for us all, gives us hope that it won't be long now." -Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, The New York Times Book Review "Stunning." -Adrienne Gaffney, The New York Times "Both epic and intimate." -Alexandra Alter, The New York Times "Sweeping, engrossing." -Oprah Daily "Kaitlyn Greenidge weaves together an intricate narrative about colorism, classism and community." -TIME.com "Spectacular . . . A revelatory and enchanting piece of historical fiction." -BuzzFeed "This immersive story is a soaring exploration of what 'freedom' truly means. Libertie is an elegantly layered, beautifully rendered tour de force that is not to be missed." -Roxane Gay "Fiercely compelling, and told in a singular, lyrical voice, Libertie is a novel that lives in a specific historical time-the Reconstruction Era-but offers insight into the very modern struggles that still exist surrounding identity, family, love, and freedom . . . This is a novel of struggle and triumph, exhaustion and perseverance, rooted in history, but transcendent of it; another masterwork by Kaitlyn Greenidge." -Refinery29 "Libertie is epic yet engaging, and gorgeously written." -The Rumpus "Motherhood offers [Libertie] the type of freedom that