Kaitlyn Greenidge

Named One of the Most-Anticipated Books of 2021 by: O, The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Millions, Refinery29, Publishers Lunch, BuzzFeed, The Rumpus, BookPage, Harper's Bazaar, Ms., Goodreads, and more “An elegantly layered, beautifully rendered tour de force that is not to be missed.” —Roxane Gay, author of Hunger “Libertie is a feat of monumental thematic imagination.” —Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, The New York Times Book Review “This is one of the most thoughtful and amazingly beautiful books I’ve read all year. Kaitlyn Greenidge is a master storyteller.” —Jacqueline Woodson, author of Red at the Bone The critically acclaimed and Whiting Award–winning author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman returns with Libertie, an unforgettable story about one young Black girl’s attempt to find a place where she can be fully, and only, herself. Coming of age in a free Black community in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson is all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, has a vision for their future together: Libertie is to go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother’s choices and is hungry for something else—is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her light-skinned mother, Libertie will not be able to pass for white. When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal 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 and rich with historical detail, Kaitlyn Greenidge’s new and immersive novel will resonate with readers eager to understand our present through a deep, moving, and lyrical dive into our past.

A Novel

Libertie

"Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel slips a very skillful knife under the skin of American life. This is a story about family, about language, about history and its profound echoes." --Colum McCann Frustrated by the limitations of cross-race communication in her predominantly white town, Laurel, a young African American girl, teaches herself to sign--a skill she later imparts to her two daughters. This ability eventually leads Laurel to uproot her husband and daughters from their overeducated and underpaid life in the South End of Boston for the bucolic Massachusetts countryside, where the Freemans are to take part in an experiment. They've been hired by a private research institute to teach sign language to a chimpanzee who will live as part of their family. Narrated primarily by Laurel's teenage daughter, Charlotte, the story goes back in time to the founding of the institute, in the 1920s, revealing shocking past experiments. This "important debut from an important writer"* is ultimately an exploration of language, race, and history. "This is an allegory that pays tribute to Ellison, to Morrison, to Wideman and Doctorow, and it is every bit as necessary and provocative as Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist." --Colum McCann "Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel reminds us that it is an exciting time to be reading fiction. We Love You, Charlie Freeman is a masterful meditation on race, anthropology, history, and the hurly-burly complications of family. Greenidge's prose is incisive, clever, resounding with a deep intelligence." --*Bill Cheng, author of Southern Cross the Dog "Disturbing and deeply thoughtful . . . Through various points of views and perspectives we move through a telling of how we come to understand or misunderstand our most intimate human elements within the racialized and gendered culture we live in." --Tiphanie Yanique, author of Land of Love and Drowning

We Love You, Charlie Freeman

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.

Orgy

This shattering novel is filled with storytelling sleight of hand. What appears to be a story of mothers and daughters, of sisterhood put to the test, of adolescent love and grown-up misconduct, and of history s long reach, becomes a provocative and compelling exploration of America s failure to find a language to talk about race."

Kaitlyn Greenidge

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