The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisThe Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
What it's about
Ailey Pearl Garfield grows up in a northern city but spends her summers in Chicasetta, the small Georgia town where her mother's family has lived for generations. As she comes of age, through family trouble, addiction and her own search for a calling, she is drawn into her family's history. Interwoven with Ailey's story are "songs" from her ancestors: enslaved people, Creek Indians, and the white men who owned and fathered them, reaching back to the founding of the town.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction and was an Oprah's Book Club pick. It's a huge, ambitious family saga, a debut novel by a poet that maps the whole of Black American history through one family.
You'll love it if you liked
The Vanishing Half
The Underground Railroad
BelovedGood to know
It's around 800 pages. It includes child sexual abuse and the violence of slavery, depicted frankly.
By the numbers
- Readers96 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics56 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller30 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz19 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
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Quick answers
Is The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction and was an Oprah's Book Club pick. It ranks #166 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 84.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois about?
Ailey Pearl Garfield grows up in a northern city but spends her summers in Chicasetta, the small Georgia town where her mother's family has lived for generations. As she comes of age, through family trouble, addiction and her own search for a calling, she is drawn into her family's history. Interwoven with Ailey's story are "songs" from her ancestors: enslaved people, Creek Indians, and the white men who owned and fathered them, reaching back to the founding of the town.
How long does it take to read The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois?
About 20 hours (816 pages), or about 6 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois won?
NBCC Award (Fiction) winner (2021).
What should I read after The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois?
If you liked it, try The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead or Beloved by Toni Morrison.