Publishers Weekly
★ 08/09/2021
Johnson wrestles with questions of racial identity, post-racial society, and the legacies of slavery in her masterly debut collection. The pitch-perfect opener, “Control Negro,” follows Cornelius, a Black history professor whose peers mistake him for a janitor and whom white students mock with racist jokes, prompting him to plot with a married Black graduate student to have a son together and give him opportunities equal to those of “Average Caucasian Males.” In the experiment, the “Control Negro” doesn’t learn the identity of his father, and Cornelius observes from a distance, hopeful his son will turn out better. Other stories reckon with institutionalized racism in schools (“Something Sweet on the Tongue”) and the collateral damage wrought by the trauma endured by immigrants prior to leaving their homelands (“King of Xandria”). The superb title novella is set in the near future in Charlottesville, Va., where the Unite the Right rally has cast a long shadow and white supremacists pillage the downtown area. A collective of BIPOC residents decamp to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, seeking refuge. There’s Da’Naisha Hemings Love; her white boyfriend, Knox; and her other largely Black and brown neighbors. Love and her grandmother, MaViolet, descend from the Jefferson-Sally Hemings lineage, and thus occupy a unique position in the group. The author’s riveting storytelling and skill at rendering complex characters yield rich social commentary on Monticello and Jefferson’s complex ideologies of freedom, justice, and liberty. This incandescent work speaks not just to the moment, but to history. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
#3 on TIME Magazine's 10 Best Fiction Books of 2021
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
One of The Washington Post's 50 notable works of fiction
A NPR's Books We Love 2021
Christian Science Monitor: Best Reads of 2021
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: top 10 Southern books of 2021
Kirkus Best Books of 2021: Best Debut and Best Short Fiction
Kirkus Reviews’s “11 Great Fiction Writers Who Made Debuts in 2021”
A Bookforum Best Book of the Year
Washington Independent Review of Books: Our 51 Favorite Books of 2021
One of New York Public Library's Best Books for Adults
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 45 new books for holiday gifts in 2021
LitHub: The Best Reviewed Short Story Collections of 2021
One of Virginia Living's Favorite Books of 2021
Garden & Gun's Favorite Books of 2021
NPR Maureen Corrigan's 2021 Best Books list
A Booklist Editor's Choice
Third Place Books: Top 10 Books of the Year
“Simply put, a masterly feat. . . . The novella reminds us of what fiction does best: reflect our reality back at us just when we need it most. “My Monticello” aches with both resonance and timeliness, engaging in rich conversation with recent, real-life events never far from our minds.”
—Bridgette M. Davis, New York Times
“Jocelyn Nicole Johnson uses history to spectacular effect. . . . The storytelling is propulsive, as we follow these refugees along a harrowing journey, with danger ever at their heels. My Monticello is, quite simply, an extraordinary debut from a gifted writer with an unflinching view of history and what may come of it.”
—Washington Post
“I want to sell this one more than I want to sell my own book . . . this is a master storyteller arrival.”
—Isaac Fitzgerald, The TODAY Show
“Jocelyn Nicole Johnson's short-story collection aims its powerful beam on history's proximity, racial trauma, and community survival...”
— The Christian Science Monitor
“An impressive debut.”
—People Magazine
“Johnson’s writing is exciting and nervy.”
—Glamour
“Johnson’s historically tethered story collection is startlingly timely… A compilation of vivid, complex stories, at times reminiscent of works by Octavia Butler, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison and Colson Whitehead, “My Monticello” is a startling, beautiful debut collection.”
—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Jocelyn Nicole Johnson provides a mesmerizing antidote in her new story collection, “My Monticello,” the titular novella in which provides the centerpiece for an examination of history’s impact on our present-day landscape and future possibilities. There is no direct comparison to Johnson’s debut work.”
—The Washington Independent Review of Books
“Like a museum, a book can hold treasures, but these insights and artifacts are not behind glass; they are before you, living and occurring in the present day. Johnson furthers the Southern tradition, widening its scope and giving us something new to examine and learn from.”
—Virginia Living
“A badass debut by any measure—nimble, knowing, and electrifying.”
—Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle
“It is a rare breed of writer who can tell any kind of story and do so with exquisite deftness. Jocelyn Nicole Johnson is one such writer. Her debut collection, My Monticello, is comprised of six stories of astonishing range and each one explores what it means to live in a world that is at once home and not. She dissects the unbearable burdens of such displacement. The crowning glory of this collection is the title story, a novella about a world that has fallen apart and a small band of people who take refuge in Monticello, among the old ghosts of the former plantation, how they become family, and how they try to make a stand for their lives, for the world the way it once was. This collection is absolutely unforgettable and Johnson's prose soars to remarkable heights.”
—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger and Ayiti
“The narrative is bold, harrowing and unfolds with urgency. Johnson’s collection is . . . concerned with issues surrounding racial identity and the legacies of slavery and racism. Together they create an unnerving portrait of a country wrestling with its ugly past and present.”
—Time
“My Monticello announces the arrival of an electric new literary voice in Johnson, an emerging master of the short story form.”
—Esquire
“This collection of stories harmoniously weds the ugly with the beautiful, the terrifying and the brave, the disappointing and the hopeful, and makes for a brilliant debut.”
—Ms.
“It should come as no surprise then that the book has received advance praise from literary superstars like Colson Whitehead, Roxane Gay, and Charles Yu. Johnson’s fairly slim volume never feels slight in the least, as the stories contained within overflow with poise, maturity, and originality. . . . Every single one of the six stories in Johnson’s collection brings something brand-new to the table, showcasing the writer’s indelible talent and reminding us that we’re going to be reading her work for a long time to come.”
—Shondaland
“History is the new dystopia. It’s where our best writers are finding the language to talk about the legacy of colonization and immigration. My Monticello, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s enthralling debut, only sounds thuddingly obvious: Its title novella tells the story of a group of Charlottesville residents (including ancestors of slaves) who hole up in Thomas Jefferson’s home during a white-supremacist siege.”
—Chicago Tribune
“My Monticello is a mesmerizing collection and the title story just knocked me out. . . . It's beautifully done, I think everyone who's listening should read it.”
—Brad Listi, Otherppl podcast
“I was enthralled from the opening lines of this book. These chilling, thought-provoking and expertly crafted stories showcase Johnson’s range and ability—they broke my heart as well as my brain. A stunning collection.”
—Charles Yu, National Book Award-winning author of Interior Chinatown
“My Monticello is a magnificent debut that holds so much in its gaze—great love and great oppression, tremendous individual courage and systemic racism, futures of joyful justice and futures of extremism. This breathtaking, artful book is a gift.”
—Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning
“With Virginia as the heart, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson brings to life a body of stories sustained by a cast of characters so unique, sincere, and determined that you will not only root for them, but see your own humanity reflected back. A collection where hope serves as the connective tissue, My Monticello reaffirms our deepest desires for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness while examining the soil of our nation and the fruit it bears.”
—Mateo Askaripour, New York Times bestselling author of Black Buck
“My Monticello is a gorgeous, devastating collection of stories spotlighting the ways a life, a country, and a planet can tend toward disaster but still be worth fighting for. Johnson’s stories exquisitely balance the interior and the exterior: the world of inequalities and disappointments stacked against her characters is illuminated by their full and compelling desires, and by her honest exploration of the major and minor cruelties survival requires. This is a stunning debut by a brilliant and original new voice.”
—Danielle Evans, award-winning author of The Office of Historical Corrections
“There is a special pleasure in discovering a voice that is vital and unlike anything else you’ve known before. Jocelyn Nicole Johnson is such a voice. One that is necessary and brimming with both heart and imagination, Johnson’s My Monticello is a beautiful debut work of art.”
—Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, New York Times bestselling author of Friday Black
“The title novella that closes Johnson’s debut book is stellar and could easily stand on its own. . . . Johnson has a knack for irony and inventive conceits.”
—Kirkus starred review
“This incandescent work speaks not just to the moment, but to history.”
—Publishers Weekly starred review
“This fiction collection is an astonishing display of craftsmanship and heart-tugging narratives. Johnson is a brilliant storyteller who gracefully reflects a clear mirror on a troubled America.”
—Booklist starred review
“[A] gorgeous nightmare of a story collection. . . . Johnson’s book is not an escape from our moment, but rather will make you feel more prepared for 'the unraveling' or whatever may come.”
—Asali Solomon, Bookforum
“Johnson’s book is fantastically written and honest with every word. Each of the stories are stunning in their emotional range, detail and scope, with compelling plots and characters that feel all too real. It grapples with issues of race and belonging in new and insightful ways and is highly recommended.”
—Book Reporter
“The title novella in Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s debut collection of short stories, “My Monticello,” is a harrowing story of racism in a not-too-distant and not-too-different dystopian world.”
—KMUW
Library Journal
06/01/2021
In Johnson's title novella, a young Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings leads a group escaping white supremacist violence in Charlottesville and taking refuge in Jefferson's plantation home. Also included: "Control Negro," about a university professor carrying out an experiment about racism with his own son as subject, which appeared in Best American Short Stories 2018 by guest editor Roxane Gay and read by LeVar Burton as part of PRI's Selected Shorts series. A major debut collection; with a 250,000-copy first printing.
JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile
A group of talented narrators deliver these short stories set in Virginia, which focus on the lives of African Americans. The standouts are “My Monticello” and “Control Negro.” In the latter, narrator LeVar Burton rants furiously as a father who experiments on his own son to prove that a Black man will always be found inferior to whites—despite his talents. Narrator Aja Naomi King dazzles in “My Monticello,” which takes place in the near future and introduces Da’Naisha, who is descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Da’Naisha commandeers a bus that is transporting neighbors to the safety of Jefferson’s Plantation, a tourist attraction, after white militias destroy their neighborhood. King is captivating as the neighbors are sustained by the luxuries found at the mansion. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-07-14
Stories centered on racism and Virginia, anchored by a dystopian tale set in Thomas Jefferson’s home.
The title novella that closes Johnson’s debut book is stellar and could easily stand on its own. Plainly inspired by the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Johnson imagines a near future in which an “unraveling” has forced some of the town’s brown and Black residents to find safety on Jefferson’s homestead. The narrator, a University of Virginia student named Da’Naisha, is a descendant of Jefferson and Sally Hemings and used to have an internship on the Monticello grounds. She’s well aware of the irony of taking cover on a former plantation, but she has more pressing issues: She’s pregnant, uncertain of the father, and her grandmother is suffering from asthma but lacks medicine. In depicting Da'Naisha's attempts to organize her fellow refugees to fend off an impending attack from marauding racists, Johnson crafts a fine-grained character study that also harrowingly reveals how racist violence repeats. Not all of the remaining stories have the same force, but Johnson has a knack for irony and inventive conceits. “Buying a House Ahead of the Apocalypse” is a story in the form of a checklist, suggesting all the ways that pursuing a sense of security can be products of self-delusion (“Never mind the dark-skinned guard who wouldn’t even let you in…”). And the opening “Control Negro” is narrated by a man who uses his son to study whether a Black man who's “otherwise equivalent to those broods of average American Caucasian males” could transcend racism. In a few taut pages, Johnson uses the setup to explore not just institutional racism, but fatherhood, fatalism, policing, and social engineering. “How does anyone know if they are getting more or less than they deserve?” the narrator asks, a question the story makes both slippery and plain as day.
A sharp debut by a writer with wit and confidence.
