None But the Righteous

Name: None But the Righteous
Brand: Dreamscape Media
Availability: InStock
Author: Chantal James
ISBN: 9781666534993

Author: Chantal James

Narrator: William DeMeritt

Unabridged: 5 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Published: 01/11/2022

Categories: Fiction, African American & Black Fiction, Women, Southern, Visionary & Metaphysical

Synopsis

In seventeenth-century Peru, St. Martin de Porres was torn from his body after death. His bones were pillaged as relics, and his spirit was said to inhabit those bones. Four centuries later, nineteen-year old Ham is set adrift from his hometown of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Hidden beneath his clothes, he wears his only valued possession: a pendant handed down from his foster mother, Miss Pearl. There’s something about the pendant that has always gripped him, and the curiosity of it has grown into a kind of comfort. When Ham finally embarks on a fraught journey back home, he seeks the answer to a question he cannot face: Is Miss Pearl still alive? Ham travels from Atlanta to rural Alabama, and from one young woman to another, as he evades the devastation of what awaits him in New Orleans. Catching sight of a freedom he’s never known, he must reclaim his body and mind from the spirit who watches over him, guides him, and seizes possession of him.

About Chantal James

Chantal James has been published across genres—as a poet, fiction writer, essayist, and book reviewer—in outlets such as Catapult, Paste, Harvard’s Transition, and The Bitter Southerner. His honors include a Fulbright Fellowship in creative writing to Morocco and a finalist position for the Alex Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize from the North Carolina Literary Review. He lives in Washington, D.C.

About William DeMeritt

William DeMeritt is a talented actor and audiobook narrator who has a wealth of experience on stage and in the booth. A graduate of both Marymount Manhattan College and the Yale School of Drama, he made his feature film debut in HBO's Emmy-winning The Normal Heart, based on the Tony Award-winning play by Larry Kramer. He was born and raised in New York City.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Debra on January 06, 2022

2.5 stars I listed to this book on audio. I listened intently because I kept thinking "um, what?" while listening. Not very eloquent, I know but I honestly had a hard time trying to figure this book out. Described as a "southern gothic fever dream" I wanted to read this. They synopsis was very intrig......more

Goodreads review by Jesse On Youtube on January 20, 2022

A work in which a spirit seizes the body of a 19 year old boy named Ham as he searches for home. We loved witnessing our protagonist grapple for residence while another takes residences within him. This is a work of spirit, one which those who are not spirit-selved or in possession of a spirit face......more

Goodreads review by Emily on April 06, 2024

[URL not allowed] A gothic fairy tale that discusses storytelling, belonging, and the connections that humans make over generations and beyond the veil. A surreal journey that blends together past and present, dream and reality, desire and action, None But the Righteous is a un......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on January 23, 2022

The premise for this book sounded soo good but sadly I couldn't get into it. The narrator did a good job but the story jumped all over the place and I found it hard to follow or become invested in the characters. Wasn't one for me unfortunately.......more

Goodreads review by Poptart19 (the name’s ren) on January 10, 2022

4 stars A unique novel with lovely prose, intriguing characters, and a touching story of a young man searching for belonging and meaning. [What I liked:] •This book has a really interesting voice & framing. The spirit of St. Martin de Porres narrates the story of Ham, the young man whose body he’s s......more