{"product_id":"blue-futures-break-open-9781959000396","title":"Blue Futures, Break Open","description":"Blue Basin Island is the final resting spot of formerly enslaved Africans whose souls have flown from Earth--not to heaven or purgatory but toward freedom and a new life. Lucille, the island's seamstress, takes two forms. She lives among the inhabitants in human form and, along with the evil-repelling blue of the houses, her divine form protects people from the violence of the their former lives. Yet, even there, outside of time, the souls are not totally insulated from the world in which they were enslaved. Each time a Black person anywhere is harmed, a piece of Blue Basin disintegrates: an earthquake leaves hundreds of thousands dead, and bricks crumble on the island; when police kill a Black child asleep in her bed, the blue paint on homes throughout the island drips and then runs from the walls. Lucille must hold the island together, but she struggles to juggle the responsibility of ensuring everyone's safety while also seeking and losing her own private love. Grounding the story in African folklore and dipping into the rich literary tradition around African people with the power of flight, Zoë Gadegbeku visualizes the destination at the end of the flight and the new life that awaits them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-13687572\"\u003eZoë Gadegbeku\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e West Virginia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.50w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781959000396\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 195900039X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC049020\"\u003eAfrican American \u0026amp; Black | Women\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC010000\"\u003eFairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends \u0026amp; Mythology\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC039000\"\u003eVisionary \u0026amp; Metaphysical\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eZoë Gadegbeku\u003c\/b\u003e is a Ghanaian writer. She received an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College and was a fellow at the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop. Her writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eSaraba\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eMagazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAFREADA\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBlackbird\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, and the anthology \u003ci\u003ePan African Spaces: Essays on Black Transnationalism\u003c\/i\u003e. This is her first book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"West Virginia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48454768885997,"sku":"9781959000396","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/files\/img_5bcbba4c-4ef5-4438-bfee-7708011dbd67.jpg?v=1753507000","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/blue-futures-break-open-9781959000396","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}