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The blueprint : a novel / Rae Giana Rashad.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Harper, 2024Edition: First US editionDescription: 294 pages ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780063330092
  • 0063330091
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Summary: "Solenne Bonet is DoS--a Descendant of Slave--and has always known that her destiny would be in the service of men. At school, it is what she has been trained for, waiting for an algorithm to assign her to a white man, one of the thousands who sign up to be contract holders. She knows that there are girls who hope to be more than Maid or Mammy, who whisper about how they will get a white man to sign their freedom, how they will be sweet, but not sweet enough that he would be tempted to keep her for good. After her mother pulls strings to get Solenne an assignment as a Council archivist, Solenne attracts the attention of Bastien LeBlanc, a high-ranking white government official and rising star in the Order. He promises to make Solenne his wife, and more importantly, to grant her freedom. She is flattered by his attention and entranced by Bastien's world of power and influence--even if it means ignoring Bastien's beliefs about the need to keep her fellow DoS under strict legislation. She convinces herself that his love is enough, that he will grant her freedom. Five years later, nothing has changed. Solenne is still with Bastien--his lover, his speechwriter, his possession. When he denies her the freedom he promised, she must decide whether to stay or run"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Fiction New RASHAD, RAE Available 33111011241755
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library Fiction New RASHAD, RAE Available 33111011150493
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"The Blueprint is an astounding work, an unflinching portrait of misogyny and racism in a speculative world terrifyingly close to our own. Rae Giana Rashad chronicles the generational ghosts of womanhood, and how we understand ourselves through the stories of those we come from, in a way I've never read before. A remarkable new talent, and a timeless literary voice."--Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing novel set in an alternate United States--a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences.

Solenne Bonet lives in Texas where choice no longer exists. An algorithm determines a Black woman's occupation, spouse, and residence. Solenne finds solace in penning the biography of Henriette, an ancestor who'd been an enslaved concubine to a wealthy planter in 1800s Louisiana. But history repeats itself when Solenne, lonely and naïve, finds herself entangled with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking government official. Solenne finds the psychological bond unbearable, so she considers alternatives. With Henriette as her guide, she must decide whether and how to leave behind all she knows.

Inspired by the lives of enslaved concubines to U.S. politicians and planters, The Blueprint unfolds over dual timelines to explore bodily autonomy, hypocrisy, and power imbalances through the lens of the nation's most unprotected: a Black girl.

"Solenne Bonet is DoS--a Descendant of Slave--and has always known that her destiny would be in the service of men. At school, it is what she has been trained for, waiting for an algorithm to assign her to a white man, one of the thousands who sign up to be contract holders. She knows that there are girls who hope to be more than Maid or Mammy, who whisper about how they will get a white man to sign their freedom, how they will be sweet, but not sweet enough that he would be tempted to keep her for good. After her mother pulls strings to get Solenne an assignment as a Council archivist, Solenne attracts the attention of Bastien LeBlanc, a high-ranking white government official and rising star in the Order. He promises to make Solenne his wife, and more importantly, to grant her freedom. She is flattered by his attention and entranced by Bastien's world of power and influence--even if it means ignoring Bastien's beliefs about the need to keep her fellow DoS under strict legislation. She convinces herself that his love is enough, that he will grant her freedom. Five years later, nothing has changed. Solenne is still with Bastien--his lover, his speechwriter, his possession. When he denies her the freedom he promised, she must decide whether to stay or run"-- Provided by publisher.

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