In a not so distant and very near dystopian future, three friends, Abeni, Ida, and Soweto, unknowingly embark on an Afro-surreal journey over the summer that will change not only their lives, but the lives of all whom they share so much with. What begins as a vacation forces them to become familiar with their past in order to have a direct influence on the future. Under the guidance of an unforeseen force, strange things begin to happen that bring them closer to uncovering truths and taking them to a place that they and others never thought they would see.
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Promised Land is an enthralling story of self discovery which highlights racial bullying and the ongoing struggles of minorities in the US. Full of religious imagery, Vilio's intriguing tale is an endearing and soul-stirring exploration of 21st century Black America.
Prose: Katib bin Vilio's text is powerfully written and contains several tense scenes of drama that are articulately realized. The characters' believable dialogue and naturalistic interactions help elevate the author's candid representation of modern Black America to another level.
Originality: Vilio's Promised Land effectively highlights the proliferation of racist attitudes and difficulties facing minority groups in America. Pertinent themes, such as the heavy handed nature of policing, result in an arresting novel that deserves to be noticed.
Character/Execution: Abeni, Ida, and Soweto are a tenderly drawn triumvirate of characters forging their way in an unfair world. The interactions between the central characters are truthful and authentic, making the representation of racial discrimination all the more affecting and meaningful.
Date Submitted: April 22, 2024
This urgent debut imagines a dystopian (very) near-future shaped and haunted by racial injustices of the American past and present, as bin Vilio spins a surprising and incisive story about vengeance, history, spirits, retribution, connection, and systemic oppression. Twenty-something best friends Ida, Soweto, and Abeni set off on their annual vacation, blowing off some steam from their hectic college careers—and stoking some drama among their parents. As the young women roadtrip, their African ancestors send a message neither they nor the world can ignore: those that history has been engineered to erase rise from the watery depths in which they perished with a reminder of broken promises and what is owed.While the stakes could not be higher, bin Vilio roots the novel in the compelling lived experience of his leads. Ida is partially deaf and has vitiligo, the rare skin condition; Black and adopted by a mixed-race couple, she has always felt out of place. Her sisterhood with Soweto and Abeni, plus the love of her professor parents, are all she can count on, even before they find themselves facing ghosts and, eventually, the government’s totalitarian overreach. Into that potent study of three Black women’s journeys bin Vilio deftly incorporates history, rousing voices from the past, “chosen one” elements edged with cultural critique, and depictions of authoritarian terror that all-too-convincingly suggest contemporary politics.
Especially powerful is the women’s bearing witness to what they previously knew from historical accounts. “It was then that the dominating sentiment being sadness stopped,” bin Vilio writes. “Fear came to the fore and took a firm stake.” And then, following fear: action, though what that will actually look like is a matter for readers to discover. Promised Land is about learning one's past and taking back one's power, with three educated, resourceful young women standing on the strength of their knowledge, their family lineage, and the protection of their ancestors.
Takeaway: Three Black women’s powerful trip through a near-future America with ghosts of the past.
Comparable Titles: Tochi Onyebuchi’s Riot Baby; LaTanya McQueen's When the Reckoning Comes.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
PROMISED LAND
THE ENCODING
BY KATIB BIN VILIO ‧ RELEASE DATE: APRIL 9, 2024
A brave and affecting story of resilience.
In bin Vilio’s novel, three Black women encounter spirits during a road trip just before the nation descends into chaos.
Ida Bridges and her friends Soweto and Abeni have come of age in a racist America, struggling to assert their identities. Ida was found as a baby amid the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and she was adopted by a white mother and a Black father. Her skin is affected by vitiligo, and she lost her hearing during the storm. Years later, when Ida is in college, her mother gives her and her friends a copy of the Safe Negro Travel Guide, which assisted Black travelers in the Jim Crow–era South, and she urges them to take a road trip of their own. As the journey unfolds, ghostly apparitions of men and women greet the young women with the words “Black, Girl, Chosen” in Black American Sign Language. When the friends’ lives are in danger, these same mysterious figures rescue them; soon, the trio realize that Ida is the “Chosen” one. Meanwhile, as the apparitions appear to other Black men and women throughout the country, law enforcement starts rounding people up and quarantining them with alleged “acute African psychosis syndrome.” This compelling and unpredictable novel features strong characters and a nuanced presentation of modern racial discrimination. Bin Vilio guides readers through an alternate America in which the victims of oppression effectively make their presence known, rising from the water in a powerful symbol of both birth and erasure. Readers will find this work informative and haunting as it speaks to the power of remembering the past and hearing its plea for a true and enduring justice.
A brave and affecting story of resilience.
