THE UNSETTLED is an unforgettable novel — in part because in Ayana Mathis’s masterful telling, its characters are unforgettable (and God knows, I will never forget Toussaint).

Ayana is of course the author of the epic THE TWELVE TRIBES OF HATTIE, and her new novel tells a likewise powerful and heartrending story. It spans generations and landscapes, from tiny Bonaparte, Alabama to turbulent Philadelphia in the 1980s, told from multiple points of view within a family wracked by historical powers outside their control. It is, simply, a masterpiece — full of humanity, heartbreak, triumphs, and pure magic.

Thank you, Ayana, for joining me for a dynamic, rich conversation about all of it — the special peculiarity of Philadelphia, motherhjessicaood and poverty, how some characters (hello, Dutchess!) just appear fully formed, and how Ayana did the rest. I mean.

If you have not yet read THE UNSETTLED, please get your hands on a copy! It is truly a book for the ages.