Caly recommends| Dominion - Addie E. Citchens

Dominion is a gripping and exquisitely crafted story about the intoxicating and inevitable casualties of patriarchy, told specifically through a small church community in Dominion, Mississippi. Citchens interrogates the age-old intersections of religion and patriarchy in a remarkably refreshing way, following two women and the lies they tell themselves until they no longer can. A stunning and crackling debut full of secrecy, brutality and tenderness. At once an ode to the resilience and resourcefulness of women and an impressively addictive family drama. 

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In the town of Dominion, Mississippi, Reverend Sabre Winfrey, Jr. is more than a preacher. From his pulpit at the Seven Seals Baptist Church to the airwaves of his local radio station, he exerts influence over every aspect of society.

By his side is his wife Priscilla, who types up his sermons and raises their five sons, favouring the youngest, Wonderboy. Handsome and adored, Wonderboy is destined to carry on his father's legacy. But, after a violent altercation with a stranger, Wonderboy's actions send shockwaves through the community.

Told through the perspectives of the women who love these two men, this Morrisonian, God-troubled novel illuminates the pervasive sins of the patriarchy, and the bargains women strike to survive them. A vivid and unforgettable story that exalts the beauty and strength of Black womanhood, Dominion is the incandescent debut from one of America's most exciting writers.