Ibis
A Novel
Published on 13. March 2025
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-4197-7277-1 (ISBN)
Description
WINNER OF THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE 2025 ART SEIDENBAUM AWARD FOR FIRST FICTION; WINNER OF THE 2026 PEN AMERICA OPEN BOOK AWARD; WINNER OF THE 2026 OCM BOCAS PRIZE FOR CARIBBEAN LITERATURE (FICTION); SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE; SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING
A bold, witty, magical new voice in fiction, Justin Haynes weaves a cross-generational Caribbean story of migration, superstition, and a search for family in the novel Ibis.
"This brilliant, shape-shifting novel teems with charms and curses, stunning disasters and startling moments of grace." -Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation and Weather
"Justin Haynes proves himself an absolute alchemist of fiction . . . This is a stunning debut as witty as is it is rapturous." -Jericho Brown, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Tradition
"Evoking the themes of Ovid, the language of Toni Morrison, and the genre-blending of Octavia Butler, Haynes scales the heights of his ambition. This soaring work is not to be missed." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
There is bad luck in New Felicity. The people of the small coastal village have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee, just as Trinidad's government has begun cracking down on undocumented migrants-and now an American journalist has come to town asking questions.
New Felicity's superstitious fishermen fear the worst, certain they've brought bad luck on the village by killing a local witch who had herself murdered two villagers the year before. The town has been plagued since her death by alarming visits from her supernatural mother, as well as by a mysterious profusion of scarlet ibis birds.
Skittish that the reporter's story will bring down the wrath of the ministry of national security, the fishermen take things into their own hands. From there, we go backward and forward in time-from the town's early days, when it was the site of a sugar plantation, to Milagros's adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas.
In between, through the voices of a chorus of narrators, we glimpse moments from various villagers' lives, each one setting into motion events that will reverberate outwards across the novel and shape Milagros's fate.
With kinetic, absorbing language and a powerful sense of voice, Ibis meditates on the bond between mothers and daughters, both highlighting the migrant crisis that troubles the contemporary world and offering a moving exploration of how to square where we come from with who we become.
A bold, witty, magical new voice in fiction, Justin Haynes weaves a cross-generational Caribbean story of migration, superstition, and a search for family in the novel Ibis.
"This brilliant, shape-shifting novel teems with charms and curses, stunning disasters and startling moments of grace." -Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation and Weather
"Justin Haynes proves himself an absolute alchemist of fiction . . . This is a stunning debut as witty as is it is rapturous." -Jericho Brown, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Tradition
"Evoking the themes of Ovid, the language of Toni Morrison, and the genre-blending of Octavia Butler, Haynes scales the heights of his ambition. This soaring work is not to be missed." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
There is bad luck in New Felicity. The people of the small coastal village have taken in Milagros, an 11-year-old Venezuelan refugee, just as Trinidad's government has begun cracking down on undocumented migrants-and now an American journalist has come to town asking questions.
New Felicity's superstitious fishermen fear the worst, certain they've brought bad luck on the village by killing a local witch who had herself murdered two villagers the year before. The town has been plagued since her death by alarming visits from her supernatural mother, as well as by a mysterious profusion of scarlet ibis birds.
Skittish that the reporter's story will bring down the wrath of the ministry of national security, the fishermen take things into their own hands. From there, we go backward and forward in time-from the town's early days, when it was the site of a sugar plantation, to Milagros's adulthood as she searches for her mother across the Americas.
In between, through the voices of a chorus of narrators, we glimpse moments from various villagers' lives, each one setting into motion events that will reverberate outwards across the novel and shape Milagros's fate.
With kinetic, absorbing language and a powerful sense of voice, Ibis meditates on the bond between mothers and daughters, both highlighting the migrant crisis that troubles the contemporary world and offering a moving exploration of how to square where we come from with who we become.
Reviews / Votes
"Evoking the themes of Ovid, the language of Toni Morrison, and the genre-blending of Octavia Butler, Haynes scales the heights of his ambition. This soaring work is not to be missed." * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review * "The writing in this book is simply stunning. Haynes has the ability to seamlessly bring together plots and characters and shift ideas with such precision and subtly. By the time you finish this novel, you will feel as if you've lived in New Felicity for decades and truly understand generations of characters." * DEBUTIFUL * "Justin Haynes delivers an evocative coastal world where the tide and the sky have as much power as governments and borders. Ibis moves the reader through Caribbean history and nature, driven by a compelling ensemble, some looking for truth and some hiding it. Striking in its language and imagery, this debut comes alive with a vibrant mixture of beauty, mystery, and quiet ferocity." * LITERARY HUB * "A fishing village plagued by ghosts and omens unites to protect a refugee girl in Justin Haynes's potent novel." * FOREWORD * "This brilliant, shape-shifting novel teems with charms and curses, stunning disasters and startling moments of grace. Haynes is a thrillingly original writer who writes about the thin veil between worlds with spectacular range and scope." * JENNY OFFILL, author of Dept. of Speculation and Weather * "Justin Haynes proves himself an absolute alchemist of fiction with his carefully crafted mixture of unexpected sources culled and combined to tell the story of a Venezuelan child refugee and the people of New Felicity in Ibis, a novel that expands our understanding of magical realism. Characters' journal entries and letters, and even the newspaper articles they read, come together to make a world where people recognize and respect the omen of the ibis and other occult occurrences. This is a stunning debut as witty as is it is rapturous." * JERICHO BROWN, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Tradition * "Ibis took me to totally unexpected places. It's vivid, witty, and heartbreaking as it reckons with myths, migration, and found family. Long after I turned the last page, I'm still thinking of this novel's interrogation of the histories of Venezuela and the Caribbean. What shaped us? Who have we become? Who will we choose to be?" * BREANNE MC IVOR, author of The God of Good Looks * "Justin Haynes delivers an evocative coastal world where the tide and the sky have as much power as governments and borders. Ibis moves the reader through Caribbean history and nature, driven by a compelling ensemble, some looking for truth and some hiding it. Striking in its language and imagery,this debut comes alive with a vibrant mixture of beauty, mystery, and quiet ferocity." * RAVI HOWARD, award-winning author of Like Trees, Walking and Driving the King *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 215 mm
Width: 149 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
424 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4197-7277-1 (9781419772771)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Justin Haynes was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and later moved to Brooklyn, New York. Having earned his MFA from Notre Dame, he continued his graduate studies at Vanderbilt University. He has been awarded various fiction residencies and fellowships, including from the Fine Arts Work Center, the Vermont Studio Center, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the Tin House Summer Workshop. His writing has been published in a variety of literary magazines and journals, including Caribbean Quarterly, SX Salon Small Axe Project, and PREE. Justin lives in Atlanta and teaches English at Oglethorpe University.