novel explores how imperialism & racism erase history, and how to decolonize our minds

God’s Wife and the Synonymous X is the first novel by writer Jesse Chase. An existential novel that follows a male protagonist while they try to develop a new analytical methodology for decolonizing the black mind as it pertains to “inhuman ideologies and oppressive technologies”.

An experimental piece of semi-autobiographical fiction, the prose read as a version of stream of consciousness that defies standard (read: Western) grammar standards and formatting and slipping into poetic stanzas at will.

“the characters deal with homelessness, mental health issues, latent shamanism, the streets, police, dismantling patriarchy, identifying the origin of slut shaming of god’s wife, the last western goddess before monotheism asherah aka ishtar aka esther aka mary aka the black madonna. the book is a tribute to the black madonna as a symbol of alterity,” Chase tells AFROPUNK.com

God’s Wife and the Synonymous X is dense, for sure, but so far a fascinating read for literary theory geeks.