The Unsettled

Recommended by Imani Perry, Henry A. Morss Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies; Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor, Harvard Radcliffe Institute

For Perry, “The Unsettled” was her favorite read of 2023. 

The book is centered on the life of 10-year-old Toussaint — named after Haitian Revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture — and his mother, Ava. Finding themselves at a family shelter in the 1980s, Ava plots her way out, envisioning a better life for her son. 

Among many themes, it explores the “ravages of mental health challenges” in late 20th-century Black American life, specifically in Philadelphia and Alabama. 

“It’s a brilliant and searing story of land, displacement, migration, and utopian dreams,” Perry said.