In this ‘achingly beautiful debut’ (The Boston Globe), a young Black gay man, estranged from his father, must confront his painful past—and his deepest desires around gender, love, and sex.
‘A beautiful, clear-eyed portrait of love in the face of religious and familial betrayal.’—Elle
‘This novel is less the arrival of a major talent and more the confirmation of one we should all already be reading. Don’t miss it.’—them
‘I got tired of running away from what I should’ve been running toward.’
The venerated Reverend Doctor John Freeman did not raise his son, Davis, to be touched by any man, let alone a white man. He did not raise his son to whisper that man’s name with tenderness.
But on the eve of his wedding, all Davis can think about is how beautiful he wants to look when he meets his beloved Everett at the altar. Never mind that his mother, who died decades before, and his father, whose anger drove Davis to flee their home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for a freer life in New York City, won’t be there to walk him down the aisle. All Davis needs to be happy in this life is Everett, his new family, and his burgeoning career as an acclaimed violist.
When Davis learns during the wedding reception that his father has been in a terrible car accident, years of childhood trauma and unspoken emotion resurface. Davis must revisit everything that went wrong between them, risking his fledgling marriage along the way.
In resplendent prose, Denne Michele Norris’s When the Harvest Comes reveals the pain of inheritance and the heroic power of love, reminding us that, in the end, we are more than the men who came before us.
Genre: Literary Fiction
‘A beautiful, clear-eyed portrait of love in the face of religious and familial betrayal.’—Elle
‘This novel is less the arrival of a major talent and more the confirmation of one we should all already be reading. Don’t miss it.’—them
‘I got tired of running away from what I should’ve been running toward.’
The venerated Reverend Doctor John Freeman did not raise his son, Davis, to be touched by any man, let alone a white man. He did not raise his son to whisper that man’s name with tenderness.
But on the eve of his wedding, all Davis can think about is how beautiful he wants to look when he meets his beloved Everett at the altar. Never mind that his mother, who died decades before, and his father, whose anger drove Davis to flee their home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for a freer life in New York City, won’t be there to walk him down the aisle. All Davis needs to be happy in this life is Everett, his new family, and his burgeoning career as an acclaimed violist.
When Davis learns during the wedding reception that his father has been in a terrible car accident, years of childhood trauma and unspoken emotion resurface. Davis must revisit everything that went wrong between them, risking his fledgling marriage along the way.
In resplendent prose, Denne Michele Norris’s When the Harvest Comes reveals the pain of inheritance and the heroic power of love, reminding us that, in the end, we are more than the men who came before us.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A story of becoming yourself that isn't like anything I've ever read. We are still getting the literature we deserve, and Norris takes us further down that road with this brave and powerful novel exploring the freedom we find in the presence of those loves we cannot hide from." - Alexander Chee
"Denne Michele Norris writes with confidence and grace about some of life's biggest concerns: family, love, safety, grief, and most importantly, how to be true to one's self." - Angela Flournoy
"It's not often I read a book that feels like escapism but reckons with the truest of difficult realities. Romantic, wise and healing, When the Harvest Comes is a rare story. Denne Michele Norris bridges the claimed moralities of Christian love with a truly compassionate, transformational love, showing us what it means to speak those things that are not as though they are. A meditation on forgiveness, true love and destiny that enchants with every line." - Chelsea T Hicks
"When the Harvest Comes is abundant with a kind of grace I'm especially hungry for these days: the possibility that we can mend at least part of what we've torn apart, the chance we're not entirely too late." - R O Kwon
"Aching and resplendent, deeply felt and meticulously imagined, When the Harvest Comes is a song of becoming and reconciliation: of family, of self, of abiding love. It leaves the reader better acquainted with love, courage, and the temerity to imagine--and ask for--more." - Sarah Thankam Mathews
"This is a book to sink into, to luxuriate within--a book that's generous with the pleasures and comforts of a good story and rich characters, so much so that it's only when you're finished that you realize that you've never before read something quite like it." - Torrey Peters
"Epic, intimate, brutal, and tender, Denne Michele Norrishas written a breathtaking testimony about the boundlessness of love. Each character enters like a light beam, puncturing your soul with joy, heartbreak, and unwavering faith in the ability to right their wrongs before time runs out. Seductive, symphonic, and sensitively rendered, When the Harvest Comes announces the arrival of a major new American voice." - Deesha Philyaw
"A tale of redemption and transformation in the face of great obstacles, When the Harvest Comes is a book for anyone who's ever believed they didn't deserve happiness, for anyone whose worldview has been shaped by marginalization, for anyone who's accomplished more than was expected of them. . . . Moving and uplifting." - Alejandro Varela
"Denne Michele Norris writes with confidence and grace about some of life's biggest concerns: family, love, safety, grief, and most importantly, how to be true to one's self." - Angela Flournoy
"It's not often I read a book that feels like escapism but reckons with the truest of difficult realities. Romantic, wise and healing, When the Harvest Comes is a rare story. Denne Michele Norris bridges the claimed moralities of Christian love with a truly compassionate, transformational love, showing us what it means to speak those things that are not as though they are. A meditation on forgiveness, true love and destiny that enchants with every line." - Chelsea T Hicks
"When the Harvest Comes is abundant with a kind of grace I'm especially hungry for these days: the possibility that we can mend at least part of what we've torn apart, the chance we're not entirely too late." - R O Kwon
"Aching and resplendent, deeply felt and meticulously imagined, When the Harvest Comes is a song of becoming and reconciliation: of family, of self, of abiding love. It leaves the reader better acquainted with love, courage, and the temerity to imagine--and ask for--more." - Sarah Thankam Mathews
"This is a book to sink into, to luxuriate within--a book that's generous with the pleasures and comforts of a good story and rich characters, so much so that it's only when you're finished that you realize that you've never before read something quite like it." - Torrey Peters
"Epic, intimate, brutal, and tender, Denne Michele Norrishas written a breathtaking testimony about the boundlessness of love. Each character enters like a light beam, puncturing your soul with joy, heartbreak, and unwavering faith in the ability to right their wrongs before time runs out. Seductive, symphonic, and sensitively rendered, When the Harvest Comes announces the arrival of a major new American voice." - Deesha Philyaw
"A tale of redemption and transformation in the face of great obstacles, When the Harvest Comes is a book for anyone who's ever believed they didn't deserve happiness, for anyone whose worldview has been shaped by marginalization, for anyone who's accomplished more than was expected of them. . . . Moving and uplifting." - Alejandro Varela
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