Sky Full of Elephants
A Novel
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Table of Contents
About The Book
“This stunning allegory will spark much discussion.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A truly powerful and riveting story.” —Booklist
In a world without white people, what does it mean to be Black?
One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water. A year later, Charlie Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having served time in prison for a wrongful conviction, he’s now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University when he receives a call from someone he wasn’t even sure existed: his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family.
Traumatized by the event, and terrified of the outside world, Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin. Desperate for help, she turns to the father she never met, a man she has always resented. Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across a truly “post-racial” America in search for answers. But neither of them are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it.
Heading south toward what is now called the Kingdom of Alabama, everything Charlie and Sidney thought they knew about themselves, and the world, will be turned upside down. Brimming with heart and humor, Cebo Campbell’s astonishing debut novel is about the power of community and connection, about healing and self-actualization, and a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America, in both their world and ours.
Reading Group Guide
Sidney's isolation and fear of the outside world are profound. Discuss the psychological impact of her experiences and how they mirror or contrast with societal issues of isolation, trauma, and recovery.
Explore the significance of Charlie being a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University. How does his profession and its focus on sustainability and renewal metaphorically relate to the themes of rebuilding and transformation in the story?
The novel takes us through a cross-country journey yet focuses on a deeply personal narrative of a Black father and his daughter. How does the novel balance the macro (societal changes) with the micro (individual experiences) in its exploration of race and identity?
How are the themes of community and connection manifested in the story, and what message does the novel convey about community and healing?
Consider the role of the Kingdom of Alabama in the story. What does this setting symbolize, and how does it affect the characters' understanding of their world and themselves?
Discuss the concept of a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America as portrayed in the novel. How does the book address this reckoning in both the alternate reality it creates and in reflections on our real world?
The cataclysmic event that leads to a post-racial America is a bold narrative choice. What are your thoughts on how this event shapes the society depicted in the novel? Does it offer a critique, hope, or a warning about our current societal structures?
Reflecting on the novel's ending, discuss the prospects of healing and self-actualization for Charlie, Sidney, and the society they inhabit. What vision of the future does the novel propose for its characters and for America?
About The Author
Cebo Campbell is an author and creative director based in Brooklyn, New York. Winner of the Linda L. Ross Creative Writing Award and the Stories Award for Poetry, Cebo’s work has been featured in numerous publications. Cebo is the cofounder of the award-winning creative agency, Spherical, where he leads a team of creatives in shaping the best hotel brands in the world. Sky Full of Elephants is his debut novel.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 10, 2024)
- Length: 304 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668034927
Raves and Reviews
“A truly powerful and riveting story.”
—BOOKLIST
“A captivating near future fantasy… Campbell’s depiction of their trek across an altered and occasionally nightmarish Southern landscape evokes Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD, and he caps the narrative with fascinating revelations about the cause of the event. This stunning allegory will spark much discussion.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review
"A bold and imaginative premise unfolds with lyrical language, hope and humor in Cebo Campbell's Sky Full of Elephants. Like the best speculative fiction, it compels us to view our own world through new eyes. This debut novel is not to be missed."
—TANANARIVE DUE, author of The Reformatory and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize
"Replete with airline-less airports, sprawling mansions up for grabs, and an Alabaman monarchy, Sky Full of Elephants is a supremely imaginative exploration of family, loss, and the many roads to healing. Cebo Campbell gifts us a vivid odyssey full of possibility, proving that liberation doesn't reside in the rejection of history, but in our embrace of it. This is a debut that dares us to tap into frequencies of freedom, to view ourselves as what we truly are and always have been: beings full of light worthy of love."
—MATEO ASKARIPOUR, author of Black Buck
"Part Afrofuturism, part delicious fever dream, a lost father and his fractured daughter set out on a road trip toward a misunderstood utopia that reveals the sacred wisdom of who they are and the significance of their people. Cebo Campbell is a master griot, reordering the world with grace, beauty, and deep humanity. Sky Full of Elephants is a thrilling, original work that allows us to look deeply at each other and ask if 'white ain’t an idea no more,' what are the unlimited possibilities for the idea of black?"
—ASALE ANGEL-AJANI, author of A Country You Can Leave
“At the heart of this post-racial apocalyptic world is the tender story of a father and daughter coming to grips with their ever-evolving connection in the midst of great upheaval. Campbell plays his notes with majestic care and the result is something completely woke and utterly satisfying. An extraordinary feat!”
—SIDIK FOFANA, author of Stories from the Tenants Downstairs
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Sky Full of Elephants Hardcover 9781668034927
- Author Photo (jpg): Cebo Campbell Photo by Michael Carnevale(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
