Dominion

[3.75] This dark but impressive debut novel is built on an intriguing premise as the author exposes the secrets of a beloved and powerful family in a Mississippi community. Citchens skillfully explores important themes, including how easy it can be to accept and even enable heinous acts committed by influential people.

My two issues with “Dominion” involve the story’s structure and character development. The family saga is told from multiple points of view. At times, this literary device feels — for lack of a better term “clunky.”

Also, the author’s development of one central character felt a bit rushed and incomplete. Pastor patriarch Sabre Winfrey felt at times like a cardboard-cutout villain.

Still, “Dominion” tells a show more riveting tale and kept my heart interest from start to finish. It also served as a stark reminder that revered people aren’t always who they seem to be. show less

I picked this up from the library, not knowing what to expect, but it is on the Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist 2026. During the first 20 pages or so, I thought this was going to be a DNF, but then I was totally gripped by the story. The story takes place in the year 2000, in a rural town in Mississippi, Dominion. Reverend Sabre Winfrey is a pastor at a Baptist Church, and also owns a barber shop and radio station. The family is well off and the Rev. is married to Priscilla, and has four sons, one of whom is named Emanuel, nicknamed Wonderboy.

The Rev. rules his wife and much of life with an iron fist.

Priscilla says of her husband : P.25 "my husband explained to me that because Eve at the apple, I would have to 'eat the snake'. The show more act shocked and appalled me,but I was submissive to my husband like I was supposed to be."

The Rev is sometimes violent towards his wife and family dog. Priscilla copes with with him and his philandering ways with alcohol and pills. Meantime, a seventeen year old girl, Diamond falls in love with Wonderboy and it appears that Wonderboy feels the same way. But Wonderboy is not the righteous , superhuman male that he appears to be. A chance encounter with another person reveals who Wonderboy really is. Both Diamond and Priscilla love their men, though Priscilla is not keen about Diamond.

This is a fascinating and dark look at patriarchy, the damage secrets cause, and damaged people. It's fairly short at just over 200 pages, but packs an enormous punch.

Recommended. show less

[TW: Animal death, Rape, Sexual Assault, Violence, Death, Drug Abuse]

Dominion is a stunning debut novel that weaves together drama, brutality, humor, and a profound exploration of the human condition, all while detailing the fall from grace of the Winfrey family. Dominion is told through three distinct perspectives – through Priscilla, “Wonderboy’s” mother, through Diamond – Wonderboy’s lover, and an intentionally ambiguous viewpoint.

At the heart of the narrative is Wonderboy, the perfect picture of a pastors son – handsome, intelligent, sporty, friendly, and always respectful of the women around him. His family, his friends, and both Priscilla and Diamond believe he is the definition of perfect. The majority of the show more school would willingly throw themselves at Wonderboy, Diamond included. However, as revealed early in the prologue, they both like each other, sneaking wistful glances at each other during the Sunday sermon.

“I had heard so many things about what that child did with them lips. Merciful father, say it aint that one. Manny was special, my baby –I couldn’t bear to have him turned out by some wordly hussy.”

Of course, Priscilla wasn’t fond of Diamond, both due to her “stripper” name and her poor upbringing. Diamond didn’t grow up with the comfort of a stable home, had to scrounge for food, and faced childhood abandonment by both parents, a sharp contrast to the affluent Winfrey family. Naturally, Diamond is drawn to him regardless.

What then is detailed is the heart wrenching drama of a woman who loses herself, her sense of identity, and her passions all to a man who may not be as flawless as he seems.

“They weren’t much younger than me, but I felt ages older, maybe light-years. Old enough that a future I wasn’t ready for was staring me in the face.”

Priscilla’s inner turmoil runs parallel to Diamond, her struggles within marriage and the actions of her husband. Watching the slow reveal and descent into both knowledge and acceptance only made the conversations she had all the more raw, touching, and uncomfortable.

“On the evening of February 14, 1976, my husband explained to me that because Eve ate the apple, I would have to eat the snake. I knew in the scheme of things, this probably wasn’t so bad a thing to do, especially since this was my husband, but try as I could, I could not get comfortable with it.”

Each women directly faced different challenges from their families and their lovers. They also watched the patriarchy play – with haunting quotes such as these, marking how subservience has dominated not only society, but religion as well.

“To woman he gave a womb, and to man he gave dominion-that’s what I teach my boys because that’s what the living Word say.”

Dominion is an unforgettable read, although something I wouldn’t typically pick up off a shelf. Citchens has a stunning debut novel that masters southern diction, where dialogue flows effortlessly. Not only is it an enjoyable read, it does excellent work analyzing the human condition and the consequences of the patriarchy. show less

I have mentioned this before: I don't read descriptions or reviews before starting a book. Sometimes I WILL read a description, place a hold at the library, then forget why I wanted to read the book when its available to check-out but the cover still looks interesting so I dive in blind.

The only thing I remembered about this book was that someone had mentioned a preacher's wife and humor. Y'all. I was not prepared. This was not the book I thought it was. I expected hijinks and a philandering husband and some gossip amongst church ladies and low-level drama (I think I expected Glory Be). It's got a full history of the church at the beginning, I thought... OK, we're gonna have church drama. There were these sermon notes from the Reverend, show more I thought...OK, we're gonna see how he's a hypocrite preaching the Good Word on Sunday but not living it. I did not expect sexual assault and murder. This novel is dark (and makes it clear that patriarchy is bad for all of us).

Once the first assault was described, I considered stopping, but there was a mystery around who was committing them. Was it the reverend? Some person we hadn't met? The chapters describing the assault had inexplicable numbers at the beginning (like 09-248465 - not a number used, but an example). I still don't know what those mean other than the person documenting and saving souvenirs is a psychopath. And that shocking encounter - that's never explained either. Did it even freaking happen? Was there a stranger there or was Manny delusional?

So not the book I was expecting, a lot of things happen outside of the text, hints are dropped and the reader is to assume what happened (like at the end Diamond saying it's all her fault).

Again, I am reminded that I could save myself a lot of trouble by reading descriptions or reviews before diving in, but alas, it is not how I function as a reader and I'm not even sure the description of this book would have given me all that much pause. Halfway through I spent my shower telling Jesse how deranged it was (and then adjusted the narration from 1.0x to 1.25x just to hurry it up a little and be done). show less

Reason read: Women's Prize longlist. This is a novel by Addie E. Citchens, published 2025. The author is a female author from the United States, born in Mississippi and currently living in Louisiana. A Southern family drama about the powerful Winfrey family in Dominion, Mississippi, exploring patriarchy, secrets, and the lives of the women who love the men, particularly the pastor and his "Wonderboy" son. The story is told from the perspective of the wife of the pastor and the girlfriend of Wonderboy. There were parts of this debut novel that were good but also things I did not especially like. It is a negative picture of men, male pastors, pastors of the Baptist church and the Biblical depiction of the "family".Seven Seals Baptist show more Church: This setting represents the intersection of religious authority and abuse, where the Reverend and his sons wield power, often using faith to justify cruelty. The Seven Seals are found in the book of revelations representing divine judgments. These things do occur and people have misused the Bible to justify unjust behavior. But I find it sad that so often men are slammed in women's literature. show less

I don't think this book was for me. It is about a Southern family, the Winfreys. The patriarch is Sabre, a reverend in the local Baptist Church. His wife, Priscilla, suffers from pain due to a childhood injury. and gets pills from an usher at church. The Winfrey son, "Wonderboy" or Manny, is the golden boy of the family, and is in a relationship with Diamond. The pair agree to abstain from intercourse, but instead do other acts, in which Priscilla sees them (Diamond naked, while Manny masturbates above her). Manny sees his mother, and is defiant. She takes pills to escape. Priscilla recalls Manny sexually assaulting a girl when he was younger. She struggles with this, as she knows her husband is cheating on her. The men feel they have show more "dominion" over women. Another event happens to Manny, and once again, the golden boy does not react positively.
Diamond has a troubled family life, after her mother left her and her siblings alone. Diamond eventually submits sexually to Manny and becomes pregnant. This sets off a series of unfortunate events.
This examines male dominance and abuse. It is an important tale, but it made me uncomfortable. show less

A novel told in two voices - an older Black lady with a bevy of sons, one being a problem child. Her husband is also an issue to her happy life. The other character is a young Black girl trying to find her black girl trying to find her place and love in her life. The two stories have little connection but what these women share is overcoming and breaking free from the restriction they have been dealt. A well written book that keeps you invested in their stories.