When the Harvest Comes

One of the best books out this month is When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris. Unfolding like a tapestry, this novel starts with two men on their wedding day, a day that also ends with the death of one of their fathers. Weaving in themes of grief, gender identity, family, and the importance of a calling, this is a powerful work of literary fiction.

Why I Chose This Book:

Everything, from the cover to the title to the summary, caught my interest. Although literary fiction isn’t a genre I read very often, I’m always eager for diverse stories highlighting characters across demographics. Here, an interracial couple, a marriage between men, and an evolving sense of femininity vs. masculinity come to the forefront in the wake of sudden loss.

What I Liked:

• Flitting between different characters to get tidbits of the dramas that make up a full life. Davis and Everett are getting married, but although they are the central couple, they aren’t the only POVs we follow. Readers get perspectives from their respective parents and siblings, learning of the secrets, mistakes, and treasured memories that make up an extended family. From premonitions about a future child to an unplanned pregnancy, from a deceased beloved uncle to current issues surrounding politics, fertility, and addiction, there is a lot under the surface that comes up during the course of this novel.
• Navigating gender identity. Even on their wedding day, Davis is questioning the boundaries of his being a man. He wants to be beautiful and wear a white gown, but in the end, he wears the jumpsuit instead. As the novel progresses, he often seems more comfortable in his own skin when he leans into a more feminine side. Between Davis and Everett, it seems that everyone thinks of Everett as the “husband” and Davis as the “wife.” I could see where this was heading, and I loved following Davis on a journey to self-discovery.
• A broken relationship with the Reverend. Davis and his father have been estranged for nearly a decade, and that break in their relationship, and the lack of closure when the Reverend suddenly dies, is the poignant centerpiece of the novel. What happened between them was awful, but some final words that the Reverend leaves behind brought tears to my eyes.
• The power of music. Davis is a successful viola soloist, and playing music is not only an outlet or a career, it’s a calling. I loved how Davis described violas, playing them, and how they compare to his own sense of self.

Final Thoughts

When the Harvest Comes is a beautifully written and heart-rending novel of identity, family, and secrets. I loved following Davis* and Everett on their journey into the first several months of their marriage. This is literary fiction at its finest, and I am excited to read more from Denne Michele Norris.

Special thanks to the publicists at Penguin Random House, Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy When the Harvest Comes here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris
Audience	Adult
Genre	Literary Fiction
Setting	New York; Ohio
Number of Pages	304
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	April 15, 2025
Publisher	Random House

Official Summary

In this heart-wrenching debut novel, a young Black gay man, estranged from his father, must confront his painful past—and his deepest desires around gender, love, and sex.

“Epic, intimate, brutal, and tender, Denne Michele Norris has written a breathtaking testimony about the boundlessness of love.”—Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

“When the Harvest Comes is a book to sink into, to luxuriate within. . . . It’s only when you’re finished that you realize that you’ve never before read a story quite like this one.”—Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

“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.