Reviews with content warning for Racism - Hell of a Book

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

lmatakas's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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anniesidd's review

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challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book. It started out stressful to read because the main character was so clearly struggling and so clearly unaware of that. But I loved how ambiguous everything was, you never knew what interactions were real. It was both funny and so sad. And somehow it wrapped up so well.

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rishel's review

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challenging emotional reflective

5.0

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missmacreads's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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dreesreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The narration was fantastic but I think I might have preferred this on paper. The ending was almost exactly what I expected, which was disappointing because I wanted a surprise. The satire and humor is good, yet the book is also so true and depressing. I get why this won the NBA, but I did not love it.

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serendipitysbooks's review

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Can I just say that Hell of a Book is a hell of a book and leave it at that?

No?

What I will say then is that it took me a while to find my feet with this novel. There are three main narrative threads which initially seem fairly disparate. We have an author on a cross-country book tour, promoting his book called … Hell of a Book. There are the conversations he has with The Kid, a young Black boy who pops up repeatedly during the book tour and who can’t be seen by everybody. Then there is Soot, a young Black boy raised by loving parents who do all they can to protect him from the realities of being Black and to keep him safe. Yet he is bullied at school due to the darkness of his skin and they know that is the least of the issues he will face as he grows up. As I tried to work out how these threads would combine the unreliable nature of the narrator further complicated matters. What was real and what was not?

Another thing that threw me off was the constantly changing tone. The opening scene is rather madcap - the author being pursued down a hotel corridor by an irate husband who found his wife and the author in bed. There are plenty more madcap moments on the book tour. But there are also Catch-22 moments (especially in scenes connected to publishing and marketing), wisecracks and dark humour. And interspersed with this are moments that feel like a punch in the gut - parents who teach their son to be invisible or play games seeing how quickly he can respond to a “hands up” command, all in an effort to keep him safe. As a reader these switches were dizzying.

By the end the three storylines had come together in a powerful way and any feelings of being unmoored had left. Not only that but I came to appreciate the feeling of being unsettled as a crucial part of the reading experience.

For underpinning all three story threads, all the humour, all the gut punches, was the issue of race in the United States and of police brutality in particular. Hell of a Book powerfully exposes racial issues and their impact on hearts, minds and souls, especially those of Black boys and Black men. And why should anyone feel settled or comfortable with that reality?

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deedireads's review

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Hell of a Book is a really creative, really affecting novel that’s as funny as it is devastating. One heck of a ride, it will surprise you and move you.

For you if: You like novels that play with form in a creative way while also remaining ultra-readable.

FULL REVIEW:

“Every child like you in this country has been swallowed up by the monster since before they were even born. And every Black parent in the history of this country has tried to stop that monster from swallowing them up and has failed at it. And every day they live with that.”

Wow, OK. Where to even start with this one? Hell of a Book wasn’t really on my radar until it was longlisted (now shortlisted) for the National Book Award, but I’m glad it found its way onto my TBR in the end. This one is super creative, super smart, and both funny and devastating. And it’s definitely one heck of a ride.

The main character is an unnamed Black man on tour for his debut, bestselling novel called Hell of a Book. What’s it about? Hell if he knows. But it’s great; everyone says so. He’s living recklessly and wildly; anyway, his “condition” makes him never quite sure what’s real or what’s not. Including the young Black boy who claims he’s real, just invisible to others at will. The novel also bounces back and forth to show The Kid’s past, just as our narrator’s background comes into sharper focus.

It’s been a long time since I read a novel as creative or smart as this one. The beginning is comic, voicey, almost bouncy. You’re curious, amused. But the way it all comes together? Mott has used this creativity to shed light on a really heavy topic — Blackness, police violence, racial and generational trauma — and tell a devastating story is incredible. It’s a slow boil; you won’t know what hit you until you’re walloped on the floor. It’s wild to call this book fun, but it was; and yet it was also heartwrenching, wise, and effective.

Also, I highly recommend the audiobook for this one; the voice actor did an incredible job and it added a lot to my reading experience. If you’re up for a unique (but still very readable) form and voice, pick this one up.

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gem114's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott is a unique narrative that follows an unnamed African American author on a book tour, a young black boy called Soot, and a possibly imaginary boy known as The Kid. The book addresses racism, police brutality, mental health, and the publishing industry.

I would absolutely recommend this book to fans of Kurt Vonnegut. The style and structure of Hell of a Book remind me of Vonnegut's writing. I would say this book is to racism what Slaughter-House Five is to war (hopefully that makes sense to other readers!).

With that said, I am not a Kurt Vonnegut fan, and I also wasn't a fan of this book. I appreciate what Mott is doing in this book, and I believe it will likely become a highly regarded novel, but I just don't enjoy reading this style of writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

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isnotacrayon's review

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is no joke. Charlie Kauffman-esque in its surrealism that devolves into almost fever dream. The most unreliable narrator ever. Fantastic writing, and meaning, and it should be read by the masses.

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