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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read because I'm interested in watching the movie so I borrowed the audiobook from my library
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This book was sooo good! But also very sad. The story Colson Whitehead tells of the Nickel boys is truly heart breaking and shocking. I didn’t know what to expect. I also didn’t know this story is based on true events, which makes it even more horrifying.
Whitehead is an excellent writer and I enjoyed his style of writing. The book jumps from current events to past events to events sometime in the future but not present day. Yet despite the multiple timelines, I was able to follow the story pretty well. And the time changes, I think, made the twist at the end that much more unpredictable.
I definitely want to read more of Whitehead’s books although I think I’ll need to take a break after the heavy subject matter in this one. This isn’t a book you pick up for some light reading but it is most certainly a good read!
Whitehead is an excellent writer and I enjoyed his style of writing. The book jumps from current events to past events to events sometime in the future but not present day. Yet despite the multiple timelines, I was able to follow the story pretty well. And the time changes, I think, made the twist at the end that much more unpredictable.
I definitely want to read more of Whitehead’s books although I think I’ll need to take a break after the heavy subject matter in this one. This isn’t a book you pick up for some light reading but it is most certainly a good read!
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
To start with, it really didn’t feel like a debut novel at all because the writing was top-notch. Additionally, I wasn’t even planning to read it since family dramas aren’t really my thing; I picked it up just to tick off a Goodreads challenge. Now, I’m really glad I did! It shattered my heart a million times and then pieced it back together. The characters and their personal struggles and family dilemmas felt so real that even though I haven’t gone through any of that myself, I could really empathize with them. The different timelines and multiple POVe were another great aspect of the book to understand the characters better. I highly recommend it for an amazing reading experience.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
This book is devastating. It tears apart the false promise of equal under the law and the American myth of opportunity tied to hard work. Elwood is hardworking, industrious, and fundamentally good, and yet, he is not only denied opportunity for education and advancement but denied his childhood, and ultimately, his life.
What makes this so difficult to read is Elwood’s belief in the capacity of the world to improve and to right itself, and for those repeated offerings to be met with silence, cruelty, or death. He believes so deeply in civil disobedience, the words of MLK, and the promise of a society where everyone can stay and dine at the Richmond Hotel.
The book evocatively shows the not-so-distant past of Jim Crow and the way that history is misremembered, brushed over, and even forgotten. Like the boarding schools forced upon Indigenous people to separate them from their people, culture, and life ways, these “reform schools” were designed to abuse, suppress, control, and kill Black children. It’s horrific that both of these institutions, cut from similar white supremacist cloths, are not talked about, despite being active in our lifetimes, shuttered recently, with lasting harm to this day.
Though undoubtedly excellent, Elwood, like nearly all Black children and especially Black boys, is denied the simple pleasure of being ordinary. Despite doing everything right, it seems like everything just goes wrong for him. Even within his community, he is shunned for reaching too high and living his values. His only true companion is Turner, who he meets at the Nickel Academy, and who ultimately carries on his name and legacy.
The cruelty of the White House, whose on-the-nose name puts an even finer point on things, was difficult to read through, knowing it was based on reality. The rigged nature of Black life was no clearer than in the boxing matches, being taken “out back,” and the “community service” Elwood and Turner did.
Lastly, the narrative structure was brilliant and crushing. You are lured into the false comfort that at least Elwood makes it through his suffering and ultimately is rewarded with full life, only to understand the twist in the final chapter. There is redemption, but only partial, and for some. And it makes it difficult, even as a reader, to follow King’s message of agape love.
Phrases that stuck with me: “Existed in the capacity to suffer”/ “Justice exists only in theory”
What makes this so difficult to read is Elwood’s belief in the capacity of the world to improve and to right itself, and for those repeated offerings to be met with silence, cruelty, or death. He believes so deeply in civil disobedience, the words of MLK, and the promise of a society where everyone can stay and dine at the Richmond Hotel.
The book evocatively shows the not-so-distant past of Jim Crow and the way that history is misremembered, brushed over, and even forgotten. Like the boarding schools forced upon Indigenous people to separate them from their people, culture, and life ways, these “reform schools” were designed to abuse, suppress, control, and kill Black children. It’s horrific that both of these institutions, cut from similar white supremacist cloths, are not talked about, despite being active in our lifetimes, shuttered recently, with lasting harm to this day.
Though undoubtedly excellent, Elwood, like nearly all Black children and especially Black boys, is denied the simple pleasure of being ordinary. Despite doing everything right, it seems like everything just goes wrong for him. Even within his community, he is shunned for reaching too high and living his values. His only true companion is Turner, who he meets at the Nickel Academy, and who ultimately carries on his name and legacy.
The cruelty of the White House, whose on-the-nose name puts an even finer point on things, was difficult to read through, knowing it was based on reality. The rigged nature of Black life was no clearer than in the boxing matches, being taken “out back,” and the “community service” Elwood and Turner did.
Lastly, the narrative structure was brilliant and crushing. You are lured into the false comfort that at least Elwood makes it through his suffering and ultimately is rewarded with full life, only to understand the twist in the final chapter. There is redemption, but only partial, and for some. And it makes it difficult, even as a reader, to follow King’s message of agape love.
Phrases that stuck with me: “Existed in the capacity to suffer”/ “Justice exists only in theory”
“We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness.”
“Like justice, it existed in theory.”
“Like justice, it existed in theory.”