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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Jim Crow era spotlight and yet frighteningly current.
The book doesn't translate well to audiobook imo. It jumps time and and has quite a few characters, so it was hard for me to keep track of it all through an audiobook. Not a fault of the book at all- but an observation.
The book doesn't translate well to audiobook imo. It jumps time and and has quite a few characters, so it was hard for me to keep track of it all through an audiobook. Not a fault of the book at all- but an observation.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
(3,5) Colson Whitehead's fictional piece based on real-life youth detention centers filled with hidden abuse towards its colored inhabitants is the kind of stuff that would make for a truly harrowing read, I can't help but feel a bit let down by its story. The topic is something that would make any reader choke up and at times it definitely does, but Whitehead's narrative flow (especially in the first and second parts) feels more like a vignette-like display of the day-to-day happenings at the eponymous Nickel Institute. The latter half of the book focuses more and more on escape from the institute and the rehabilitation later on in the life of one of its leads, but that doesn't take away from a lot of the passages that feel more like an inside look of these kinds of places. It is obvious though that an inside look is just what Whitehead is aiming for here; it's as much an exposé of the hidden horrors as the articles are that inspired him to write it in the first place. For him, however, it's also a way to give a stronger and louder voice to these forgotten boys. Even though he quotes liberally from accounts from survivors of the real schools and speeches from Martin Luther King Jr., these elements only work so well because of the engrossing fictional characters that he creates with them. The final pages, where past and present come together, are a true scorcher though that only deepens the impact that time long ago has and will have on the future. Too bad I couldn't feel the same immediacy everywhere in the novel. Still, having read this, I'm extremely excited for RaMell Ross's film adaptation and the peculiar stylistic form he will use to tell this story on the big screen.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Absolutely heartbreaking and so well written.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated