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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Premise was very good but the book didn’t deliver. It was underwhelming as the author was very disconnected from the events. It was disjointed and dry, meandering and sometimes confusing.
dark
informative
sad
tense
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
sad
fast-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
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
This was a good but not great read. I felt like Whitehead was holding back. The book is a slow burn that never really picks up momentum. Whitehead keeps his characters at arms length never letting very close to them. I kept looking for more depth to the story, more intimacy with the characters. It's a timely story which probably edged it to the Pulitzer but I've read other Pulitzer winners that were far more engaging.
“Even in death the boys were trouble.”
So begins The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, with one of the best opening lines I’ve read in a while. Short and snappy, it pulls you in. But there’s also so much packed into that one sentence - a whole history. Which boys? Why are they dead? Why are they a source of trouble? And, perhaps most importantly, who are they trouble for? The rest of this novel is equally sparse yet packed with meaning.
It follows a boy named Elwood. He’s a high school senior hoping to take classes at a local Black college later in the year. But it’s the 1960s in the Jim Crow South, and no matter how responsible and respectable the townspeople think he is, he’s just another Black boy in the eyes of the law and its enforcers.
In the wrong place at the wrong time, he’s sent to a juvenile reformatory school known as Nickel Academy. It’s supposed to be a school that “transforms” these boys into contributing members of society, but it’s closer to a prison. The staff mentally, physically, verbally, psychologically, and sexually abuse the boys, and no one’s coming to save them.
As Elwood tries to survive, in this cruel environment, he thinks about the words of MLK Junior, “Do to us what you will and we will still love you” and how impossible that really is.
I noticed some other reviews mention that the non-fiction, journalistic writing style wasn’t their favorite. This is my first Whitehead book, so I’m not sure if The Nickel Boys is indicative of Whitehead’s usual narrative style or a more “calculated” choice. Regardless, I didn’t mind the distanced narration because I think that in some cases, that’s the only way we can talk about trauma.
To give voice to every emotion and every thought is to revisit those traumatic moments. And most people don’t want to revisit those memories. They’re too painful. I think the power of this book comes from the fact that we don’t need to be completely inside a character’s mind to feel deeply for them.
I think a lot of people should read this! I still can’t stop thinking about that opening line…whew.
So begins The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, with one of the best opening lines I’ve read in a while. Short and snappy, it pulls you in. But there’s also so much packed into that one sentence - a whole history. Which boys? Why are they dead? Why are they a source of trouble? And, perhaps most importantly, who are they trouble for? The rest of this novel is equally sparse yet packed with meaning.
It follows a boy named Elwood. He’s a high school senior hoping to take classes at a local Black college later in the year. But it’s the 1960s in the Jim Crow South, and no matter how responsible and respectable the townspeople think he is, he’s just another Black boy in the eyes of the law and its enforcers.
In the wrong place at the wrong time, he’s sent to a juvenile reformatory school known as Nickel Academy. It’s supposed to be a school that “transforms” these boys into contributing members of society, but it’s closer to a prison. The staff mentally, physically, verbally, psychologically, and sexually abuse the boys, and no one’s coming to save them.
As Elwood tries to survive, in this cruel environment, he thinks about the words of MLK Junior, “Do to us what you will and we will still love you” and how impossible that really is.
I noticed some other reviews mention that the non-fiction, journalistic writing style wasn’t their favorite. This is my first Whitehead book, so I’m not sure if The Nickel Boys is indicative of Whitehead’s usual narrative style or a more “calculated” choice. Regardless, I didn’t mind the distanced narration because I think that in some cases, that’s the only way we can talk about trauma.
To give voice to every emotion and every thought is to revisit those traumatic moments. And most people don’t want to revisit those memories. They’re too painful. I think the power of this book comes from the fact that we don’t need to be completely inside a character’s mind to feel deeply for them.
I think a lot of people should read this! I still can’t stop thinking about that opening line…whew.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No