The Nickel Boys
Books | Fiction / Historical / General
4.6
Colson Whitehead
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for FictionWinner of the 2019 Kirkus Prize for FictionFinalist for the 2019 National Book Critics Circle AwardFinalist for the 2021 DUBLIN Literary AwardsLonglisted for the 2019 National Book AwardsLonglisted for the 2020 Orwell Prize for Political FictionIn this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize–and National Book Award–winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow–era Florida. As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to heart: He is "as good as anyone." Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grand-mother, Elwood is a high school senior about to start classes at a local college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides "physical, intellectual, and moral training" so that the delinquent boys in its charge can become "honorable and honest men." In reality, the Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors where the sadistic staff beats and sexually abuses the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear "out back." Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr. King's ringing assertion "Throw us in jail and we will still love you." His friend Turner thinks that Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. The tension between Elwood's ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision with repercussions that will echo down the decades. Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys' fates will be determined by what they endured at the Nickel Academy. Based on the real story of a reform school in Florida that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.
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Author
Colson Whitehead
Pages
304
Publisher
Doubleday Canada
Published Date
2019-07-16
ISBN
0385693974 9780385693974
Community ReviewsSee all
"Though it lacks the poetic fantasy elements of <i>Underground Railroad</i>, this is a gripping look at the racist horrors of mid century Southern reform schools. Based on a disturbingly real place, Whitehead follows two boys: one an earnest civil rights inspired striver who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; the other a hardened cynic out for himself, who nonetheless develops compassion for his naive fellow prisoner. Whitehead makes clear that the entire white community was complicit in the atrocities these boys suffered."
"This is the second book I read this year shining light on the horrible reform schools, particularly the Dozier School for Boys. I personally feel The Reformatory is the stronger narrative, even though there are added supernatural elements to it. I felt The Nickel Boys lacked the emotional connection, and although I felt The Reformatory was too long, I felt this suffered being too short. We didn't get to spend enough time with the boys and the style of writing made us feel more removed--it felt more like a newspaper article. I saw some reviews comment on the disliking the ending, but I actually felt that was one of the stronger parts. <spoiler> I liked the idea of Turner taking on Elwood's ideals and living a life a he would be proud of.</spoiler>"
"Excellent book, despite how horribly sad it is."
E F
Elizabeth Fordham
"I struggled to read this book, not because of the subject matter, but because of the author’s style of writing. It was good, but I struggled to find a good flow in reading. I did think that most of the book was kind of slow and boring, I did like some parts. The ending easily added a full star to my rating."