Book Review: “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are certain words that are thrown about in book reviews, words that are overused and become meaningless: Haunting, Powerful, Memorable. I am not going out on a limb when I employ each of these words to describe Colson Whitehead’s novel “The Nickel Boys.”

The novel traces the paths of two Black teenaged boys through the dark times of the Jim Crow era in the United States. Based on the true and horrific stories of the Dozier School for Boys, Whitehead crafts a dark and ugly hellhole: The Nickel Academy. The face the ‘Academy’ presents to the outside world is a reform school dedicated to turning young delinquents into upright citizens. The true face of The Nickel Academy is one of abuse, beatings, tortures, and of young men ending up in unmarked graves.

The characters in this story are finely crafted, well developed, and memorable. Two boys struggle to survive, struggle with conflicting beliefs, struggle to maintain the hope that someday things will change. There is danger in hoping, danger in believing. Their struggle in powerful and, yes, it is memorable. As a reader, I cared very much about the fate of the protagonists. The author’s words drew me in immediately and held me in thrall.

Mr. Whitehead is a fine writer and a fine crafter of story. The tale cuts from present to past and back again, yet the shifts are not jarring. Each piece of the story builds on a preceding episode, adding layers of insight and plot twists. The final twist is beautiful, ironic, and deeply moving.

Colson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. My little review does not do justice to his work. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Read it!

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