Hell of a Book
WINNER of the National Book Award for Fiction
by Jason Mott
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Pub Date 10 Aug 2021 | Archive Date 10 Aug 2021
Orion Publishing Group | Trapeze
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Description
*WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2021*
'Truly one hell of a book.' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS, author of QUEENIE
'Powerful, timely, and provocative' ABI DARÉ
'An important book and everyone should read it' IMRAN MAHMOOD
'More than lives up to its title' CHARLES YU
* * * * *
THIS IS A TRUE STORY.
An author goes on a book tour for his new bestseller Hell of a Book - which, as people keep telling him, is one hell of a book.
THIS IS A COMING-OF-AGE STORY.
One morning, he meets The Kid - a young Black boy who looks just like the one on the news who was shot by the police. And The Kid wants him to tell his story.
THIS IS A SAD STORY.
It's the story of a boy who spent most of his life trying to hide, and to not be seen. And it may not be that different from the story of our author.
THIS IS A LOVE STORY.
But to find out why, you'll have to read it for yourself.
THIS IS A STORY UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU'VE EVER READ. THIS IS A HELL OF A BOOK.
* * * * *
'Poignant and beautiful ... A story of race, family, love, and justice. It's original and Jason Mott is a talent.'
Jenna Bush Hager, Read With Jenna/Today Show Book Club
'An extraordinary emotional roller coaster of a read - I tore through this profoundly moving novel in a day but have been thinking about it ever since.'
Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice
'Playful, searching, raw and necessary, this writing, this voice, this novel twisted me up and turned me inside out, dazzled me, surprised me and moved me.'
Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown
'A beautiful and deeply moving book'
Imran Mahmood, author of You Don't Know Me
'How to possibly describe this novel without simply borrowing from its moniker? It is, after all, a hell of a book' Entertainment Weekly
'Stunning, humorous, insightful, poetic, cinematic'
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
'Hell of a Book consistently proves itself to be more than the sum of its parts: a farce that provokes contemplation, a publishing parody that rings true; an honest and emotive meditation on systematic racial injustice and the myriad ways in which it breaks the human soul. Sharp, funny, evocative and never anything less than utterly poignant'
Irish Times
'For all its moments of levity, Mott has written a deadly serious story ... Hell of a Book offers a disturbing portrait of a nation that's been lying to itself all its years. In this way, the novel feels like a plea - intense, moving, urgent, and vital.'
Washington Independent Review of Books
'A surrealist feast of imagination that's brimming with very real horrors, frustrations and sorrows, it can break your heart and make you laugh out loud at the same time, often on the same page. This is an achievement of American fiction that rises to meet this particular moment with charm, wisdom and truth'
BookPage (starred review)
'A twisty and startling narrative about the blurry lines between reality and fiction' TIME Magazine
AN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 'MUST READ' | A READ WITH JENNA TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK | GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOKS OF THE MONTH | USA TODAY BOOKS 'NOT TO MISS' | THE NY POST BEST SUMMER READING BOOKS | EBONY MAGAZINE BOOK CLUB | FORTUNE'S 'MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS' | THE ROOT'S PAGETURNERS | REAL SIMPLE'S BEST NEW BOOKS TO READ IN 2021 | A TIME MAGAZINE MUST-READ
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781398704640 |
| PRICE | £14.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 320 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Siobhan D, Reviewer
Hell of a Book is a novel about, well, it's a novel about an author on a book tour for his new book, which everyone agrees is a hell of a book, but he's not quite sure what it's about or if all the people are real. Only he can see The Kid, a Black boy who might be the one recently shot by the police, or might not be, but as the interviews pile up and he sees The Kid more and more, maybe he'll have to work out just which stories are being told.
This is a difficult book to talk about without giving away too much, as a lot of it is built around narrative uncertainty and what the narrator says or doesn't say at any one point. It's an innovative style which is used to play with the reader whilst also addressing issues of race, police brutality, and which stories Black creatives are encouraged to tell (or told is marketable). At times it is absurd and funny, at other times unreal and clever, and then it is also powerful and sad, a sign of how stories keep repeating and cycles keep being perpetuated.
The style of this book might not be for everyone, but I found it incisive and witty, and a clever way to ask questions about the publishing industry itself whilst also looking at existing in America whilst Black. I'm not going to end my review with an obvious play on the title, but instead I'll think about the fact that the way the title is used throughout the book does feel like a comment on how it might be described by people who haven't really read it in the future, as it is undoubtedly a book that is going to be talked about.
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