It's the cover review in this week NYT Book Review and well deserved. It's the first time that I have read Colson Whitehead but it won't be the last. For his novel, Whitehead has drawn heavily from his experiences coming of age in the mid-80's. Like his character, his family owned a house in the Long Island summer community of Sag harbor: an enclave of African-American professionals. It's about the 80's, it's about being a teenage boy, and it's about identity. I think this quote from the book sums it all up: “According to the world we were the definition of paradox: black boys with beach houses. A paradox to the outside, but it never occurred to us that there was anything strange about it. It was simply who we were,” Whitehead writes. “What you call paradox, I call myself.”
Click on Sag Harbor to view a video clip of Whitehead talking about the novel.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Given Day
This is old Boston - angry, fierce, and corrupt. It's 1919 and the city is beset with influenza, labor unrest, racial tensions, and corrupt politicians. Author Dennis Lehane, the bard of Irish Boston, has moved out of the realm of mysteries to create a riveting novel that brings that era brutally alive. Lehane's website has some great photos of the historical events depicted in his book.
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