Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

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.