Book #52 |
Book: Hell of a Book | Author: Jason Mott | |
| Source: Free BookBub download Format: Kindle |
Pages: 333 | Duration: 07/01/25 – 07/08/25 (8 days) | |
| Rating: ★★★★☆ | Genres: literary fiction, racism, books about books, magical realism, African American | ||
| 📕10-word summary: A complex story. A complex storyteller. Addressing a complex topic. 🖌6-word review: Lyrical writing with an unreliable narrator. |
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| Description:* An astounding work of fiction, both incredibly funny and heartfelt, asking readers to embrace the fantastical in order to get to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon not only Black Americans, but America as a whole.*From goodreads.com’s synopsis. | |||
| Thoughts: I went into this book knowing that I was going to be challenged, because neither magical realism nor lyrical writing appeal to me. But the topic is super important, and the book has won numerous writing awards, so I wanted to give it a chance. Not surprisingly, I spent a lot of time frustrated not knowing what was real and what wasn’t, and not knowing the connection between two of the characters — the unnamed author of the book in the book, which happens to have the same name as the book itself and the character called “The Kid.” That sentence alone should give you a taste of the state of confusion I stayed in throughout most of the book. In the end, it was hard to follow, but the topic was and important one, and I’m glad I stuck with it. | |||
See the rest of the books I’ve read in 2025 and previous years: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019.
