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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) Paperback - 2019

by Colson Whitehead

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This seller has earned a 4.32 of 5 Stars rating from internet customers.
4.32 / 5 (300 total reviews)

Reader reviews for The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

Review summary

This seller has earned a 4.32 of 5 Stars rating from internet customers.
4.32 / 5 (300 total reviews)

Readers largely praised The Nickel Boys as a stark, tightly crafted account of abuse at a Jim Crow-era reform school. Many found it emotionally devastating yet highly readable, citing spare prose, strong pacing, and historical relevance. Compared with The Underground Railroad, it’s viewed as more straightforward and accessible, if less stylistically adventurous. The late twist split opinion—some saw it coming or felt detached from the characters, others thought it sharpened the book’s themes and finale. Despite its unrelenting bleakness, most recommend it as an important, discussable work.

Readers say this book is:
harrowingheartbreakingimportantspare proseaccessiblequick readpredictable twistthought-provokingbleakgripping

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From the publisher

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER - NATIONAL BESTSELLER - This follow-up to The Underground Railroad brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. - "One of the most gifted novelists in America today." --NPR

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD(R) FOR BEST PICTURE AND DIRECTED BY ACADEMY AWARD(R) NOMINEE RAMELL ROSS

When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood's only salvation is his friendship with fellow "delinquent" Turner, which deepens despite Turner's conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood's ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers and "should further cement Whitehead as one of his generation's best" (Entertainment Weekly).

Details

  • Title The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
  • Author Colson Whitehead
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 352
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Random House Large Print Publishing
  • Publication date 2019-07-16
  • Large Print Yes
  • Features Large Print
  • ISBN 9781984892249 / 198489224X
  • Weight 0.65 lbs (0.29 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 in (20.83 x 13.72 x 2.54 cm)
  • Reading level 940
  • Themes
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
  • Category Fiction - Historical
  • Library of Congress subjects United States, Historical fiction
  • Dewey Decimal Code 813.54

About the author

Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Underground Railroad, which in 2016 won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the National Book Award and was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, as well as The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt, and The Colossus of New York. He is also a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a recipient of the MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships. He lives in New York City.

Colson Whitehead is available for select speakingengagements. To inquire about a possible appearance, please contact Penguin Random House Speakers Bureauat speakers@ penguinrandomhouse.com or visitwww.prhspeakers.com.

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction): A Novel
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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction): A Novel

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction): A Novel

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) : A Novel

The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) : A Novel

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction): A Novel
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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction): A Novel

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) : A Novel
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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) : A Novel

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) : A Novel

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The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) : A Novel

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9781984892249 / 198489224x
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