Oct 20

Oct 20 Hell of a Book

Author: Jason Mott
Publisher: Dutton
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

An astounding work of fiction from a New York Times bestselling author, both incredibly funny and honest, that goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans, and America as a whole

In Hell of a Book, an African-American author sets out on a cross-country book tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Jason Mott's novel and is the scaffolding of something much larger and more urgent: since his novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.

Throughout, these characters' stories build and build and as they converge, they astonish. For while this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art, and money, there always is the tragic story of a police shooting playing over and over on the news.

Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour, and what kind of world will he leave behind? Unforgettably powerful, an electrifying high-wire act, ideal for book clubs, and the book Mott says he has been writing in his head for ten years, Hell of a Book in its final twists truly becomes its title.

TL;DR Review

Hell of a Book is a really creative, really affecting novel that’s as funny as it is devastating. One heck of a ride, it will surprise you and move you.

For you if: You like novels that play with form in a creative way while also remaining ultra-readable.

Full Review

“Every child like you in this country has been swallowed up by the monster since before they were even born. And every Black parent in the history of this country has tried to stop that monster from swallowing them up and has failed at it. And every day they live with that.”

Wow, OK. Where to even start with this one? Hell of a Book wasn’t really on my radar until it was longlisted (now shortlisted) for the National Book Award, but I’m glad it found its way onto my TBR in the end. This one is super creative, super smart, and both funny and devastating. And it’s definitely one heck of a ride.

The main character is an unnamed Black man on tour for his debut, bestselling novel called Hell of a Book. What’s it about? Hell if he knows. But it’s great; everyone says so. He’s living recklessly and wildly; anyway, his “condition” makes him never quite sure what’s real or what’s not. Including the young Black boy who claims he’s real, just invisible to others at will. The novel also bounces back and forth to show The Kid’s past, just as our narrator’s background comes into sharper focus.

It’s been a long time since I read a novel as creative or smart as this one. The beginning is comic, voicey, almost bouncy. You’re curious, amused. But the way it all comes together? Mott has used this creativity to shed light on a really heavy topic — Blackness, police violence, racial and generational trauma — and tell a devastating story is incredible. It’s a slow boil; you won’t know what hit you until you’re walloped on the floor. It’s wild to call this book fun, but it was; and yet it was also heartwrenching, wise, and effective.

Also, I highly recommend the audiobook for this one; the voice actor did an incredible job and it added a lot to my reading experience. If you’re up for a unique (but still very readable) form and voice, pick this one up.