The warm, funny, and supremely original new novel from one of the most acclaimed writers in America The year is 1985. Benji Cooper is one of the only black students at an elite prep school in Manhattan. He spends his falls and winters going to roller-disco bar mitzvahs, playing too much Dungeons and Dragons, and trying to catch glimpses of nudity on late-night cable TV. After a tragic mishap on his first day of high school—when Benji reveals his deep enthusiasm for the horror movie magazine Fangoria—his social doom is sealed for the next four years. But every summer, Benji escapes to the Hamptons, to Sag Harbor, where a small community of African American professionals have built a world of their own. Because their parents come out only on weekends, he and his friends are left to their own devices for three glorious months. And although he’s just as confused about this all-black refuge as he is about the white world he negotiates the rest of the year, he thinks that maybe this summer things will be different. If all goes according to plan, that is. There will be trials and tribulations, of course. There will be complicated new handshakes to fumble through, and state-of-the-art profanity to master. He will be tested by contests big and small, by his misshapen haircut (which seems to have a will of its own), by the New Coke Tragedy of ’85, and by his secret Lite FM addiction. But maybe, with a little luck, things will turn out differently this summer. In this deeply affectionate and fiercely funny coming-of-age novel, Whitehead—using the perpetual mortification of teenage existence and the desperate quest for reinvention—lithely probes the elusive nature of identity, both personal and communal.
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"This was a great book to read at the beginning of summer. Benji is a Manhattan kid whose family spends their summers outin Sag Harbor. He is 18 in 1985, so it seems close enough to my age to resonate from a time-period standpoint. Very evocative of time and place and culture. " — Frances (4 out of 5 stars)
"This was a great book to read at the beginning of summer. Benji is a Manhattan kid whose family spends their summers outin Sag Harbor. He is 18 in 1985, so it seems close enough to my age to resonate from a time-period standpoint. Very evocative of time and place and culture. "
Pure shimmering brilliance. Colson Whitehead’s affecting new novel joyously lights up a place, a time, a family, and one unforgettable young man. It is also one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, a book loaded with the kind of humor that can only soar off a heartbreaking sadness.
Whitehead is making a strong case for a new name of his own: that of the best of the new generation of American novelists.
No novelist writing today is more engaging and entertaining when it comes to questions of race, class, and commercial culture than Colson Whitehead.
[Whitehead] takes on a multitude of issues with a rich and probing imagination. His reputation is likely to soar.
[Whitehead] writes wonderfully, commanding a lush, poetic, mellifluous prose instrument.
" A nerdy black teen spends summers in the Hamptons in the 80's. A beautiful depiction of the times, but his style of writing gets annoying. "
" Whitehead's account of one summer in Sag Harbor, a black enclave in the Hamptons, will make you laugh out loud. But it also forces you to think about parents and growing up. "
" It started out great, and I could definitely relate to all the pop culture references and just being a teenager in the '80s. I felt like the author set up a great story and wrote a great character, but then the book just kind of went no where. "
" wanted to like it more than i did! loved the writing, but as a novel the plot felt somewhat disjointed. "
" Nice to revisit my youth, the 1980s never looked more richly vital. "
" "Witty, funny and lets u see dif side of black america. Not so much the subject matter, but the undertones is stuff u and I talk about a lot. Race percpt, our own piece of paradise" Recommendation by VT "
" Not sure if it was the fact that I've never been to Sag Harbor or because the story is about teen-aged boys, but I couldn't get through this book. I found the writing to be too wordy and difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. "
" Took me a while to get used to his style of writing ... lots of parentheses and side stories. It was an okay read and anti-climatic. "
" This meandered a bit, but in a good way. "
" My love affair with Whitehead is just beginning, but I can see this growing to something very special. "
" Good coming of age kind of book, fun read "
" Whitehead is certainly a talented writer, but this novel was just much too character driven and slow moving for my tastes. "
" Started it - no interest in finishing. "
" A good coming of age in the 1980's story. A kind of geeky upper middle class boy summers in Sag Harbor. "
" Oh no, wrong choice for me. This is a book that I am glad I borrowed from the library because now I am not compelled to read it. After several pages, I decided not worth the read :( "
" the coming of age novel done right. rambling and thoughtful and full of nostalgia and music and served up in a satisfyingly dense lump that might not have a conclusive point, so to speak, but that's how it is looking backward. "
" Probably a 2.5 star, listened while I uploaded theses at work. "
" Far too detailed in some spots, lots of verbiage. Charming in spots. "
" The book gave insight to the "black elite" that "summered" in the Hamptons. However, the summer in the life of a 16yr old was lack-luster. "
" A mildly enjoyable read with some funny moments. A pretty good book club discussion followed. "
" 2.5 stars - some good 80s nostalgia stuff, goes off on some deep tangents sometimes though "
" I did not like this book; boring and too wordy. "
" Big expectations lead to big disappointment. "
" Interesting commentary on race and adolescence, but written too much like I imagine a teenage boy's mind works to really be readable. "
" Full of fun 80s pop culture references, this book brought me back to what it was like for adolescence. A fun read with a very simple wrap up. Great slice of life story. "
" Not much of a plot to stick to, but some great moments. Also raised some interesting questions in my book club discussion. His Coke-stealing scene really did have me laughing out loud. "
Colson Whitehead, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eleven works of fiction and nonfiction, is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, for The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which also won the National Book Award. His other awards include the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN Oakland Award, and the Young Lions Fiction Award, among others. His books have been named best books of the year by the New York Times, Washington Post, Time magazine, Boston Globe, and many more. He is a recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships.
Mirron Willis—actor of film, stage, and television—is the winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2012 and a finalist for the Audie in 2015, as well as the winner of four AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook recordings. He has worked extensively in film and television and on stage with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Houston Shakespeare Festival, and the Ensemble Theatre, among others. He has recorded some 150 audiobooks, including the Smokey Dalton series by Kris Nelscott and My Song by Harry Belafonte. He resides and records audiobooks on his family’s historic ranch in East Texas.
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