Literary Fiction · ThoughtfulA touring novelist sees visions of The Kid, while a child named Soot is bullied on the bus
Hell of a Book
by Jason Mott
A novelist on a book tour keeps seeing a boy who may not be there
An unnamed novelist travels to promote his new book, and along the way he keeps seeing visions of a boy he calls The Kid. In alternating chapters, a Black child nicknamed Soot lives near Whiteville, North Carolina, where he is bullied on the school bus. The two stories run side by side through the book.
More about this book
Who
An unnamed novelist on a book tour, and a Black child nicknamed Soot.
World
The author's book tour, and a small town near Whiteville, North Carolina.
What makes it different
The chapters alternate between the two stories. The novelist is haunted by visions of The Kid.
Feel
Funny and sad by turns. It won the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- Hell of a BookWikipedia