The Nickel Boys

Last updated
The Nickel Boys
The Nickel Boys (Colson Whitehead).png
First edition cover
Author Colson Whitehead
Audio read byJD Jackson [1]
Colson Whitehead
Cover artistNeil Libbert (photograph) [2]
Oliver Munday (design)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Set in Florida and New York City [3]
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date
July 16, 2019
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages224
Awards Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Kirkus Prize for Fiction
Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
ISBN 978-0-385-53707-0
813.54
LC Class PS3573.H4768 N53 2019

The Nickel Boys is a 2019 novel by American novelist Colson Whitehead. It is based on the historic Dozier School, a reform school in Florida that operated for 111 years and was revealed as highly abusive. A university investigation found numerous unmarked graves for unrecorded deaths and a history into the late 20th century of emotional and physical abuse of students.

Contents

TIME named it one of best books of the decade. [4] The Nickel Boys won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. [5] Judges of the prize called the novel "a spare and devastating exploration of abuse at a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida that is ultimately a powerful tale of human perseverance, dignity and redemption." [6] It is Whitehead's second win, making him the fourth writer in history to have won the prize for fiction twice. [7]

Plot

The narrative alternates between the 2010s and the 1960s. In the present, Elwood Curtis is an African-American business owner in New York City. As an investigation into the defunct Nickel Academy begins to expose the school's hidden history of atrocities, including many secretly buried bodies on the premises, many men who were incarcerated at Nickel Academy as boys are coming forward to share their experiences of abuse. Curtis is forced to confront the lasting effects of his experiences there.

In 1960s Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis is a studious African-American high school student with an idealistic sense of justice inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights marches. He is selected to attend university classes due to his intelligence. However, on the first day of classes he hitchhikes with an African-American man; when they are pulled over and it is discovered that the vehicle was stolen, Elwood is convicted as a delinquent and sent to Nickel Academy, a juvenile reformatory in Eleanor, Florida. Boys at Nickel Academy receive poor education, are made to perform hard labor, and frequently receive brutal corporal punishment. The staff also overlook and cover up sexual abuse and trips "out back" for punishment, from which some boys never return. The students are segregated by race, with Black boys facing worse treatment. Elwood befriends fellow student Turner, who has a more cynical view of the world and Nickel's administration. Elwood attempts to serve his time without incident, but is seriously beaten on two occasions: once for intervening to help a boy being attacked by sexual assaulters, and once after writing a letter to government authorities detailing the academy's poor conditions, corruption, and abuse. After Turner overhears of a plan to have Elwood killed by the administration, the two attempt an escape. Elwood is shot dead while Turner escapes; it is revealed that Turner falsely adopted Elwood's name and attempted to live up to his ideals when he was free.

In the 2010s, with an investigation into Nickel Academy ongoing, "Elwood Curtis" reveals his history and real name, Jack Turner, to his wife, then flies to Tallahassee to give testimony to his friend's fate.

Characters

Whitehead has described the characters as "two different parts of my personality", with Elwood Curtis being "the optimistic or hopeful part of me that believes we can make the world a better place if we keep working at it", and Jack Turner, "the cynical side that says no—this country is founded on genocide, murder, and slavery and it will always be that way." [8]

Development and writing

After dealing with slavery in his Pulitzer-prize winning novel, The Underground Railroad , Whitehead did not want to write "another heavy book." However, he felt the election of Donald Trump compelled him to do so. [9] Whitehead deliberately narrowed the scope of the book and grounded it for the sake of realism, choosing not to include the speculative or fantastic elements of his other novels Zone One or The Underground Railroad . [9]

The Nickel Boys is set at a fictionalized version of the Dozier School for Boys, dubbed Nickel Academy. [10] Whitehead first heard of the real life Dozier School on Twitter in 2014. [9] The school opened in 1900 and closed in 2011. The state of Florida ran Dozier, in Marianna, as a reform school. [11] After decades of allegations against the school for allowing the beatings, rapes, torture, and even murder of students by guards and employees, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement began an investigation of the claims in 2010, followed by additional investigations by the United States Department of Justice in 2011, and an ongoing forensic investigation by the Erin Kimmerle at the University of South Florida which began in 2012. [12] [13] The Department of Justice investigation revealed "systemic, egregious, and dangerous practices exacerbated by a lack of accountability and controls". [14] The University of South Florida investigation discovered some 55 graves on school grounds by December 2012, and has continued to identify potential grave sites as recently as March 2019. [15]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, the novel received a cumulative "Rave" rating based on 53 reviews: 41 "Rave" reviews, 10 "Positive" reviews, 1 "Mixed" review, and 1 "Pan" review. [16]

Parul Sehgal, in The New York Times , wrote, "Whitehead has written novels of horror and apocalypse; nothing touches the grimness of the real stories he conveys here." [17] The Washington Post critic Ron Charles wrote, "It shreds our easy confidence in the triumph of goodness and leaves in its place a hard and bitter truth about the ongoing American experiment." [18]

NPR's Maureen Corrigan said "It's a masterpiece squared, rooted in history and American mythology and, yet, painfully topical in its visions of justice and mercy erratically denied." [19]

The New Republic wrote, "The Nickel Boys is fiction, but it burns with outrageous truth." [20] Meanwhile, The Guardian wrote, "[Whitehead] demonstrates to superb effect how racism in America has long operated as a codified and sanctioned activity intended to enrich one group at the expense of another." [21]

Awards and recognition

Film adaptation

In October 2022, a film adaptation of The Nickel Boys by MGM's Orion Pictures was announced. RaMell Ross, who will direct the film, adapted the screenplay with Joslyn Barnes. The film's cast will include Aunjanue Ellis, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater and Fred Hechinger. Whitehead will serve as executive producer of the film. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize</span> Award for achievements in journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States

The Pulitzer Prize is an award administered by Columbia University for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Fiction</span> American award for distinguished novels

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Poetry</span> American award for distinguished poetry

The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published during the preceding calendar year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for History</span> American award for history books

The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history of the United States. Thus it is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year. The Pulitzer Prize program has also recognized some historical work with its Biography prize, from 1917, and its General Non-Fiction prize, from 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Biography</span> American award for distinguished biographies

The Pulitzer Prize for Biography is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award honors "a distinguished and appropriately documented biography by an American author." Award winners received $15,000 USD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Ford</span> American author

Richard Ford is an American novelist and short story author, and writer of a series of novels featuring the character Frank Bascombe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colson Whitehead</span> American novelist (born 1969)

Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead is an American novelist. He is the author of nine novels, including his 1999 debut The Intuitionist; The Underground Railroad (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; and The Nickel Boys, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction again in 2020, making him one of only four writers ever to win the prize twice. He has also published two books of nonfiction. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.

The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are awarded each year: one each for a fiction and non-fiction book on politics, one for journalism and one for "Exposing Britain's Social Evils" ; between 2009 and 2012, a fifth prize was awarded for blogging. In each case, the winner is the short-listed entry which comes closest to George Orwell's own ambition to "make political writing into an art".

<i>John Henry Days</i> 2001 novel by Colson Whitehead

John Henry Days is a 2001 novel by American author Colson Whitehead. This is his second full-length work.

<i>The Echo Maker</i> 2006 novel by Richard Powers

The Echo Maker is a 2006 novel by American writer Richard Powers. It won the National Book Award for Fiction and was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Johnson (writer)</span> American novelist and short story writer (born 1967)

Adam Johnson is an American novelist and short story writer. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2012 novel, The Orphan Master's Son, and the National Book Award for his 2015 story collection Fortune Smiles. He is also a professor of English at Stanford University with a focus on creative writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida School for Boys</span> Reform school operated by the state of Florida, USA

The Florida School for Boys, also known as the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (AGDS), was a reform school operated by the state of Florida in the panhandle town of Marianna from January 1, 1900, to June 30, 2011. A second campus was opened in the town of Okeechobee in 1955. For a time, it was the largest juvenile reform institution in the United States.

<i>The Underground Railroad</i> (novel) 2016 novel by Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad is a historical fiction novel by American author Colson Whitehead, published by Doubleday in 2016. The alternate history novel tells the story of Cora, a slave in the Antebellum South during the 19th century, who makes a bid for freedom from her Georgia plantation by following the Underground Railroad, which the novel depicts as a rail transport system with safe houses and secret routes. The book was a critical and commercial success, hitting the bestseller lists and winning several literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Award for Fiction, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. A TV miniseries adaptation, written and directed by Barry Jenkins, was released in May 2021.

<i>The Dutch House</i> (novel) 2019 novel by Ann Patchett

The Dutch House is a 2019 novel by Ann Patchett. It was published by Harper on September 24, 2019. It tells the story of a brother and sister, Danny and Maeve Conroy, who grow up in a mansion known as the Dutch House, and their lives over five decades.

<i>The Topeka School</i> 2019 novel by Ben Lerner

The Topeka School is a 2019 novel by the American novelist and poet Ben Lerner about a high school debate champion from Topeka, Kansas in the 1990s. The book is considered both a bildungsroman and a work of autofiction, as the narrative incorporates many details from Lerner's own life. The novel was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Erin H. Kimmerle is an American forensic anthropologist, artist, and executive director of the Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science at the University of South Florida. She was awarded the 2020 AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility.

<i>Harlem Shuffle</i> (novel) 2021 novel by Colson Whitehead

Harlem Shuffle is a 2021 novel by American novelist Colson Whitehead. It is the follow-up to Whitehead's 2019 novel The Nickel Boys, which earned him his second Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is a work of crime fiction and a family saga that takes place in Harlem between 1959 and 1964. It was published by Doubleday on September 14, 2021.

Martin Luther King At Zion Hill is a 1962 album of a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. given at Zion Hill Baptist Church. It was released on LP by Dooto Records, a record label owned by Dootsie Williams.

<i>Demon Copperhead</i> 2022 novel by Barbara Kingsolver

Demon Copperhead is a 2022 novel by Barbara Kingsolver. It was a co-recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and won the 2023 Women's Prize for Fiction. Kingsolver was inspired by the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield. While Kingsolver's novel is similarly about a boy who experiences poverty, Demon Copperhead is set in Appalachia and explores contemporary issues.

The Nickel Boys is an upcoming American historical drama film based on the 2019 novel by Colson Whitehead. It was directed by RaMell Ross, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joslyn Barnes, and stars Aunjanue Ellis, Ethan Herisse, Fred Hechinger, Hamish Linklater and Brandon Wilson.

References

  1. ↑ "The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead". Penguin Random House Audio .
  2. ↑ "Brilliant Book Covers: The Best Covers of July 2019". Bookish . 24 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Wagner, Erica (July 26, 2019). "The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead — racism in America" . Financial Times . Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  4. ↑ "The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead: 9780385537070 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ Lee, Benjamin (May 4, 2020). "Colson Whitehead and This American Life among Pulitzer 2020 winners". The Guardian . Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  6. ↑ Maher, John (May 4, 2020). "Moser, Whitehead, McDaniel, Grandin, Boyer, Brown Win 2020 Pulitzers". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  7. ↑ Tucker, Emma (May 4, 2020). "Colson Whitehead Wins Second Pulitzer Prize for Fiction". The Daily Beast . Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  8. ↑ Israel, Yahdon (July 16, 2019). ""The Outrage Was So Large and So Secret": Colson Whitehead Talks Hope, Despair, and Fighting the Power in The Nickel Boys". Vanity Fair . Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 Israel, Yahdon (July 16, 2019). ""The Outrage Was So Large and So Secret": Colson Whitehead Talks Hope, Despair, and Fighting the Power in The Nickel Boys". Vanity Fair . Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ Grady, Constance (July 18, 2019). "Colson Whitehead's spare, riveting, horrifying Nickel Boys". Vox . Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  11. ↑ Allen, Greg (October 15, 2012). "Florida's Dozier School For Boys: A True Horror Story". NPR . Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ Kimmerle, Erin. "Interim Report for the Investigations in the Boot Hill Cemetery, Located at the Former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, Marianna, Florida. Documentation of the Boot Hill Cemetery (8JA1860) at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. Interim Report, Division of Historical Resources. University of South Florida" (PDF).
  13. ↑ Kimmerle, Erin H. (2022). We carry their bones: the search for justice at the Dozier School for Boys (First ed.). New York, NY: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN   978-0-06-303024-4. OCLC   1331557745.
  14. ↑ United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. Investigation of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys and the Jackson Juvenile Offender Center, Marianna, Florida. 1 December 2011, accessed 15 June 2012.
  15. ↑ Montgomery, Ben (April 11, 2019). "More 'possible graves' found at Dozier School for Boys". Tampa Bay Times .
  16. ↑ "Book Marks reviews of The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead". Book Marks . Literary Hub . Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  17. ↑ Sehgal, Parul (July 11, 2019). "In 'The Nickel Boys,' Colson Whitehead Continues to Make a Classic American Genre His Own". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  18. ↑ Charles, Ron. "In Colson Whitehead's 'The Nickel Boys,' an idealistic black teen learns a harsh reality". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Rooted In History, 'The Nickel Boys' Is A Great American Novel". NPR.org. Retrieved August 8, 2019. - Alternate link at Houston Public Media
  20. ↑ Livingstone, Josephine (July 30, 2019). "Colson Whitehead, American Escape Artist". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  21. ↑ Forna, Aminatta (July 26, 2019). "The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead review – essential follow-up to The Underground Railroad". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  22. ↑ "The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Fiction". The Pulitzer Prizes.
  23. ↑ "Colson Whitehead Novel Wins $50,000 Kirkus Prize". U.S. News & World Report . Associated Press. October 24, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2002.
  24. ↑ "2020 Youth Media Award Winners". American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  25. ↑ "2019 Winners", National Book Awards, National Book Foundation.
  26. ↑ Kellogg, Carolyn (January 11, 2020). "Announcing the finalists for the 2019 NBCC Awards". National Book Critics Circle.
  27. ↑ "Longlists for the Orwell Prize 2018 revealed". The Orwell Foundation. April 9, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Clanchy, Whitehead win 2020 Orwell Prize". Books+Publishing. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  29. ↑ "2020 Audie Awards" Archived 2020-02-03 at the Wayback Machine .
  30. ↑ Grobar, Matt (October 27, 2022). "Aunjanue Ellis & Four Others Set For RaMell Ross' Colson Whitehead Adaptation 'The Nickel Boys' For MGM's Orion; Plan B, Anonymous Producing". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 29, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.