Hell of a Book: WINNER of the National Book Award for Fiction 2021

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2021*’Truly one hell of a book.’ CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS, author of QUEENIE’Powerful, timely, and provocative’ ABI DARÉ’An important book and everyone should read it’ IMRAN MAHMOOD’More than lives up to its title’ CHARLES YU* * * * *THIS IS A TRUE STORY.An author goes on a book tour for his new bestseller Hell of a Book – which, as people keep telling him, is one hell of a book.THIS IS A COMING-OF-AGE STORY.One morning, he meets The Kid – a young Black boy who looks just like the one on the news who was shot by the police. And The Kid wants him to tell his story.THIS IS A SAD STORY.It’s the story of a boy who spent most of his life trying to hide, and to not be seen. And it may not be that different from the story of our author.THIS IS A LOVE STORY.But to find out why, you’ll have to read it for yourself.THIS IS A STORY UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER READ. THIS IS A HELL OF A BOOK.* * * * * ‘Poignant and beautiful … A story of race, family, love, and justice. It’s original and Jason Mott is a talent.’ Jenna Bush Hager, Read With Jenna/Today Show Book Club’An extraordinary emotional roller coaster of a read – I tore through this profoundly moving novel in a day but have been thinking about it ever since.’Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice’Playful, searching, raw and necessary, this writing, this voice, this novel twisted me up and turned me inside out, dazzled me, surprised me and moved me.’Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown’A beautiful and deeply moving book’ Imran Mahmood, author of You Don’t Know Me’How to possibly describe this novel without simply borrowing from its moniker? It is, after all, a hell of a book’ Entertainment Weekly’Stunning, humorous, insightful, poetic, cinematic’ Publishers Weekly (starred review)’Hell of a Book consistently proves itself to be more than the sum of its parts: a farce that provokes contemplation, a publishing parody that rings true; an honest and emotive meditation on systematic racial injustice and the myriad ways in which it breaks the human soul. Sharp, funny, evocative and never anything less than utterly poignant’ Irish Times’For all its moments of levity, Mott has written a deadly serious story … Hell of a Book offers a disturbing portrait of a nation that’s been lying to itself all its years. In this way, the novel feels like a plea – intense, moving, urgent, and vital.’ Washington Independent Review of Books’A surrealist feast of imagination that’s brimming with very real horrors, frustrations and sorrows, it can break your heart and make you laugh out loud at the same time, often on the same page. This is an achievement of American fiction that rises to meet this particular moment with charm, wisdom and truth’ BookPage