37. The Sellout

One of the smartest books in recent years. No question. I came upon The Sellout at my favorite local bookstore with no prior knowledge of its existence. Boy, did I feel like a moron when I read the amazing accolades it received. Well, feel like a moron no more, dear friends. It's real - and, it's spectactular.

It's nearly impossible to to describe this book in a way that does it any justice. First and foremost, it's satire. And, like all good satire, it's commentary about the world around us. In this case, it's race relations and how, while we all pretend like we want to understand each other and that we aren't all that different after all, a whole lot of people would like to live in a bubble, surrounded by people who look like us. Those of us who have never experienced racism like to think it doesn't exist, that it's somehow a myth. Beatty's writing shines a flashlight into the darkest corners and he's so damn smart about it, you couldn't look away if you tried.

Our main character was raised by a social psychologist who experimented on him in order to show him the ways black people were oppressed in modern society. As he grew up, that boy became a man trying to figure out the world - only to find the town he grew up in removed from the map. He has no idea where he came from and who he is. Along the way, he finds himself perpetuating every stereotype his father was trying to disprove: he ends up bringing back slavery and somehow owning a slave, who also happens to be the last surviving member of The Little Rascals. 

Remember, guys, it's satire. 

When I read, I keep notes of powerful passages, strong themes and strong messages. I used to fill my books with sticky notes and paperclips and underlines. Now, I keep notes for each book in my phone. I couldn't do it with this one. There are simply too many. The first 50 pages or so reads like a brilliant riff. I can't quote most of it here - he's pretty liberal with the n-word and the language he uses is pretty blue. But, trust me when I say they hit you in waves, over and over, until you're desperate to keep your head above water and take a breath.

And, that's the rub, too.

If you're looking for a book in which you can float along and let it wash over you, this is not the book for you. This book makes you pay attention. This book makes you look inside. This books make you question what you laugh at and when you nod your head. This book makes you pay attention for about a million reasons. 

The guy can flat out write. With this book, Paul Beatty became the first American to win the Man Booker Prize. In the speech that honored his work, they nailed what I'm trying to say here: "Fiction should not be comfortable. The truth is rarely pretty and this is a book that nails the reader to the cross with cheerful abandon... that is why this novel works."