Overview

*WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2021* 'Ingenious...You'll cry tears of laughter' SUNDAY TIMES 'When you're reading this, you can't help but feel like you're in on an inside joke that keeps on getting funnier. Jason Mott truly has written one hell of a book.' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS, author of QUEENIE * * * * * Discover this astonishing work of fiction from award-winning, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jason Mott. 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. * * * * * WINNER - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2021 AN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 'MUST READ' A TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK

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9781398704664

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Reviews

Hell of a Book more than lives up to its title. 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 * How to possibly describe Mott's fourth novel without simply borrowing from its moniker? It is, after all, a hell of a book. The novel follows two surrealist story lines: One in which a famous author out on a promotional tour begins to slowly lose his grip on reality, and one in which a family deals with the tragic ramifications of a senseless police shooting of an unarmed Black man. As the two story lines become more and more meta, the book becomes more and more poignant. * Entertainment Weekly * A black author embarks on a cross-country book tour to promote his new book, but he's followed by a (possibly imaginary) child. The author's story is intertwined with the narrative of Soot, a young black boy living in a rural town. Mott has written a clever meditation on race and violence in America. * New York Post * Beautiful and deeply moving . . . I'd go as far as to say it's an important book and everyone should read it. * Imran Mahmood * Maddening, disorienting and illuminating * Booklist * Powerful, timely and provocative * Abi Dare * 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, Mott's novel chronicles the experience and cost of racism for black Americans with a clarity that is justifiably unsettling. Hell of a Book is distinctly American tale of racial trauma told with a dry, almost painful humour that scrapes at the reader's heart. * Irish Times * A twisty and startling narrative about the blurry lines between reality and fiction * TIME Magazine *

Hell of a Book more than lives up to its title. 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 * How to possibly describe Mott's fourth novel without simply borrowing from its moniker? It is, after all, a hell of a book. The novel follows two surrealist story lines: One in which a famous author out on a promotional tour begins to slowly lose his grip on reality, and one in which a family deals with the tragic ramifications of a senseless police shooting of an unarmed Black man. As the two story lines become more and more meta, the book becomes more and more poignant. * Entertainment Weekly * A black author embarks on a cross-country book tour to promote his new book, but he's followed by a (possibly imaginary) child. The author's story is intertwined with the narrative of Soot, a young black boy living in a rural town. Mott has written a clever meditation on race and violence in America. * New York Post * Beautiful and deeply moving . . . I'd go as far as to say it's an important book and everyone should read it. * Imran Mahmood * Maddening, disorienting and illuminating * Booklist * Powerful, timely and provocative * Abi Dare * 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, Mott's novel chronicles the experience and cost of racism for black Americans with a clarity that is justifiably unsettling. Hell of a Book is distinctly American tale of racial trauma told with a dry, almost painful humour that scrapes at the reader's heart. * Irish Times *

Brilliant and inventive ... You'll cry tears of laughter. * The Sunday Times * Hell of a Book more than lives up to its title. 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 * How to possibly describe Mott's fourth novel without simply borrowing from its moniker? It is, after all, a hell of a book. The novel follows two surrealist story lines: One in which a famous author out on a promotional tour begins to slowly lose his grip on reality, and one in which a family deals with the tragic ramifications of a senseless police shooting of an unarmed Black man. As the two story lines become more and more meta, the book becomes more and more poignant. * Entertainment Weekly * A black author embarks on a cross-country book tour to promote his new book, but he's followed by a (possibly imaginary) child. The author's story is intertwined with the narrative of Soot, a young black boy living in a rural town. Mott has written a clever meditation on race and violence in America. * New York Post * Beautiful and deeply moving . . . I'd go as far as to say it's an important book and everyone should read it. * Imran Mahmood * Maddening, disorienting and illuminating * Booklist * Powerful, timely and provocative * Abi Dare * 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, Mott's novel chronicles the experience and cost of racism for black Americans with a clarity that is justifiably unsettling. Hell of a Book is distinctly American tale of racial trauma told with a dry, almost painful humour that scrapes at the reader's heart. * Irish Times * A twisty and startling narrative about the blurry lines between reality and fiction * TIME Magazine * With audacity and invention, Jason Mott's Hell of a Book weaves together three narrative strands - an unnamed author, a boy named Soot, and a figure known as The Kid - into a masterful novel. IN a structurally and conceptually daring examination of art, fame, family and being black in America, Mott somehow manages the impossible trick of being playful, insightful and deeply moving, all at the same time. A highly original, inspired work that breaks new ground * National Book Award Judges *

Author Information

Jason Mott has published three previous novels. His first novel, The Returned, was a New York Times bestseller and was turned into a TV series that ran for two seasons. He has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His poetry and fiction have appeared in various literary journals.

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