{"title":"Colson Whitehead","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"apex-hides-the-hurt-colson-whitehead-fiction-paperback","title":"Apex Hides the Hurt by Colson Whitehead - Award-Winning Contemporary Fiction - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e: BRAND NEW\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN\u003c\/strong\u003e: 9780708898758\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: Fleet\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApex Hides the Hurt is a razor-sharp satirical novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead. A nomenclature consultant — a man paid to invent names for products — is hired to settle a small town's identity crisis when its citizens cannot agree on what to call it. Witty, inventive, and quietly devastating, this brisk paperback explores branding, memory, and American history through one unforgettable assignment. A must-read for fans of sharp, socially observant literary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe town of Winthrop has decided it needs a new name. The resident software millionaire wants to call it New Prospera; the mayor wants to return to the original choice of the founding Black settlers; and the town's aristocracy sees no reason to change the name at all. What the town needs, they realise, is a nomenclature consultant — and it turns out the consultant needs them too. Nameless and world-weary, the narrator has made a career of inventing brand names, most famously \"Apex\", a bandage designed to match every skin tone. Summoned to Winthrop to arbitrate the dispute, he finds himself drawn into the town's tangled history, uncovering buried truths about race, commerce, and identity along the way. In a culture overwhelmed by marketing, Whitehead suggests, the name really is everything — and the consultant's efforts may result not just in a new name for the town, but a new and subtler truth about it as well. Told with dry wit and precise, elegant prose, this compact novel packs the intellectual heft of Whitehead's later, larger works into a lean 212 pages. It's a clever meditation on how the words we choose shape the world we live in, delivered with the same rigorous imagination that would go on to win Whitehead two Pulitzer Prizes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWritten by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSharp, satirical take on branding, race, and American history\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact, fast-paced read at just over 200 pages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand new UK paperback edition\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePerfect for book clubs and fans of literary fiction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn accessible entry point into Whitehead's acclaimed body of work\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eColson Whitehead is an American novelist and the author of numerous acclaimed works, including his 1999 debut The Intuitionist. He won the National Book Award for Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Underground Railroad (2016), and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction again for The Nickel Boys, making him one of only four writers ever to win the prize twice. He has also published two books of nonfiction and received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2002. He lives in New York City.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Novel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhitehead's trademark blend of wit, precision, and social insight makes Apex Hides the Hurt a compact but powerful read. Perfect for readers who enjoy clever, character-driven satire with real substance behind the humour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: Book cover, edition, and ISBN may vary slightly from the image shown, as this is the UK edition currently in stock.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Colson Whitehead","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56273719689598,"sku":"SNG11969","price":7.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/4549\/8093\/files\/apex-hides-the-hurt-colson-whitehead-paperback.webp?v=1784372660"},{"product_id":"nickel-boys-underground-railroad-colson-whitehead-2-book-paperback-set","title":"The Nickel Boys \u0026 The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead 2 Books Collection Set - Fiction - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitles in This Set:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Nickel Boys\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Underground Railroad\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Brand New\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780708899427 (The Nickel Boys), 9780708898406 (The Underground Railroad)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fleet\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAge Range:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adult\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThis two-book paperback collection brings together Colson Whitehead's landmark novels The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, each a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Together they trace two devastating strands of American history, from the horrors of slavery to the abuses of a segregation-era reform school, in prose praised for its precision, empathy and moral force. A must-own set for readers of serious literary and historical fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Books\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nIn The Underground Railroad, Whitehead reimagines the historic network of abolitionists and safe houses as a literal railway running beneath the Southern soil. Cora, a young enslaved woman on a Georgia plantation, seizes the chance to escape with fellow slave Caesar, only to find that each state she reaches conceals its own version of oppression, while the ruthless slave catcher Ridgeway closes in behind her. The novel won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and was adapted into a Prime Video series directed by Barry Jenkins.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Nickel Boys follows Elwood Curtis, a black teenager in 1960s Tallahassee who, despite his belief in the ideals of Dr Martin Luther King, is wrongly sentenced to the Nickel Academy, a juvenile reformatory that hides systemic abuse behind a respectable façade. His friendship with the more cynical Turner becomes his lifeline, but the boys' opposing views on how to survive a corrupt system set in motion consequences that echo across decades. Inspired by the real-life Dozier School for Boys in Florida, the novel earned Whitehead his second Pulitzer Prize, making him one of only four authors ever to win the award twice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo Pulitzer Prize-winning novels from a modern American literary master\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand-new paperback copies, perfect for gifting or building a collection\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIdeal for book clubs, history lovers and fans of powerful, character-driven fiction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes The Underground Railroad, adapted into an acclaimed Prime Video series\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExplores pivotal, under-told chapters of African American history\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact set that's easy to read in either order\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nColson Whitehead is an American novelist and the author of numerous acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction. He is one of only four writers to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, for The Underground Railroad (2017) and The Nickel Boys (2020); The Underground Railroad also won the National Book Award. Whitehead is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and his work has been translated into dozens of languages worldwide. He lives in New York City.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Set\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nTwo unforgettable, prize-winning novels in one collection - urgent, beautifully written and essential reading for anyone who wants fiction that confronts history head-on while never losing sight of its characters' humanity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: Cover design may vary slightly from the image shown; all books are brand-new UK paperback editions with the ISBN as listed.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Colson Whitehead","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294978257278,"sku":"PLD2603","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/4549\/8093\/files\/nickel-boys-underground-railroad-colson-whitehead-paperback-set.jpg?v=1784375847"},{"product_id":"the-intuitionist-colson-whitehead-literary-fiction-paperback","title":"The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead - Literary Fiction Paperback - Pulitzer Prize Author","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nCondition: New\u003cbr\u003e\nFormat: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\nISBN: 9780708898475\u003cbr\u003e\nPublisher: Abacus (Little, Brown Book Group)\u003cbr\u003e\nAge Range: Adult\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Intuitionist is Colson Whitehead's daring, genre-bending debut novel, following Lila Mae Watson, the first Black female elevator inspector in a sprawling, unnamed American city. When a brand-new elevator plunges into freefall on her watch, Lila Mae is plunged into a citywide conspiracy involving corrupt guild politics, racial prejudice, and a rivalry between two schools of inspection philosophy. Sharp, strange, and quietly devastating, it remains one of the most inventive American novels of the last thirty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nSet in a vividly imagined metropolis where elevator inspection is a matter of civic pride and political power, The Intuitionist introduces a world split between two rival schools: the Empiricists, who inspect elevators by rigorous physical measurement, and the Intuitionists, who \"ride\" a car and sense its faults instinctively. Lila Mae Watson, the department's first Black woman inspector, is a devoted Intuitionist with a spotless record. When a newly inspected elevator in a prestigious building suffers a catastrophic freefall, she becomes the prime suspect in a scandal engineered to discredit her entire discipline during a heated guild election. As Lila Mae digs for the truth, she uncovers secret writings, buried rivalries, and a conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of city government. Blending noir detective plotting with speculative invention and sly social allegory, Whitehead uses the humble elevator as a lens onto race, ambition, bureaucracy, and the promise (and failure) of American progress. First published in 1999, the novel announced Whitehead as a major new voice in American fiction. This new paperback edition is a brand-new copy, perfect for readers discovering Whitehead's work for the first time or long-time fans filling a gap on their shelves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA genre-blending literary mystery combining noir, satire, and speculative fiction.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWritten by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact, portable paperback — ideal for commuting, book clubs, or classroom study.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRich thematic material on race, class, and institutional power for discussion groups.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA widely praised, era-defining debut novel from a major American author.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nColson Whitehead is an American novelist and the author of nine books, including his acclaimed 1999 debut The Intuitionist. He is one of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, for The Underground Railroad (2016) and The Nickel Boys (2019), and he also holds a National Book Award, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Whitehead lives in New York City and is widely regarded as one of the most inventive voices in contemporary American literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Novel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nFor fans of literary fiction with a speculative or noir edge, The Intuitionist offers a wholly original premise, memorable characters, and prose that rewards close reading — a brilliant introduction to Whitehead's celebrated body of work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: This listing is for the UK paperback edition as shown, with ISBN 9780708898475. Cover artwork may vary slightly by print run.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Colson Whitehead","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56507956429182,"sku":"SNG1533","price":7.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/4549\/8093\/files\/the-intuitionist-colson-whitehead-paperback.jpg?v=1784408337"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.letsbuybooks.com\/collections\/colson-whitehead.oembed","provider":"Lets Buy Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}