I read Whitehead's previous novel, The Underground Railroad, back in July of this year. I enjoyed that one, although am still not sure how I feel about some of the fantastical aspects of the novel.
The Nickel Boys is different. It's based on the true story of The Dozier School for Boys, a boys' reform school in northern Florida that was in existence for over 100 years. The two things that struck me most about this book were my familiarity with the discovery for unmarked graves of students on school property in 2011, the year after I moved to Florida. The other thing that brought me to pause was following the Derek Chauvin murder trial, for the killing of George Floyd last May, at the same time.
Elwood Curtis lived with his grandmother in Tallahassee, Florida in the early 1960s. He was an inquisitive boy and tried to stick to the straight and narrow. He received an album of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches which became a treasured possession. In high school, he got involved with the Civil Rights movement. He develops a relationship with one of his teachers who makes it possible for Elwood to attend a black college on the outskirts of Tallahassee while he's still in his senior year of high school. Because the college is on the outskirts of town, Elwood needs to hitchhike to get to the college. He gets picked up by a Packard which turns out to be a stolen car. As a punishment for "his crime," Elwood is sent to The Nickel Academy.
The Nickel Academy is open to both black and white boys, but it is very much segregated. We are led to believe that the experiences of the white boys versus that of the black boys is very different. Elwood, as a black "student," gets punished early on and winds up in the hospital. After that, he's a bit more careful. Until he decides that he needs to take a stand against the injustices against others that he observes during his time at the reform school.
Living in Florida has been eye opening to me. I was raised in NYC and while I'm sure everyone was not treated equally or fairly, the racism wasn't as blatant as it is in the south. In 2011 when the story of The Dozier School broke, I had a hard time something so horrible could be happening "in this day and age" so close to where I was living. One of the characters in the novel, Millie, was raised in NYC and she has a hard time coming to terms with what "Elwood" has experienced.
This week, though, listening to the Derek Chauvin murder trial, I can't help but wonder about the lack of progress we, as a nation, have made over the past 60 years in terms of civil rights. We haven't come far at all. We have a very long way to go.
I would highly recommend this griping, spare, raw novel.
Same as you, I had read Underground Railroad when it first came out and was looking forward to The Nickel Boys. I also think this is a book everybody should read.
ReplyDeleteYour insight into the novel was very interesting. I totally agree, we haven't learned much and, unfortunately, this is not a US phenomenon. If I look on our streets in Europe, thre are still people around who have no idea what they are doing to others who are just "different".
Colson Whitehead truly deserves the two Pulitzer Prizes he received for his writings.
Sad to know that it's not just a US issue. I remember we compared notes after I'd read The Underground Railroad.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be great if it just happened in one country. Would be so much easier to work against it. But no, we have racism everywhere. Look at the results of the elections in most European countries. We all have extremee right-wing parties and they are gaining more and more votes. 😞
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