u003cpu003eu003cbu003eWINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbu003eu003ciu003eu003cbru003e Timeu003c/iu003e #1 Novel of the Year 2019u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbu003eu003cbru003e 'If greatness is excellence sustained over time, then without question, Whitehead is one of the greatest of his generation. In fact, figuring his age, acclaim, productivity and consistency, he is one of the greatest American writers alive' u003ciu003eTimeu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e u003cbu003e'A commanding triumph' u003ciu003eSunday Timesu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e u003cbu003e'u003c/bu003eu003cbu003eEvery chapter hits its mark' u003ciu003eNew York Timesu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e u003cbu003e'Au003c/bu003e u003cbu003ereal page-turner' u003ciu003eMail on Sundayu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbru003e ________________________________________________________________________u003cbru003e u003cbru003e u003cbu003eAuthor of u003ciu003eThe Underground Railroadu003c/iu003e, Colson Whitehead, brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in 1960s Florida.u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e Elwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, brought up by his loving, strict and clear-sighted grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide 'physical, intellectual and moral training' which will equip its inmates to become 'honorable and honest men'.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e In reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors, where physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rife, where corrupt officials and tradesmen do a brisk trade in supplies intended for the school, and where any boy who resists is likely to disappear 'out back'. Stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King's ringing assertion, 'Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.' But Elwood's fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood is naive and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e The tension between Elwood's idealism and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision which will have decades-long repercussions.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e Based on the history of a real reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped and destroyed the lives of thousands of children, u003ciu003eThe Nickel Boysu003c/iu003e is a devastating, driven narrative by a great American novelist whose work is essential to understanding the current reality of the United States.u003c/pu003e
