The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

 

 With both my job and my master's degree classes starting up this week, I decided to try and clear a few more books off of my Finally in 2022 Challenge List. I've been making steady progress on it throughout the year, but there were still five books left. With my last week of freedom for a good, long while, I read two of those: The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, both by Colson Whitehead. They are also both winners of the Pulitzer Prize, so I was pretty confident I was going to like them. I'm combining my reviews for these into one post. First up is The Underground Railroad.

The plot of the novel follows Cora, an enslaved person working on a cotton plantation in Georgia. After witnessing and experiencing several acts of horrific violence, she decides to flee North with her friend Caesar. Their method of escape is the underground railroad, an actual secret train that runs through underground tunnels. As she travels the rails, she makes stops in several states and learns about how race and power function in different parts of the United States. She is unable to stay in any one place for long; she is being pursued by a cruel and determined slave catcher who will not rest until he apprehends her. Fighting for her life, Cora keeps moving forward chasing a freedom that seems to be slipping further and further away.

This novel was absolutely phenomenal. It was definitely deserving of the Pulitzer it won. The writing was beautiful, the characters were well-developed and interesting, and the story was consistently engaging. Whitehead's depiction of the horrors of slavery and its accompanying racism was gut wrenching and emotional. Cora's journey was often difficult to read, but her experiences gave the reader a lot of worthy topics to think about. This is one of those books that feels wise and important. I really enjoyed it and was deeply impressed with Whitehead's skill as a writer. I was very happy to pick up The Nickel Boys when I finished this one.

The plot of The Nickel Boys follows a teen boy named Elwood who is sent to a reform school in Florida in the 1960s after being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Elwood is very intelligent and sheltered, so learning to live at the Nickel Academy does not come easy to him. The school is abusive and racist. Beatings and other cruel punishments are common, as is sexual assault. Sometimes boys that break the rules are murdered by the adults there. Elwood runs afoul of the rules shortly after arriving and is beaten so badly that he is hospitalized for weeks. After he recovers from that, he manages to make a few friends and settle into a routine. He is still quite angry about the schools' practices, however, and he begins to record evidence of their offenses. He is determined to escape from the Nickel Academy, and he plans to bring down the whole school to do it.

This story was based on a real reform school in Florida that abused and murdered its students. Much like in The Underground Railroad, Whitehead's writing brought this story to life in an emotional and beautifully written way. What Elwood and the other boys experience at the Nickel Academy was horrific, and his struggle to survive it was difficult to read, but the journey was worth it in the end. Whitehead explored themes related to racism, criminal justice, and corruption in ways that were interesting and very thought-provoking. I became emotionally invested in the story instantly and was really rooting for the boys to make it out safely. Again, this book was well-deserving of the all the acclaim and awards it received.

So obviously, my week reading Colson Whitehead was a resounding success. These are probably two of the strongest books I have ever read, and I would highly recommend both to anyone interested in literary fiction. These will definitely be considered classics in the future. I can't wait to see what this author will come out with next.

Challenge Tally

22 in 2022: 19/22

Total Books Read in 2022: 84