A review by tonstantweader
Hell of a Book by Jason Mott

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 
Hell of a Book is a hell of a book. Once upon a time, meta meant self-referential, like a book about a book by an author writing about an author. The central character of this book is an author on a book tour for his book which he titled Hell of a Book. We never learn his name, so we can’t assume he is Jason Mott, but we can’t assume he isn’t.

There is a second storyline that centers on a young boy named Soot whose parents hope can learn to become invisible and thus, become safe. His story is tragic and quotidian, his name joining the other children who were seen when they needed to be unseen, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice.

Soot and our anonymous author meet up and begin a conversation but then a person can start to wonder if Soot is real or a memory or even a ghost. There is a lot to make you wonder in A of a Book.

I loved Hell of a Book. I loved it so much I would stop reading it just to make it last longer. It also made me cry, but that is not remarkable, I cry at Hallmark commercials. What is remarkable is I cried without for one second feeling emotionally manipulated. I cried without feeling the author wanted to make me cry.

The language in this book is powerful and poetic, with spare and disciplined poetry. It is very much about racism and white supremacy, but there are no polemics. The author does not want to be that person, and he has a handy PR expert telling him to definitely not be the “angry Black man” but sometimes avoiding that anger is impossible. To not be angry is to lie. This was a of a Book.

 


https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2022/02/11/9780593330968/
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