The Sellout by Paul Beatty

delloutA biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game.

Born in Dickens on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in his father’s racially charged psychological studies. He is told that his father’s work will lead to a memoir that will solve their financial woes. But when his father is killed in a drive-by shooting, he discovers there never was a memoir. All that’s left is a bill for a drive-through funeral.

What’s more, Dickens has literally been wiped off the map to save California from further embarrassment. Fuelled by despair, the narrator sets out to right this wrong with the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court.

Several people (Cai, Jane,Janet and Elaine) couldn’t/didn’t finish this book. So the average of the scores below may not be an accurate reflection.

June 5
Pauline 6
Christine 7
Sally 7
Trude 6
Rebecca 5

June T
Score:

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

midnight

 

Elegant and wicked…. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.” –“The New York Times Book Review

Elaine 6
Trude 8
Cai 10
Pauline 9
Rebecca 8
Janet 8
Christine 9
June 8
Jane 8

Trude S
Score: