''Hell of a Book'' is a 2021 book by

Jason Mott Jason Mott is an American novelist and poet. His fourth novel, ''Hell of a Book'', won the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. Early life and education Mott was born in Bolton, North Carolina. He attended Cape Fear Community College and gradu ...

. It won the 2021

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

Plot summary

In alternating chapters, the novel tells the stories of two different characters: a nameless novelist on tour for a book also titled ''Hell of a Book'', and an African-American child named Soot. Soot, who lives near Whiteville,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, is being bullied on the school bus, while the novelist is troubled by visions of a child he calls "The Kid", who speaks to him in

riddle A riddle is a statement, question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requir ...

Reception

The ''

Star-News ''Star-News'' is an American, English language daily newspaper for Wilmington, North Carolina, and its surrounding area (known as the Lower Cape Fear). It is North Carolina's oldest newspaper in continuous publication. It was owned by Halifax Me ...

'' said that with the novel, Mott earned "a place on the shelf beside such African-American writers as

Colson Whitehead Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work '' The Intuitionist''; '' The Underground Railroad'' (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Awa ...

and

Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. ...

". On November 17, 2021, the novel was awarded the 2021

. It was also longlisted for the 2022

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction __NOTOC__ The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year. They are named in honor of ni ...

, the 2022

Aspen Words Literary Prize The Aspen Words Literary Prize, established in 2018, is an annual literary award presented by Aspen Words, a literary center in Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pit ...

, and the 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Prize.

Notes

References

2021 American novels Novels by Jason Mott E. P. Dutton books Novels set in North Carolina Novels about racism National Book Award for Fiction winning works {{US-lit-stub