John Henry Days

so-so

This is the 3rd Colson Whitehead book I‘ve finished for #AuthoraMonth in February. I‘m just glad it wasn‘t the first one as not sure I would have read any more. Loved The Nickel Boys & The Underground Railroad, but not so much this one - in fact almost panned it! It was his first book so perhaps he was just finding his writing style. I enjoyed the writing and feel of the book but feel it just meandered along without a particularly engaging story.

Soubhiville

Andrew65 However don‘t let me put you off as others have enjoyed the book, in fact it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, it just wasn‘t for me. Although did enjoy parts of it, hence the so-so. (edited) 4y

Hooked_on_books I heard him recently on a podcast and he mentioned he likes his older books less than his newer ones. I wonder if maybe you‘re experiencing why. 4y

Andrew65 @Hooked_on_books That‘s interesting. Looks like we agree. 😂 4y

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EadieB @Andrew65 He seems to have really matured in his writing. I read one of his very first books when it first came out. I liked it very much. It‘s almost like an autobiography called

Sag Harbor: A Novel

(edited) 4y

Ruthiella I think I may have enjoyed this a bit more than you did but I agree the writing was good but sometimes I felt I could feel the effort behind it. 4y

Andrew65 @Ruthiella Possibly might have enjoyed it more if I hadn‘t read the others first, possibly had higher expectations because of those. 4y

Soubhiville Logged, that‘s 6📚😊 4y

Andrew65 @Soubhiville Thanks 😊👍 4y

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Andrew65

John Henry Days | Colson Whitehead

Trying to squeeze one more #AuthoraMonth book in before the end of Colson Whitehead‘s month as the chosen author. Touch and go as to whether I can completed this before the end of the month, especially as the Reading app I use is predicting it will take 12 hrs 40 mins of reading time!

@Soubhiville

AmyG I read this one. I am curious what you think. 4y

Andrew65 @AmyG So far feels very different to his other two that I‘ve read. 4y

AmyG It‘s completely different....early in his writing career. (edited) 4y

Andrew65 @AmyG Very, not as enjoyable as The Nickel Boys or The Underground Railroad. 4y

AmyG Agreed. Not remotely as enjoyable...but he was a young writer. You could see how good he was...just not too polished yet. 4y

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Eggs

John Henry Days | Colson Whitehead

pick

Ah the legend of John Henry...conceived a thousand different ways by anyone who is asked about it. Whitehead weaves quite a tale of past and present, legend vs truth, old vs new, historian vs PR. At times confusing due to multiple stories/timelines, but still a pick!

#authoramonth2020
@Soubhiville

Come-read-with-me @eggs I have not seen this one before. Thanks for the recommendation! 4y

Eggs @Come-read-with-me you‘re most welcome ❣️ 4y

Soubhiville Logged, 15 📚 4y

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AmyG

John Henry Days | Colson Whitehead

pick

J. Is a freelance journalist attending the John Henry Days weekend junket in W. Virginia, mid-1990‘s, to write about the release of a John Henry stamp. This book is the story of the weekend, a fictional account of John Henry and the fellow journalists attending this event. The book explores issues of race, pop culture, commercialism in the time right before the internt and social media. Whitehead can sure can write.

@Soubhiville #authoramonth

AmyG While I enjoyed this book, I found it to be a bit “all over the place”. 4y

Soubhiville Logged, that‘s 2📚 4y

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Pen_Meets_Paper

John Henry Days | Colson Whitehead

so-so

Colson Whitehead is one of the most talented writers alive and his prose in John Henry Days is breathtaking. That said, the narrative didn‘t quite take off in this novel, and great sentences can only go so far.

1 like

Pen_Meets_Paper

John Henry Days | Colson Whitehead