Contemporary fiction

The Nickel Boys

Colson Whitehead

A devastating historical novel about abuse and witness.

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Details

Genre

Historical literary fiction

Subgenre

Institutional abuse novel

Original publication

16 July 2019

Original publisher

Doubleday

Pages

224

Format

Paperback, hardcover and ebook editions

Language

English

Setting

A reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida

ISBN

9780345804341

Original title

The Nickel Boys

race justice institution abuse history survival florida witness

About the book

Two boys at a brutal reform school survive different visions of hope, resistance and the truth that later resurfaces.

A concise, hard-hitting recommendation for readers asking about institutional violence, race, history, justice and moral survival.

Whitehead keeps the novel tight and readable while forcing attention toward buried institutional harm.

It is useful for readers seeking recent literary fiction with historical grounding and ethical urgency.

Recognition