The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead –Audio

Book Blurb:

As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King to heart: He is “as good as anyone.” Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South in the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called The Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides “physical, intellectual and moral training” so the delinquent boys in their charge can become “honorable and honest men.” In reality, The Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors, where the sadistic staff beats and sexually abuses the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear “out back.” Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr. King’s ringing assertion “Throw us in jail and we will still love you.” His friend Turner thinks Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked and the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. The tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys’ fates will be determined by what they endured at The Nickel Academy.

My Review: 4 stars

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The Nickel Boys was a punch in the gut as we are led into the world of The Nickel Academy, where abuse and injustice were an everyday ritual. This story, based on an actual school in Florida, was in good hands with Whitehead. He was able to execute this very hard to tell story with respect and sensitivity to the horrific life these boys were living.

This is a short book, at just 224 pages, and the audio version flew by in an afternoon; thankfully the audio was wonderfully narrated. I’m always amazed when a short book can pack plot twists, heightened emotions, strong character development and decent storytelling in under 250 pages. Elwood is the narrator and the character to root for; he is the exemplary grandson, student, employee and friend. It’s only by pure chance that he is picked up in a stolen car that lands him in the Nickel Academy.

This book speaks to the Jim Crow era, the effect MLK had on many young men, surviving a hellish institution, trust, freedom and race. I’ve learned from a friend that went to a book reading by the author that Colson is completely light-hearted and funny. Based on the subject matter of his books, I imagined him to be more serious and cerebral. Now I’m itching for him to come to Chicago!

Quotes I liked:

You can change the law but you can’t change people and how they treat each other.” 

“Violence is the only lever big enough to move the world.” 

“We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness.”