Books by Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead (Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, renowned for his masterful storytelling and insightful explorations of American history and culture. Born in 1969, Whitehead has captivated readers with his diverse literary works that span various genres, from literary fiction to nonfiction. He gained widespread acclaim for his multi-award winning novel The Underground Railroad, a gripping and imaginative portrayal of slavery in America.
Crook Manifesto
by Colson Whitehead
☆ Shortlisted for the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead is the follow-up to his 2021 heist novel Harlem Shuffle. It's now the 1970s and Harlem furniture shop owner Ray Carney is determined to stay on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, he risks it all to get some tickets to see the Jackson 5 for his daughter. This is a story that brings 1970s New York alive but does require you to care about the characters, so it may be worth starting with Harlem Shuffle before embarking on Crook Manifesto. A third book in what has been billed as a trilogy is also expected.
“The Intuitionist is an interesting book because it tiptoes right along border between metaphysical and physical reality. There’s a deeper question that emerges by the end of the novel which I don’t want to spoil. But all along, the opposition between the empiricists and the intuitionists is slightly unstable. It operates as a metaphor for different ways of knowing or making sense of the world—through a hyperrational or mechanistic lens, or via a somewhat more intuitive, spiritual, or philosophical one. By the end, I think you may feel that neither one nor the other is exactly right, or can exist alone.” Read more...
The Best Metaphysical Thrillers
Greg Jackson, Novelist
“A 1960s-set heist billed as ‘a family saga masquerading as a crime novel’. Whitehead’s high concept novels have often leaned on the conventions of genre fiction—and subverted them to glorious effect. For Harlem Shuffle, Whitehead turned for inspiration to caper films, crafting his comedic, intricately complex plot in their image.” Read more...
Cal Flyn, Five Books Editor
Interviews where books by Colson Whitehead were recommended
Notable Novels of Fall 2021, recommended by Cal Flyn
Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn offers a round-up of the notable novels that need to be on your literary radar in Fall 2021, including the hotly anticipated new book from Sally Rooney—set to dominate bestseller lists in the coming weeks—as well as eagerly awaited follow-ups from Richard Osman and Elizabeth Strout, and a return to more traditional fiction from Karl Ove Knausgård.
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1
The Invention of Morel
by Adolfo Bioy Casares, translated by Ruth L. C. Simms -
2
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller
by Italo Calvino, translated by William Weaver -
3
Chess Story
by Stefan Zweig, translated by Joel Rotenberg -
4
The Intuitionist
by Colson Whitehead -
5
The Lost Daughter
by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein
The Best Metaphysical Thrillers, recommended by Greg Jackson
The Best Metaphysical Thrillers, recommended by Greg Jackson
Metaphysical literature calls into question the very nature of reality, says the acclaimed US novelist Greg Jackson: it dramatises “the liquid mysteries of thought, pattern, and form.” Here, he highlights five ‘metaphysical thrillers’—artfully written novels powered by intrigue, which explore or embody philosophical dilemmas.
The Best Science Fiction of 2021: The Arthur C Clarke Award Shortlist