{"product_id":"the-nickel-boys-colson-whitehead","title":"The Nickel Boys; Colson Whitehead","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor of The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in 1960s Florida.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eElwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, brought up by his loving, strict and clear-sighted grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide 'physical, intellectual and moral training' which will equip its inmates to become 'honorable and honest men'.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors, where physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rife, where corrupt officials and tradesmen do a brisk trade in supplies intended for the school, and where any boy who resists is likely to disappear 'out back'. Stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King's ringing assertion, 'Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.' But Elwood's fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood is naive and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe tension between Elwood's idealism and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision which will have decades-long repercussions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased on the history of a real reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped and destroyed the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative by a great American novelist whose work is essential to understanding the current reality of the United States.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJuly 16, 2019\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbout the Author \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCOLSON WHITEHEAD is the #1 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e bestselling author of eleven works of fiction and nonfiction, and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Nickel Boys\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Underground Railroad\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, which also won the National Book Award. A recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, he lives in New York City.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"vendor-unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44647371997506,"sku":"","price":10.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/8735\/3154\/products\/42270835.jpg?v=1679190393","url":"https:\/\/shop.freeairbooks.com\/products\/the-nickel-boys-colson-whitehead","provider":"FREEAIR Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}