The Sellout – Paul Beatty

3 Responses to The Sellout – Paul Beatty

1. Mr Red says:

   January 24, 2021 at 6:46 pm

   I just couldn’t raise even the ghost of a smile here, even though reviewers have been pretty much unanimous in their praise of this book. So I disagreed with the rest of the group on this. Instead of letting the situation build up slowly, the author felt he had to pack jokes into every sentence, and a lot of these, in fact all of them, seemed completely off-target to me. Right on page 1, when the narrator is summoned to appear before the US Supreme Court, he casts the official invitation in terms of advertising copy, where it would have been a lot funnier had he stuck with the pompous legalese in which an actual invitation would have been expressed. and so it went on. A good satirical idea spoiled by an excessive desire to be funny.

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2. Mr Black says:

   January 26, 2021 at 6:43 pm

   The NY Times review said of this book ‘The most badass first 100 pages of an American novel I’ve read.’ and it truly doesn’t disappoint. Is it an uncomfortable book to read – yes, but it’s unique, funny, and a worthy winner of the Booker prize

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3. Mr Orange says:

   January 26, 2021 at 11:52 pm

   A work of comic genius – transgressive, offensive, satirical and unlike anything else this century. This is right up there with other great satirical novels – the Siege of Krishnapur, Money and Catch 22 – in terms of its scope and humour.

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