Hell of a Book

2021 novel by Jason Mott

Hell of a Book

First edition cover

Author| Jason Mott
Language| English
Publisher| Dutton

Publication date

| 2021
Publication place| United States
Pages| 323 pp
ISBN| 978-0593330999

Hell of a Book[a] is a 2021 book by Jason Mott. It won the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction.

## Plot summary

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In alternating chapters, the novel tells the stories of two different characters: a nameless novelist on tour for a book also titled Hell of a Book, and an African-American child named Soot. Soot, who lives near Whiteville, North Carolina, is being bullied on the school bus, while the novelist is troubled by visions of a child he calls "The Kid", who speaks to him and seemingly guides him through his issues.

## Reception

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The Star-News said that with the novel, Mott earned "a place on the shelf beside such African-American writers as Colson Whitehead and Octavia Butler".[1]

On November 17, 2021, the novel was awarded the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction.[2] It was also longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction,[3] the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize,[4] and the 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Prize.[5]

## Notes

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1. ^ The full title of the novel is Hell of a Book: Or the Altogether Factual, Wholly Bona Fide Story of a Big Dreams, Hard Luck, American-Made Mad Kid.

## References

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1. ^ Steelman, Ben (July 17, 2021). "Wilmington-area author uses Black experience to pen 'Hell of a Book'". Star-News. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
2. ^ "National Book Awards 2021". National Book Foundation. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
3. ^ "2022 Winners". American Library Association. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
4. ^ "Announcing the Longlist for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize". Aspen Institute. November 10, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
5. ^ "2022 Joyce Carol Oates Prize Longlist". The New Literary Project. Retrieved April 19, 2022.

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National Book Award for Fiction

1950–1975|

* The Man with the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren (1950)
* Collected Stories of William Faulkner by William Faulkner (1951)
* From Here to Eternity by James Jones (1952)
* Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1953)
* The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (1954)
* A Fable by William Faulkner (1955)
* Ten North Frederick by John O'Hara (1956)
* The Field of Vision by Wright Morris (1957)
* The Wapshot Chronicle by John Cheever (1958)
* The Magic Barrel by Bernard Malamud (1959)
* Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth (1960)
* The Waters of Kronos by Conrad Richter (1961)
* The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (1962)
* Morte d'Urban by J. F. Powers (1963)
* The Centaur by John Updike (1964)
* Herzog by Saul Bellow (1965)
* The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by Katherine Anne Porter (1966)
* The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (1967)
* The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilder (1968)
* Steps by Jerzy Kosiński (1969)
* them by Joyce Carol Oates (1970)
* Mr. Sammler's Planet by Saul Bellow (1971)
* The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor (1972)
* Chimera by John Barth (1973)
* Augustus by John Williams (1973)
* Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (1974)
* A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1974)
* Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone (1975)
* The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (1975)

1976–2000|

* J R by William Gaddis (1976)
* The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner (1977)
* Blood Tie by Mary Lee Settle (1978)
* Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien (1979)
* Sophie's Choice by William Styron (1980)
* The World According to Garp by John Irving (1980)
* Plains Song: For Female Voices by Wright Morris (1981)
* The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever (1981)
* Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike (1982)
* So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell (1982)
* The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1983)
* The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty (1983)
* Victory Over Japan by Ellen Gilchrist (1984)
* White Noise by Don DeLillo (1985)
* World's Fair by E. L. Doctorow (1986)
* Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann (1987)
* Paris Trout by Pete Dexter (1988)
* Spartina by John Casey (1989)
* Middle Passage by Charles Johnson (1990)
* Mating by Norman Rush (1991)
* All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (1992)
* The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (1993)
* A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis (1994)
* Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth (1995)
* Ship Fever and Other Stories by Andrea Barrett (1996)
* Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (1997)
* Charming Billy by Alice McDermott (1998)
* Waiting by Ha Jin (1999)
* In America by Susan Sontag (2000)

2001–present|

* The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (2001)
* Three Junes by Julia Glass (2002)
* The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard (2003)
* The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck (2004)
* Europe Central by William T. Vollmann (2005)
* The Echo Maker by Richard Powers (2006)
* Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson (2007)
* Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen (2008)
* Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (2009)
* Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (2010)
* Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (2011)
* The Round House by Louise Erdrich (2012)
* The Good Lord Bird by James McBride (2013)
* Redeployment by Phil Klay (2014)
* Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson (2015)
* The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016)
* Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017)
* The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (2018)
* Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (2019)
* Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (2020)
* Hell of a Book by Jason Mott (2021)
* The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty (2022)
* Blackouts by Justin Torres (2023)

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