Hell of a Book: A Novel

What even is Hell of a Book besides a 2021 National Book Award finalist? It’s singular. “Singular” meaning both “exceptionally good or great, remarkable”; and “strange or eccentric in some respect.” Click "Discussion Guide" to learn more.

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336 pages

Average rating: 7.43

69 RATINGS

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6 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

TBGRbookclub
Dec 31, 2023
9/10 stars
Hell of a Book by Jason Mott 🖊️ This one goes out to all the writers. The creators of worlds. The consumers of alcohol as a proper food group. The ones who run from the spotlight, but can’t stop pouring themselves into what everyone can’t help looking at.  There’s a lot happening in this story, but for a long time you can’t put your finger on it. There’s a little boy named Soot who thinks he can make himself invisible, an unnamed author who wants to be invisible, and a kid who may actually be invisible in more ways than one. Jason Mott does a great job of giving us a protagonist at arm’s length. The unnamed author travels indolently across the country on his book tour, celebrated but annoyed, accomplished and confused, unfriendly yet unable to shake a mysterious kid who just wants to hang out with him and be seen.  Someone has died, someone has been killed, someone is still figuring their lives. The trick in this magically enchanted hell of a book, is to look in the mirror and try to figure what it’s all about.  📚 Reviewed by Danielle Boursiquot, moderator. #thisbrownegirlreads #tbgrbookclub
JShrestha
Aug 25, 2023
8/10 stars
The way this book unravels, the way this book carries the author's tale is very creative. Following the two stories (alternating in each chapter), it carries the conversation of Black Lives Matters in the eyes of a BIPOC as both a first person and observer. The parallels of the storylines lets the reader feel like the story is familiar but at the same time leaves a lot to the imagination and realism that the author questions throughout the book.
E Clou
May 10, 2023
8/10 stars
Reminds me a lot of The Hate You Give, but meta.
Ewa
May 19, 2022
6/10 stars
N/a
KJD
Apr 15, 2022
I just finished it and thought it was so wonderfully different. At the heart it is a book about race but in a more creative way.

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