Powerful, magical, sad and uplifting all at once. Racism is the main theme, as an unnamed Black author makes his way through the country on a book tour, but mental illness, family, childhood dreams and sorrows all play a role. As the boundary between the author and Soot (the Kid) dissolves, it is unclear whether this child that accompanies him is real or not. Violence towards Black people plays a large role in the story, both external and self-inflected; but how we see ourselves may be more the overarching dilemma. The novel will have you laugh and cry, but not in the typical poignant way. It is much more meaningful than that. Written with a commanding use of metaphor, Hell of a Book lives up to its name. It left me shaken.
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