The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

 

"The state opened the school in 1899 as the Florida Industrial School for Boys. 'A reform school where the young offender of law, separated from vicious associates, may receive physical, intellectual, and moral training, be reformed and restored to the community with purpose and character fitting for a good citizen, an honorable and an honest man with a trade or skilled occupation fitting such person for self-maintenance.' The boys were called students, rather than inmates, to distinguish them from the violent offenders that populated prisons. All the violent offenders, Elwood added, were on staff."

            -description of the Nickel Academy, from the novel

I had been interested in reading this novel for some time and a friend recently offered it for loan. I was especially intrigued by the fact that it was inspired by stories from the notorious Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. There was considerable uproar in the state around 2014 when at least 43 graves were found in the area by a group of archaeologists. Since then, more has come to light about the horrendous treatment of the boys. Some have survived to tell the story.

In this fictional account, Elwood Curtis is young black male in Tallahassee during the Jim Crow era. A smart boy, he is working and about to finish high school with college in his future when he inadvertently gets in trouble with the law. He is sent to the Nickel Academy mentioned in the quote. There he meets Turner who will become a friend but is subjected to terrible conditions and cruel punishments for the least infraction. For comfort and hope, he hangs onto many quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Part 3 confused me a bit because Elwood was suddenly an adult living in NY and running a business. In this part, the time setting goes back and forth which I did finally get used to. It is not until the final chapter and Epilogue that the reader finds out what happened to Elwood and Turner after leaving Nickel. (No spoilers!)

It was difficult to read of the vicious discipline of the "Nickel Boys" but Whitehead's writing is beautiful, and the story is compelling. My rating is 4.