Friday Black: NYT Bestselling Literary Satire – Urgent African American Stories About Systemic Racism
<p><b>INSTANT <i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER</b><br /><br /><b>“An unbelievable debut, one that announces a new and necessary American voice.†</b>—<b>Tommy Orange, <i>New York Times Book Review</i></b><br /><br /><b>“An excitement and a wonder: strange, crazed, urgent and funny.â€</b> —<b>George Saunders</b><br /><br /><b>“Dark and captivating and essential . . . A call to arms and a condemnation . . . Read this book.†</b>—<b>Roxane Gay</b><br /><br /><b>A National Book Foundation “5 Under 35†honoree, chosen by Colson Whitehead<br /> Winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award<br /> Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award for Best First Book</b><br /><br /><b>A piercingly raw debut story collection from a young writer with an explosive voice; a treacherously surreal, and, at times, heartbreakingly satirical look at what it’s like to be young and black in America.</b><br /><br /> From the start of this extraordinary debut, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s writing will grab you, haunt you, enrage and invigorate you. By placing ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, Adjei-Brenyah reveals the violence, injustice, and painful absurdities that black men and women contend with every day in this country.<br /><br /> These stories tackle urgent instances of racism and cultural unrest, and explore the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world. In “The Finkelstein Five,†Adjei-Brenyah gives us an unforgettable reckoning of the brutal prejudice of our justice system. In “Zimmer Land,†we see a far-too-easy-to-believe imagining of racism as sport. And “Friday Black†and “How to Sell a Jacket as Told by Ice King†show the horrors of consumerism and the toll it takes on us all.<br /><br /> Entirely fresh in its style and perspective, and sure to appeal to fans of Colson Whitehead, Marlon James, and George Saunders, <i>Friday Black</i> confronts readers with a complicated, insistent, wrenching chorus of emotions, the final note of which, remarkably, is hope.</p>