John henry days book

Travelling into the backwoods of west virginia to write a piece on the unveiling of the new john henry postage stamp and the ensuing john henry days festival, j. Colson whitehead booklist colson whitehead message board. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of john henry days by colson whitehead. Sutter travels to west virginia for the first john henry days celebration. The books are 1999s the intuitionist, 2001s john henry days, 2003s the colossus of new york, 2006s apex hides the hurt, 2009s sag harbor, 2011s zone one, a new york times bestseller. John henry days by whitehead, colson and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Jun 03, 2009 john henry days is an acrobatic, intellectually dazzling, and laughoutloud funny book that will be read and talked about for years to come. Colson whiteheads second novel posits a folk antihero for the information age.

John henry days is an annual 3 day festival held on the second weekend of july. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Discussion of themes and motifs in colson whiteheads john henry days. The novel is an aleatory fugue on the difficulty of manhood in an age that measures a man by what he buys or what he wears, not by his labor, not even by his human decency. John henry days is a novel of extraordinary scope and mythic power that juxtaposes history and popular culture, the blatant bigotry of the past with the more insidious racism of the present, and laughoutloud humor with unforgettable poignancy. Colson whitehead is the pulitzerprize winning author of the underground railroad. From the author of the underground railroad, winner of the pulitzer prize and the national book award, and longlisted for the 2017 man booker prize. Whitehead manages, whats more, to wrest from the books essentially static structure a lovely, satisfying ending. Apr 18, 2008 this book is a childrens version of steel drivin man. Who is the speaker in the prologue of john henry days. John henry days takes a look at folk hero john i tried to finish this book, but honestly nothing was grabbing me at all. The first annual john henry days festival brings a variety of people to town.

A national book award winner and a recipient of macarthur and guggenheim fellowships, he lives in new york city. Acclaimed pulitzer prizewinning author colson whiteheads novel john henry days. How does the novel engage, more specifically, the interior crisis of black manhood in. Goodreads members who liked john henry days also liked. On another level its the story of a disaffected, middleaged black journalist on.

Recognised as one of the novels of 2001, it establishes colson whitehead as one of the. Being pretty young at the time, i can not now recall all the stories i heard, but i know john henry, died some time in the eighties about 1881 or 1882, im sure which was a few years before i was born. John henry days book central rappahannock regional. His latest work, john henry days, received several distinguished literary awards, including the 2002 young lions award and the 2002 black caucus literary award in fiction. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading john henry days. John henry days audiobook written by colson whitehead. In john henry days, not only is whitehead carrying the torch for the likes of delillo, but hes doing it in. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Sutter, a young black journalist who is in the middle of a record junketeering run in which freelance journalists zip across the country on a steady diet of assignments, free food, and other receipted expenses they can get reimbursed. May 14, 2002 john henry days is a novel of extraordinary scope and mythic power that juxtaposes history with popular culture, the blatant bigotry of the past with the more insidious racism of the present, and laughoutloud humor with unforgettable poignancy. Like delillos underworld, it is a bristle of bricolage. May 15, 2001 whitehead, author of the acclaimed intuitionist 1998, returns with a hilarious, hearttugging take on the evolution of the american folk hero john henryand on the theme of inevitability, or the power of fate. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle.

May 14, 2002 john henry days is an acrobatic, intellectually dazzling, and laughoutloud funny book that will be read and talked about for years to come. The festival starts on friday night with a concert at the stage near the great bend tunnel. Acclaimed pulitzer prizewinning author colson whiteheads novel john henry days 2001 is a postmodern social satire that weaves together several narrative threads to create a novel with encyclopedic aspirations akin to moby dick or. Its mode is generally filmic the rapidity of cutting seems more important than the depth of scenes, as if whitehead were continually saying to himself, keep it moving, keep it moving. Narrated by peter jay fernandez, john henry days is both an ingenious retelling of the american legend of john henry and a fascinating look into the world of contemporary journalism. Seizing on the story of american folk hero john henry, the black railroad worker who beat a steam drill in a oneonone contest. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Whitehead, author of the acclaimed intuitionist 1998, returns with a hilarious, hearttugging take on the evolution of the american folk hero john henry and on the theme of inevitability, or the power of fate africanamerican j. Colson whiteheads eagerly awaited and triumphantly acclaimed new novel is on one level a multifaceted retelling of the story of john henry, the black steeldriver who died outracing a machine designed to replace him.

John henry days book charlotte mecklenburg library. The novel is an aleatory fugue on the difficulty of manhood in an age that measures a man by what he buys or what he wears, not by his. The big, polyphonic novel that strives to capture the spirit of a nation or an age can be a hazardous enterprise. Colson whiteheads eagerly awaited and triumphantly acclaimed new novel is on one level a multifaceted retelling of the story of john henry, the black steeldriver who died outracing a. May 15, 2001 john henry days may end up haunting you the way the ballad of john henry haunts its pages. Writing in the new york times, novelist jonathan franzen likened the novel to ulysses and mobydick in its encyclopedic aspirations, but added. John henry days book snoisle libraries bibliocommons.

Whitehead hasnt written a book wholly devoid of hope. It is also a highvelocity thrill ride through the tunnel where american legend gives way to american pop culture, replete with p. John henry days is an annual 3day festival held on the second weekend of july. John henry days colson whitehead 389pp, 4th estate. Sutter is a junketeer, a freelance journalist who specializes in covering publicity events. More books like john henry days may be found by selecting the categories below. Synopsis colson whiteheads eagerly awaited and triumphantly acclaimed new novel is on one level a multifaceted retelling of the story of john henry, the black steeldriver who died outracing a machine. John henry days ebook by colson whitehead rakuten kobo. Peter jay fernandez travelling into the backwoods of west virginia to write a piece on the unveiling of the new john henry postage stamp and the ensuing john henry days festival, freelance writer and professional.

Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. I read large parts of it with pleasure, and would certainly try other books by whitehead, but i would much rather have read a shorter novel hed written about john henry himself. John henry days is an acrobatic, intellectually dazzling, and laughoutloud funny book that will be read and talked about for years to come. For more information on john henry days, check out their website at. John henry days by colson whitehead, paperback barnes. John henry days by colson whitehead relates the legend or ballad of john. Loosely based on the printing of the john henry folk hero stamp and the 1996 john henry days festival in talcott, west virginia, colson whiteheads second novel comprises a prologue and five. This is not to say that john henry days is a bad book. Colson whiteheads eagerly awaited and triumphantly acclaimed new novel is on one level a multifaceted. The untold story of an american legend, nelsons prizewinning 2006 book for grownups.

Related questions and answers for characters in john henry days. The festival starts on friday night with a concert at the stage near the great bend tunnel and ends on sunday with the rubber duck race at the talcott bridge. At the end, the novel falls into the jackhammer prose of old newsreel voiceovers, and delivers what is either the bestdisguised happy ending or the most muffled tragic note of the publishing season. Initially, i was intrigued about how whitehead would weave in john henry into the story, but instead we seem to be flip flopping between different narrative styles. This book is a childrens version of steel drivin man. Find books like john henry days from the worlds largest community of readers.

In john henry days, the sepia mood has produced an ambitious, finely chiseled work frustratingly vague in its resolution. About the author colson whitehead is the pulitzerprize winning author of the underground railroad. On another level its the story of a disaffected, middleaged black journalist on a mission to set a record for. Buy a cheap copy of john henry days book by colson whitehead.

Building the railways that made america, john henry died with a hammer in his hand moments after competing against a steam drill in a battle of endurance. His other works include the noble hustle, zone one, sag harbor, the intuitionist, john henry days, apex hides the hurt, and one collection of essays, the colossus of new york. Sutter is a bonafide junketeera freelance writer, travelling from city to city, hungry for free meals and the discarded sales receipts of others to claim on his expense account. Oct 01, 1994 with regard to julius lesters 1994 john henry, it is in particular illustrator jerry pinkneys 1995 caldecott honour winning accompanying illustrations which i have always found and ever since first reading the book as a library copy a couple of years ago very much personally and visually impressive expressive. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read john henry days. John henry days book by colson whitehead thriftbooks. Jun 22, 2001 john henry days colson whitehead 389pp, 4th estate. John henry days is a novel of extraordinary scope and mythic power. Shortlisted for the 2002 pulitzer prize for fiction. The latest issue in the american folk heroes series, a john henry stamp, will be unveiled in the little town of talcott, west virginia, where john henry is thought to have worked and died. He used to sing of john henry, and tell of the old days when hammers and hammer men could do the work of the steam drills. John henry days may end up haunting you the way the ballad of john henry haunts its pages.