Review: Hell of a Book: A Novel – Jason Mott

I received this book for free from Review Book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An astounding work of fiction from a New York Times bestselling author Jason Mott, always deeply honest, at times electrically funny, that goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans, and America as a whole

In Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book, a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something much larger and urgent: since Mott’s novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.

As these characters’ stories build and build and converge, they astonish. For while this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art and money, it’s also about the nation’s reckoning with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news. And with what it can mean to be Black in America.

Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour, and what kind of world will he leave behind? Unforgettably told, with characters who burn into your mind and an electrifying plot ideal for book club discussion, Hell of a Book is the novel Mott has been writing in his head for the last ten years. And in its final twists it truly becomes its title.

I have written over 100+ book reviews, and there’s always one book that comes along that has me stumped for words.

The Stumped for Words Awards goes to Author Jason Mott for writing a hell of a book (pun intended).

I avoided all synopsis and reviews before starting this book. I did attend a virtual chat event with the author before the book’s release, but I had no idea of the impact this book would have on me.

Hell of a Book is the type of book that giving a summary of the book – doesn’t do it justice. The book is more than an author going on a book tour and the revelations unveiled along the way.

Hell of a Book addresses what it means to be Black in America, the fragility of mental illness, bullying, trauma, and facing our truths.

At times, Hell of a Book made me smirk at the sarcastic remarks of the unnamed author in the book.

Then there were times I had to take a minute for an ugly cry moment. So many things resonated with me in this book; I almost signed up for an account on Ancestry.com to make sure I wasn’t related to the author.

Author Jason Mott’s writing is poetic, witty, charming, engaging, and intoxicating.

Hell of a Book challenges the readers to get out of their comfort zone and allow their minds to be open to the unfamiliar.

I promise if you allow yourself to go with the flow of Author Jason Mott’s words – you will arrive at a beautiful destination.

Thank you, Jason Mott, for sharing this book with the masses.

Reviewed by: Orsayor

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