John Henry Days

On assignment for a travel Web site, J. Sutter, a young African-American freelance journalist, heads for West Virginia to cover the "John Henry Days" festival in honor of the new U.S. postage stamp honoring John Henry and discovers the real-life story of John Henry and its relevance to his own life and times. By the author of The Intuitionist. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.
Colson Whitehead’s eagerly awaited and triumphantly acclaimed new novel is on one level a multifaceted retelling of the story of John Henry, the black steel-driver who died outracing a machine designed to replace him. On another level it’s the story of a disaffected, middle-aged black journalist on a mission to set a record for junketeering who attends the annual John Henry Days festival. It is also a high-velocity thrill ride through the tunnel where American legend gives way to American pop culture, replete with p. r. flacks, stamp collectors, blues men , and turn-of-the-century song pluggers. John Henry Days is an acrobatic, intellectually dazzling, and laugh-out-loud funny book that will be read and talked about for years to come.
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice “Funny and wise and sumptuously written . . . compelling.” —Jonathan Franzen, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW The introduction, discussion questions, suggested reading list, and author biography that follow are intended to enhance your group’s discussion of Colson Whitehead’s critically acclaimed new novel, John Henry Days .