John Henry Days

By Colson Whitehead

From the bestselling, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, a novel that is "funny and wise and sumptuously written" (Jonathan Franzen, The New York Times Book Review).

Colson Whitehead’s triumphant 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.

Look for Colson Whitehead’s new novel, Crook Manifesto!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 3, 2009
• ISBN: 9780307486677

Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead was born in New York City in 1969 and graduated from Harvard College in 1991. He has written four novels, including the Pulitzer-Prize-nominated ‘John Henry Days.’ He has written for, amongst others, The New York Times, Salon and The Village Voice.

Reviews for John Henry Days

[eas7788 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gorgeous Whitehead prose -- never overdone. His historical passages are the strongest, though -- maybe why Nickel Boys and Underground are stronger books than this? The John Henry legend is fascinating -- I especially like the sections about the song being carried on. Ending did not work for me but was a legitimate choice.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I admired the creativity of the book but it was a slow slog. I enjoyed his latest(Sag Harbor) much more. This was a book that I read because of the authors reputation. I will try to read more by him, but would not recommend this book when compared to Sag Harbor

[sherief_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

and a half. I really like Colson Whitehead, and the Intuitionist was great (I want a copy of "Theoretical Elevators"), but I want to arbitrarily only give John Henry Days 3.5 stars just because. Whitehead's thoughts on prime rib in this book closely mirror my own, hence the half star.

[ljbwell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Henry Days weaves together several threads through several different periods in American history from around 1870 through to the present. The central present-day story revolves around J., an African American junketeer journalist. J. covers pretty much any PR junket if there's free food, drink, travel, and receipted expenditures (legitimate or otherwise) to be had. In fact, J. is chasing a junket record. He has agreed to cover the release of a stamp commemorating John Henry in a new folkheroes collection in Talcott, West Virginia, where the legend of John Henry* was born. (*a railroad worker, he challenged and beat a steam drill, only to collapse & die) But the book flows from J.'s story, to others, including that of Pamela, the daughter of a John Henry memorabilia collector in West Virginia; Alphonse Miggs, the stamp collector specializing in railroad-related stamps; & John Henry himself. Between the brackets of John Henry and present, other episodes are also tied in different ways to the legend, such as the African American academic researching the ballad of John Henry in the 1920s, different musicians and their relationship to the ballad, & the young middle-class African American girl (1950s or 60s?) who buys John Henry ballad sheet music. This is a story of struggle and fate. Of striving for more and being broken by it. Of wanting to feel powerful, even if it kills you. Of always having to prove yourself. Of trying to make a name for yourself, to stand out in the crowd. John Henry Days builds a lyrical, compelling journey spanning over 100 years in American history.

[pbadeer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm sure there are many discussions on Colson Whitehead's writing abilities, and undoubtedly there are comparisons to literary greats such as John Updike. Unfortunately, I have trouble reading Updike too.This title was chosen solely for its use in the 50 States Challenge. I have read another Whitehead title (Apex Hides the Hurt) and my memory of it seemed somewhat favorable. But this time, I couldn't wait for the book to end.Since I am not a writer, I am clearly not "in the know" and the merits of different writing styles may be lost on me. But what I do know is that even a skilled writer needs to pay attention and hire a good editor. John Henry Days does not seem to have that many characters, but Whitehead successfully milked each and every one of them for an insane number of details. Although the depth to which some of these characters are developed may be laudable, there were a number of cases where that level of detail had drifted so far away from the actual story line, I lost track of why I cared.Maybe it's because I listened to it on audio, maybe it's that my literary skills are not up to par with Whitehead's ability, or maybe Whitehead got paid by the word and his mortgage was due. Whatever the reason, I was disappointed in John Henry Days. Alhough I still feel I could recommend Apex Hides the Hurt, John Henry Days fell short.

[lukes_171461 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Colson Whitehead follows up the brilliant "The Intuitionist" with another strong effort. This story recounts the trip an independent journalist (hack? flack?) to the small hill town where they will celebrate the legend of John Henry, the mythic steel-driving man who died in competition with a machine. The novel takes us through different historical stages in which the legend takes root and grows. The author also effectively lampoons present-day journalism, bringing up the ridiculous effort of Sutter, the hack, to break the record for traveling on consecutive press junkets.The inventive recounting of the railroad employee himself is vivid and immediate. We see superhuman effort and very human emotion. Also memorable is a segment set in Tin Pan Alley, portrayed as squalid and noisome, where the classic folk song was written. The present-day sections of the narrative contain a realistic, non-blinking expose of the cynical efforts communities make to attract visitors, and the way the media use and abuse those efforts.Not as cerebral or as haunting as "The Intuitionist," this novel shines in its own vivid way, nevertheless. I recommend it, and I will be moving on to Whitehead's other work.

[ethanr_24 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This guy really knows how to write about obscure, well-researched topics. The book starts out with a hilariously accurate description of professional freelance journalists, but it gets a little winded in the end as the humor dries out to give way to more serious subjects.