Sag Harbor

'Pure shimmering brilliance...One of the funniest books I've ever read' - Gary ShteyngartFrom the author of the Man Booker longlisted The Underground RailroadFrom the author of the Man Booker longlisted The Underground RailroadBenji spends most of the year as one of the only black kids at an elite prep school in Manhattan, going to roller disco bar mitzvahs, desperately trying to find his place in the social hierarchy.Then he spends his summers in the African-American community of Sag Harbor on Long Island, and is just as confused. He's way behind on the latest handshakes, baffled by new slang, and his attempts to be cool and meet girls are constantly thwarted by his extremely awkward inner geek, braces and a badly cut Afro.It's the summer of 1985 and Benji is determined that this is the summer when things will change and he'll fit in. For starters, he'll be reinvented as 'Ben'. When that doesn't catch on, it's another summer of the perpetual mortification that is teenage existence.

“The ultimate coming of age tale”

-- Nikesh Shukla
A universal tale of adolescent angst -- Adrian Turpin Financial Times
Whitehead proves himself, among other things, a poet of the American summer and its aspirations...remarkable Guardian
it is impossible not to like Sag Harbor and its genuinely empathetic, intelligent tone -- Neel Mukherjee The Times
Whitehead has tapped the most classic summer-novel activity of al: nostalgia Time

Colson Whitehead is the author of four previous novels, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt and Zone One, as well as The Colossus of New York, a collection of essays. He is the recipient of numerous awards and has frequently hit the American bestseller lists. He lives in New York.Web- itter- @colsonwhitehead

It's the summer of 1985 and Benji is determined that this is the summer that things will change and he'll fit in, and for starters he'll be reinvented as 'Ben'. When that doesn't catch on ('Okay Benji, whatever, homie'), it's another summer of the perpetual mortification that is teenage existence. Benji spends most of the year as one of the only black kids at an elite prep school in Manhattan going to roller disco bar mitzvahs, desperately trying to find his place in the social hierarchy. Then he spends the summers in the African-American community of Sag Harbor on Long Island, and is just as confused. He's way behind on the latest handshakes, baffled by new slang, and his attempts to be cool and meet girls are constantly thwarted by his extremely awkward inner geek, braces and a badly-cut Afro. 'It's rare to come across a coming-of-age novel as polished as Colson Whitehead's Sag Harbor ' New Statesman 'Remarkable... Whitehead's language here is relaxed and playful, a tribute to youth. But Ben's take on life is a fond, proud, nervy shout, and a triumph of rueful reason' Todd McEwen, Guardian 'Whitehead's delicious language and sarcastic, clever voice fit this teenager who's slowly constructing himself' New York Times 'It's impossible not to like Sag Harbor and its genuinely empathetic, intelligent tone' The Times

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