I've just finished reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty. It won The Man Booker Prize for its satirical look at racism in America. The problem I found with the book was its mish-mash of time lines and the fact that the story wasn't very structured. Being an indie author you're always being told that a story must have structure. After 150 pages I still wasn't engrossed by the story or had any sympathy with the characters.
Don't get me wrong there were some points in the book that did make you question how two faced and fucked up society is.
But did the book deserve to win a major award? I'd say not. I've read Wolf Hall and that was a hard read but The Sellout was a lot harder.
You could say I'm jealous as an aspiring author but I'm not. I'll give credit where it's due and unfortunately I just don't think The Sellout is worthy of the praise that's been heaped on it.
The Sellout