WINNER THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2016

Born in the ‘agrarian ghetto’ of Dickens – on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles – the narrator of The Sellout is raised by his single father, a controversial sociologist, and spends his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies.

Led to believe that his father’s pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family’s financial woes, he is shocked to discover, after his father is killed in a police shoot-out, that there never was a memoir. In fact, all that’s left is the bill for a drive-through funeral.

Fuelled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: his hometown Dickens has literally been removed from the map to save California from further embarrassment. Enlisting the help of the town’s most famous resident – Hominy Jenkins – he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school.

What follows is a remarkable journey that challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement and the holy grail of racial equality – the black Chinese restaurant.

In his trademark absurdist style, which has the uncanny ability to make readers want to both laugh and cry, The Sellout is an outrageous and outrageously entertaining indictment of our time, showcasing a comic genius at the top of his game.

‘Outrageous, hilarious and profound.’ – Financial Times

‘The longer you stare at Beatty’s pages, the smarter you’ll get.’ – Guardian

‘The most badass first 100 pages of an American novel I’ve read.’ – New York Times

‘I was banned from reading in bed because I was laughing so much.’ – Olivia Williams, Man Booker Judge 2016

‘This brilliant satire on racial politics in the US is at once timely, hilarious and outstanding’. – Observer

Hilariously caustic.’ – Rolling Stone

‘Scarysmart… A hell of a ride.’ – Newsweek

‘It will make you laugh, but most of all it will make you think.’ – Sunday Times

Author Biography

Paul Beatty is the author of four novels – Slumberland, Tuff, The White Boy Shuffle and The Sellout, which won the Man Booker Prize in 2016. He is also the author of two books of poetry: Big Bank Take Little Bank and Joker, Joker, Deuce. He is the editor of Hokum: An Anthology of African- American Humor. He lives in New York City.