Apex Hides the Hurt
Encyclopedia
Apex Hides the Hurt is a 2006 novel
by American author Colson Whitehead
. The novel follows an unnamed nomenclature consultant who is asked to visit the town of Winthrop, which, rather conveniently for the nomenclature consultant, is considering changing its name. During his visit, the main character is introduced to several citizens attempting to persuade him in favor of their preferred name for the town.
The novel has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with few negative comments. In a positive review for American magazine Entertainment Weekly
, Jennifer Reese called the book "a blurry satire of American commercialism," adding that "it may not mark the apex of Colson Whitehead's career, but it brims with the author's spiky humor and intelligence." The book was featured among the 100 Most Notable Books of The Year for 2006, as published by The New York Times
.
(born 1969) is an American author. Whitehead was born and raised in Brooklyn
, New York
and wrote for The Village Voice
for two years during his early career, and has since authored three other novels: The Intuitionist
, John Henry Days
and The Colossus of New York. Since Whitehead began writing, he has had his books and writing reviewed and mentioned in The New York Times
, New York Magazine
, Harper's Magazine
and has been a recipient of the MacArthur and Whiting Award.
. In a review in The Boston Globe
, Saul Austerlitz called it a "wickedly funny new novel." USA Today
noted that "no novelist writing today is more engaging and entertaining when it comes to questions of race, class and commercial culture than Colson Whitehead," concluding that the novel "gets to the heart of the thing, but in a delightfully roundabout way." The San Francisco Chronicle gave the novel a mixed review, commenting that "It's pure joy to read writing like this, but watching Whitehead sketch out a minor character's essence with one stroke, while breathtaking, makes one wish the same treatment was afforded the people who ostensibly inhabit the novel's complex ideas." American trade news magazine Publishers Weekly
reacted negatively to the book, writing that "Whitehead disappoints in this intriguingly conceived but static tale of a small town with an identity crisis."
Erin Aubry Kaplan of the Los Angeles Times
noted that "too often, [Whitehead] can't resist the temptation of irony, and his big ideas are sometimes overwhelmed by one wink-wink or metaphor too many." Kirkus Reviews
praised the book, writing that "while making no attempt at depth of characterization, Whitehead audaciously blurs the line between social realism and fabulist satire." The Library Journal
praised the book, noting that "In spare and evocative prose, Whitehead does Shakespeare one better: What's in a name, and how does our identity relate to our own sense of who we are?" The New York Observer was critical of the book but noted that "readers not looking for direct emotional access to the characters may find it gratifying to solve the intellectual puzzle set here by Colson Whitehead."
Scott Esposito of webzine PopMatters
gave the novel mixed comments, writing that "it is no surprise that Apex Hides the Hurt, Whitehead's third novel, is packed with a number of allegorical elements blended into a multi-layered structure. What's unfortunate, however, is that all this technical artistry is in the service of unremarkable themes and ideas. Entertainment newspaper The A.V. Club
complimented the book, writing that "perhaps taking his cues from his protagonist's profession, Whitehead keeps his prose as streamlined as it comes, and he uses it to craft a satiric novel in tune with a moment where marketing overshadows content and even the lowliest blogger thinks in branding terms." Michael McGirr of The Sydney Morning Herald
called it "a book of abundant irony."
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by American author Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead is a New York-based novelist. He is best known as the author of the 2001 novel John Henry Days. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.-Early life:...
. The novel follows an unnamed nomenclature consultant who is asked to visit the town of Winthrop, which, rather conveniently for the nomenclature consultant, is considering changing its name. During his visit, the main character is introduced to several citizens attempting to persuade him in favor of their preferred name for the town.
The novel has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with few negative comments. In a positive review for American magazine Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, Jennifer Reese called the book "a blurry satire of American commercialism," adding that "it may not mark the apex of Colson Whitehead's career, but it brims with the author's spiky humor and intelligence." The book was featured among the 100 Most Notable Books of The Year for 2006, as published by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
About the author
Colson WhiteheadColson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead is a New York-based novelist. He is best known as the author of the 2001 novel John Henry Days. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.-Early life:...
(born 1969) is an American author. Whitehead was born and raised in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and wrote for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
for two years during his early career, and has since authored three other novels: The Intuitionist
The Intuitionist
The Intuitionist is a 1999 novel by Colson Whitehead. It falls broadly into speculative fiction.The Intuitionist takes place in a city full of skyscrapers and other buildings requiring vertical transportation in the form of elevators. The time, never identified explicitly, is one when black people...
, John Henry Days
John Henry Days
John Henry Days is a 2001 Pulitzer Prize shortlisted novel by African American author Colson Whitehead.John Henry Days is a portrait of America...
and The Colossus of New York. Since Whitehead began writing, he has had his books and writing reviewed and mentioned in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, New York Magazine
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
and has been a recipient of the MacArthur and Whiting Award.
Plot
The book is set in the fictional town of Winthrop. The protagonist of the book is an unnamed African-American "nomenclature consultant" who has had recent success in branding and selling Apex bandages, which come in multiple colors to better match a broad array of skin tones. The novel begins with the main character being contacted by his former employer, which he had left after losing a toe. He travels to the town of Winthrop after requests from the town council, which has proposed that the town be renamed. However, three key citizens disagree what the name should be: Albie Winthrop, descendant of the town's namesake (who'd made his fortune in barbed wire); Regina Goode, the mayor (descendant of one of the town's two founders); and Lucky Aberdeen, a software magnate who's leading the drive to rename the town. Winthrop wants to keep the name; Goode wants the town to revert to the name it bore at its founding as a town of free blacks, Freedom; while Aberdeen wants to call it "New Prospera."Themes
In an interview with Alma Books, Whitehead states that the concept of the book originated from an article about the naming process for new pharmaceuticals such as Prozac. The article made Whitehead question how a similar process is used to assert a certain control over one's environment (his example is a boulevard named after a particular person), and yoking the two concepts was the beginning of the ideas that led to his composition of the novel.Reception
Overall, the novel was critically well-received. It was highlighted among The New York Times 100 Most Notable Books of the Year, and also highlighted among 100 noteworthy books from 2006, as published by The Charleston GazetteThe Charleston Gazette
The Charleston Gazette is a five-day morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is published Monday through Friday mornings. On Saturday and Sunday mornings the combined Charleston Gazette-Mail is published, which is, more or less, similar to the Gazette.The Gazette was established in...
. In a review in The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, Saul Austerlitz called it a "wickedly funny new novel." USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
noted that "no novelist writing today is more engaging and entertaining when it comes to questions of race, class and commercial culture than Colson Whitehead," concluding that the novel "gets to the heart of the thing, but in a delightfully roundabout way." The San Francisco Chronicle gave the novel a mixed review, commenting that "It's pure joy to read writing like this, but watching Whitehead sketch out a minor character's essence with one stroke, while breathtaking, makes one wish the same treatment was afforded the people who ostensibly inhabit the novel's complex ideas." American trade news magazine Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
reacted negatively to the book, writing that "Whitehead disappoints in this intriguingly conceived but static tale of a small town with an identity crisis."
Erin Aubry Kaplan of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
noted that "too often, [Whitehead] can't resist the temptation of irony, and his big ideas are sometimes overwhelmed by one wink-wink or metaphor too many." Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
praised the book, writing that "while making no attempt at depth of characterization, Whitehead audaciously blurs the line between social realism and fabulist satire." The Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
praised the book, noting that "In spare and evocative prose, Whitehead does Shakespeare one better: What's in a name, and how does our identity relate to our own sense of who we are?" The New York Observer was critical of the book but noted that "readers not looking for direct emotional access to the characters may find it gratifying to solve the intellectual puzzle set here by Colson Whitehead."
Scott Esposito of webzine PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
gave the novel mixed comments, writing that "it is no surprise that Apex Hides the Hurt, Whitehead's third novel, is packed with a number of allegorical elements blended into a multi-layered structure. What's unfortunate, however, is that all this technical artistry is in the service of unremarkable themes and ideas. Entertainment newspaper The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
complimented the book, writing that "perhaps taking his cues from his protagonist's profession, Whitehead keeps his prose as streamlined as it comes, and he uses it to craft a satiric novel in tune with a moment where marketing overshadows content and even the lowliest blogger thinks in branding terms." Michael McGirr of The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
called it "a book of abundant irony."