PUB DAY Zone One, by Colson Whitehead - BOOK RIOT

PUB DAY Zone One, by Colson Whitehead - BOOK RIOT Though Colson Whitehead is an accomplished novelist and an insightful essayist (19,000 words on the World Series of Poker!), Id argue that some of his best writing is published in an unusual spot: On his zany Twitter feed. Heres an example. When you clear my sites cookies from your browser, they send an Avenge me! blast home, and then youre in trouble, buster. Heres another: Just saw Dolphins Tale. Bah! They should have called itactually, thats a pretty appropriate title. Indeed, Whitehead is a writer with exceptional range. The former MacArthur Fellow (yes, he is really, really smart, in addition to being a goofy tweeter and an obsessive poker fan) burst onto the literary scene with his second novel, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated historical novel (John Henry Days). Hes also written speculative fiction (The Intuitionist), a semi-autobiographical (and fantastic!) childhood summer vacation story (Sag Harbor), and now, a literary zombie novel (Zone One â€" out today). If youre one of the many readers (like me, frankly), who, upon first blush, considers literary zombie novel to be an oxymoron of the most immense proportions, well, weve got another think comin. Justin Cronins The Passage paved the way, and if one is a fluke, but two is a trend, Zone One seems to have started a trend. Indeed, Cronin writes a glowing review on Amazon, explaining that Whiteheads language zings and soars. Yes, we should be skeptical of such rising-tide-raises-all-ships-(of the same genre)-type reviews. But Cronins sentiment is certainly my experience with Whiteheads writing, as well. Hes a clever, engaging writer on both a micro (line-by-line) and macro (whole novel) scale. So, I for one, cant wait to dive into Zone One. Heres the dime tour of the story itself: Its about a dude named Mark Spitz (presumably, hes a different dude than the famed diver) spends three days trying to round up the remaining zombies who infest lower Manhattan. But apparently all doesnt go as planned. So what do you think? Intrigued? Are you planning to cast your zombie aversions aside and check out a great writer like Whitehead (if you havent already)? (Heres a great interview  with Whitehead   from NPR, if youre interested in more in-depth info about the novel.) Sign up to Unusual Suspects to receive news and recommendations for mystery/thriller readers. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.