The Sellout by Paul Beatty

A Book of the Decade, 2010-2020 (Independent)’Outrageous, hilarious and profound.’ Simon Schama, 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 TimesA biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. Born in Dickens on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in his father’s racially charged psychological studies. He is told that his father’s work will lead to a memoir that will solve their financial woes. But when his father is killed in a drive-by shooting, he discovers there never was a memoir. All that’s left is a bill for a drive-through funeral. What’s more, Dickens has literally been wiped off the map to save California from further embarrassment