Colson Whitehead’s New Novel is Oprah’s Book Club Pick
Image by Amy Sussman
By Talya Zax August 2, 2016
Colson Whitehead’s new novel “The Underground Railroad” was announced earlier today as the next Oprah’s Book Club pick. It’s the Club’s first book since February 2015, which featured Cynthia Bond’s “Ruby.”
While Whitehead isn’t Jewish, it seems possible the New York-born author has taken the famous Lenny Bruce declaration that “If you live in New York or any other big city, you are Jewish” to heart. In 2010 he retweeted a tweet comparing his “John Henry Days” to Franz Kafka’s “The Castle” with the enigmatic declaration “Well, we’re both Jewish.” Given the rave reviews preceding the release of “The Underground Railroad,” we think we’d be just fine letting him into the tribe.
Image by Twitter
Talya Zax is the Forward’s summer culture fellow. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @TalyaZax
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