Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
**Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction 2019**
**Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction 2018**
*Finalist for the Kirkus Prize 2018*
*Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize 2019*
In this crackling debut collection Nafissa Thompson-Spires interrogates our supposedly post-racial era. To wicked and devastating effect she exposes the violence, both external and self-inflicted, that threatens black Americans, no matter their apparent success.
A teenager is insidiously bullied as her YouTube following soars; an assistant professor finds himself losing a subtle war of attrition against his office mate; a nurse is worn down by the demand for her skills as a funeral singer. And across a series of stories, a young woman grows up, negotiating and renegotiating her identity.
Heads of the Colored People shows characters in crisis, both petty and catastrophic. It marks the arrival of a remarkable writer and an essential and urgent new voice.
Outstanding.. Smart, witty and so very well written * Roxane Gay *
The level of detail that goes into each of Nafissa Thompson-Spires’s sentences is astonishing, and the worlds that she can create in just a few words are mind-blowing. Ready yourself for this collection. It will change the way you look at writing, and at how you see things -- Candice Carty-Williams
The kind of collection that makes you shake your head in delight. Her voice is fresh-laundry-clean: I have not read anything like it in years. The prose is cunning. It appears simple, but the overall effect is powerful. Her stories feel simultaneously like the poke of a stick and a comforting balm; a smack followed by a kiss. I’m so into it. -- Bim Adewunmi * Guardian *
Vivid, fast, funny, way-smart, and verbally inventive, these stories by the vastly talented Thompson-Spires create a compelling surface tension made of equal parts scepticism towards human nature and intense fondness of it. Located on the big questions, they are full of heart -- George Saunders
Every so often, a voice comes along that knocks you sideways; this debut collection of short stories was one such moment. From the first page there’s an electricity and freshness to the voice that grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let me go -- Andrew McMillan * Observer *
[Thompson-Spires] writes satire of the Paul Beatty school, her humour as daring as it is disarming. This is a firecracker of a book, sizzling with politics, but it's also a triumph of storytelling: intelligent, acerbic and ingenious -- Lucy Scholes * Financial Times *
Witty, mischievous... These coolly ironic and grimly funny tales brim with snap and verve, and this is a debut collection of daring and aplomb -- Colin Grant * The Guardian *
Her electric style is extrovert, erudite and hugely entertaining, despite the often grim subject matter... Thompson-Spires invigoratingly hits the mark... you end the collection greedy to read whatever is coming next from this unmistakable talent -- Anthony Cummins * The Observer *
Superbly witty... The topics she takes on are often deadly serious, but every story flashes grim humor. She is also a brutally sharp observer -- Janet Maslin * New York Times *
[Thompson-Spires] writes with complete control, building a story in the precise shape of her anger. Her sentences intertwine and double back on themselves, and each one stings -- Lois Beckett * Guardian *
Heads of the Colored People is a delightful, disarming, deliciously diabolical collection. Every other page, there's a razor-sharp turn, a surprise that makes you laugh, think, rethink, or shiver * Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift *
For the freshest voice in literature, look no further than Nafissa Thompson-Spires blisteringly clever short story collection, Heads of the Colored People… Sometimes, a voice comes around that is so singular, so funny, so wholly original, that you go back and reread each story once you finish it… In each of these humorous, intelligent vignettes, Thompson-Spires explores aspects of being Black and middle-class in today’s America. This is a special collection. Buy it so you can read it more than once * Refinery29 *
Intricate, playful... Thompson-Spires crafts a narrative voice which always walks one step ahead, sometimes turning to us with a wink, before getting back to what really needs to be said... The minutiae of her characters’ lives are a joy to read for the purity of the unremarkable, and yet there is nothing light about her subject matter. Thompson-Spires’ juxtaposing of small normalities against larger, more crippling truths powerfully draws attention to the oppressively racialised realities of her characters’ lives... A much longed-for portrayal of a black normality * The White Review *
The stories here are dazzling, wise, wicked and tender. Nafissa Thompson-Spires’ debut is a knockout
The level of detail that goes into each of Nafissa Thompson-Spires’s sentences is astonishing, and the worlds that she can create in just a few words are mind-blowing. Ready yourself for this collection. It will change the way you look at writing, and at how you see things -- Candice Carty-Williams
The kind of collection that makes you shake your head in delight. Her voice is fresh-laundry-clean: I have not read anything like it in years. The prose is cunning. It appears simple, but the overall effect is powerful. Her stories feel simultaneously like the poke of a stick and a comforting balm; a smack followed by a kiss. I’m so into it. -- Bim Adewunmi * Guardian *
Vivid, fast, funny, way-smart, and verbally inventive, these stories by the vastly talented Thompson-Spires create a compelling surface tension made of equal parts scepticism towards human nature and intense fondness of it. Located on the big questions, they are full of heart -- George Saunders
Every so often, a voice comes along that knocks you sideways; this debut collection of short stories was one such moment. From the first page there’s an electricity and freshness to the voice that grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let me go -- Andrew McMillan * Observer *
Thompson-Spires' stories are dark, have a cutting sense of humour, and are entertaining and essential
[Thompson-Spires] writes satire of the Paul Beatty school, her humour as daring as it is disarming. This is a firecracker of a book, sizzling with politics, but it's also a triumph of storytelling: intelligent, acerbic and ingenious -- Lucy Scholes * Financial Times *
Witty, mischievous... These coolly ironic and grimly funny tales brim with snap and verve, and this is a debut collection of daring and aplomb -- Colin Grant * The Guardian *
Her electric style is extrovert, erudite and hugely entertaining, despite the often grim subject matter... Thompson-Spires invigoratingly hits the mark... you end the collection greedy to read whatever is coming next from this unmistakable talent -- Anthony Cummins * The Observer *
Superbly witty... The topics she takes on are often deadly serious, but every story flashes grim humor. She is also a brutally sharp observer -- Janet Maslin * New York Times *
[Thompson-Spires] writes with complete control, building a story in the precise shape of her anger. Her sentences intertwine and double back on themselves, and each one stings -- Lois Beckett * Guardian *
Heads of the Colored People is a delightful, disarming, deliciously diabolical collection. Every other page, there's a razor-sharp turn, a surprise that makes you laugh, think, rethink, or shiver * Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift *
For the freshest voice in literature, look no further than Nafissa Thompson-Spires blisteringly clever short story collection, Heads of the Colored People… Sometimes, a voice comes around that is so singular, so funny, so wholly original, that you go back and reread each story once you finish it… In each of these humorous, intelligent vignettes, Thompson-Spires explores aspects of being Black and middle-class in today’s America. This is a special collection. Buy it so you can read it more than once * Refinery29 *
Intricate, playful... Thompson-Spires crafts a narrative voice which always walks one step ahead, sometimes turning to us with a wink, before getting back to what really needs to be said... The minutiae of her characters’ lives are a joy to read for the purity of the unremarkable, and yet there is nothing light about her subject matter. Thompson-Spires’ juxtaposing of small normalities against larger, more crippling truths powerfully draws attention to the oppressively racialised realities of her characters’ lives... A much longed-for portrayal of a black normality * The White Review *
The stories here are dazzling, wise, wicked and tender. Nafissa Thompson-Spires’ debut is a knockout
Nafissa Thompson-Spires is a prize-winning short story writer. She earned a PhD in English from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The White Review, the Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, StoryQuarterly, Lunch Ticket and The Feminist Wire, among other publications. She is a 2016 participant of the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop, a 2017 Tin House workshopee, and a 2017 Sewanee Writers Conference Stanley Elkin Scholar. Born in San Diego, California, she now lives in Illinois with her husband where she is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and African American studies at the University of Illinois.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781781090633 |
| ISBN 10 | 1781090637 |
| Title | Heads of the Colored People |
| Author | Nafissa Thompson-Spires |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2018-08-09 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for James Tait Black Memorial Prize 2019 (UK), Short-listed for Gordon Burn Prize 2019 (UK), Long-listed for National Book Award 2018 (UK) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |