Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
A satirical and daring collection of short stories exploring black life from one of America's rising stars.
'Makes you shake your head in delight... 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
Heads of the Colored People interrogates our supposedly post-racial era to wicked and devastating effect, exposing the violence 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 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.
This electric collection of short stories marks the arrival of a remarkable writer and an urgent new voice.
*Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction 2019*
*Shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2019*
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 *
Nafissa Thompson-Spires is the author of the award-winning, National Book Award longlisted short story collection, Heads of the Colored People. She earned a doctorate in English from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in The Paris Review Daily, New York Magazine’s “The Cut,” The Root, The White Review, Ploughshares, 400 Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019, and The 1619 Project, among other publications.
In addition to a debut novel with Scribner, The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Rich Milford, her young adult debut is forthcoming with Make Me a World (Penguin Random House). She is the recipient of a 2024 United States Artists Grant and a 2019 Whiting Award.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781784706586 |
| ISBN 10 | 1784706582 |
| Title | Heads of the Colored People |
| Author | Nafissa Thompson-Spires |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2019-08-08 |
| 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 |