Colson Whitehead: One of The Most Impactful Writers of the 21st Century 

    American novelist Colson Whitehead is a double Pulitzer Prize winner. Known for his compelling novels dealing with American history with race, inequality, society, and identity.  

Whitehead's Life 

Author Portrait (4)

    Whitehead was born in 1969 in Manhattan; he is the third of four children (1). Whitehead attended Trinity High School, before going on to Harvard for a bachelor's degree in English and comparative literature in 1991 (5). Post graduation Whitehead began his career at Village Voice, an American News outlet based in Greenwich Village, where he wrote reviews for television, books, and music (6). Whitehead published his first book in 1999, The Intuitionist, a novel following a women named Lila Mae Watson, the first female Elevator inspector, as she investigates a fallen elevator and discovers secrets that will forever change her life. This book received rave reviews such as, "The freshest racial allegory since Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye.' - Time"(7). While Whiteheads first book was a success it doesn't compare to his two Pulitzer Prize winners, The Underground Railroad, and The Nickel Boys. 

The 2017 Winner 

The Underground Railroad (11)

    The Underground Railroad, the eighth book Colson Whitehead published, is a New York Times Bestseller, the 2017 Pulitzer Prize fiction winner, and the 2016 National Book Award Winner (11). This story follows a young girl, recently abandon by her mother, named Cora. Cora is a slave owned by a plantation in Georgia. Not yet a woman, Cora feels dethatched from all the other slaves on the plantation. Ceaser is new to the plantation and approaches Cora with the idea of escaping to the underground railroad, an actual railway system, Cora seizes the opportunity and so their journey of escaping slavery begins (11). Throughout her journey Cora faces cruelty, betrayal, and the constant fear of being caught and captured (3). 

    Whitehead's novel currently has 4.4 stars on audible and has received praise from big names. According to reviews it seems as though five-star reviews are the most common across the 16,400 reviews on audible alone (10). Digging into one of the lower reviews, I found that a common trend in these reviews, was the reader getting confused and believing that the real Underground Railroad was a functioning railway not a secure pathway with safe houses. For example, one review, rating three stars, from listener "Placeholder" stated, "This book actually had me believing that there were sections of the underground railroad that were actually an underground railroad. But this is not true..."(10). Aswell at the thousands of anonymous reviews this novel also received praise from well know names. Barack Obama reported that the book was "Terrific", Oprah Winfrey states that the story was, "Heart-stopping", and The New York Times Book Review declared, "Stunningly daring" (11).

The 2020 Winner

The Nickel Boys (9)

    The Nickel Boys, published in 2019 making it the ninth book in Whitehead's career, is a national bestseller in addition to being the 2020 Pulitzer Prize fiction winner. This novel follows Elwood Curtis, a young boy who is deeply inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., as his is unfairly sentenced to Nickel Academy a juvenile reformatory (2). Elwood would describe this academy as "grotesque chambers of horror" (9). His only light in this darkness is a fellow "delinquent" named Turner (9). Turner, unlike Elwood, believes that the world is a cruel place where you must be sneaky and stay out of trouble to survive. As their environment becomes more dangerous the boys are left to decipher whose view on life will lead to the least repercussions (9). Throughout the book the reader is swapped between, young Elwood in the Academy and adult Elwood who lives with the consequences of his own actions (2). 

    The Nickel Boys currently rates at 4.6 stars on audible, also receiving 8,700 reviews, and lots of praise. This novel got lots of touching views such as the review, rating this story five stars, from audible listen Lauren N. stating, "It's difficult for me to put into words how much this book has meant to me and impacted me. it's an unforgettable story, that reaches deep down into your bones..." (8). Other reviews of this novel that seem to believe that this story was not gruesome enough, or that they did not like it because it is based on a true story and they "prefer fiction to non-fiction", in both cases are up to reader discretion (8). Aside from the public reviews, The Nickel Boys also received a number of praises from quite well-known people. President Barack Obama reveals that he believes this novel is, "a necessary read", Buzzfeed proclaims that at story was "Magnificent", and Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls, states, "A gripping and brilliant novel based on a true story about a boys' reformatory school in Florida in the 1960s. Whitehead is one of the most daring and gifted authors writing these days, and I will never miss one of his books" (9). 

Overall Thoughts

    I did not know anything about Colson Whitehead when I selected him for this project but after doing research I believe he deserves more attention. Colson Whitehead is an outstanding author who portrays his character, and writes, beautifully. I don't think many people in the younger generation know much, if anything about, him, and I believe he is one of the most inspirational writers of our time. If you are interested in learning more about him, you can view his website: Colson Whitehead (6).

Work Cited

(1) "Colson Whitehead - Birthplace & Biography." Where Was Born, www.wherewasborn.com/colson-whitehead/.

(2)  "Summary of The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | Book Summaries | One Minute Summary." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v+kNGkJ7GJV_c.

(3) "Summary of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead | Book Summaries | One Minute Summary." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOyojKmMCgo.

(4) Schumann, Britt Kathrine. "Colson Whitehead." Store Norske Leksikon, Store norske leksikon, 2025, snl.no/Colson_Whitehead.

(5)  "What Did Colson Whitehead Study? | Britannica." Britannica, 2026, www.britannica.com/question/What-did-Colson-Whitehead-study.

(6) Whitehead, Colson. "Bio." Colson Whitehead, 2026, www.colsonwhitehead.com/new-page/. 

(7) Whitehead, Colson. "The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead:9780385493000: Penguinrandomhouse.Com: Books." PenguinRandomhouse.Com, Knopf, www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/189757/the-intuitionist-by-colson-whitehead/.

(8) "The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) Audiobook by Colson Whitehead." Edited by Aaron Schwartz, Audible, 2026, www.audible.com/pd/The-Nickel-Boys-Winner-2020-Pulitzer-Prize-for-Fiction-Audiobook/1984891383. 

(9)  Whitehead, Colson. "The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) by Colson Whitehead: 9780345804341: Penguinrandomhouse.com/books/223161/the-nickel-boys-winner-2020-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction-by-colson-whitehead/.

(10) "The Underground Railroad (Oprah's Book Club) Audiobook by Colson Whitehead." Audible, 2026, www.audible.com/pd/The-Underground-Railroad-Television-Tie-in-Audiobook/B01J6CZQGA 

(11) Whitehead, Colson. "The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Colson Whitehead: 9780345804327: Penguinrandomhouse.Com: Books." PenguinRandomhouse.Com, Knopf, 2026, www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/232365/the-underground-railroad-pulitzer-prize-winner-by-colson-whitehead/.