Critical Praise

“The first 100 pages of [Paul Beatty's] new novel, THE SELLOUT, are the most caustic and the most badass first 100 pages of an American novel I've read in at least a decade. I gave up underlining the killer bits because my arm began to hurt…. [They] read like the most concussive monologues and interviews of Chris Rock, Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle wrapped in a satirical yet surprisingly delicate literary and historical sensibility…. The jokes come up through your spleen…. The riffs don't stop coming in this landmark and deeply aware comic novel…. [It] puts you down in a place that's miles from where it picked you up.”

—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“[THE SELLOUT] is among the most important and difficult American novels written in the 21st century…. It is a bruising novel that readers will likely never forget.”

—Kiese Laymon, Los Angeles Times

“Swiftian satire of the highest order…. Giddy, scathing and dazzling.”

—Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

“THE SELLOUT isn't just one of the most hilarious American novels in years, it also might be the first truly great satirical novel of the century…. [It] is a comic masterpiece, but it's much more than just that-it's one of the smartest and most honest reflections on race and identity in America in a very long time.”

—Michael Schaub, NPR.org

“THE SELLOUT is brilliant. Amazing. Like demented angels wrote it.”

—Sarah Silverman

“I am glad that I read this insane book alone, with no one watching, because I fell apart with envy, hysterics and flat-out awe. Is there a more fiercely brilliant and scathingly hilarious American novelist than Paul Beatty?”

—Ben Marcus

“Paul Beatty has always been one of smartest, funniest, gutsiest writers in America, but THE SELLOUT sets a new standard. It's a spectacular explosion of comic daring, cultural provocation, brilliant, hilarious prose and genuine heart.”

—Sam Lipsyte