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Paul Beatty’s wickedly funny novel is the California Book Club’s February 2021 selection.

This blisteringly funny novel is a lacerating takedown of racial stereotypes and much of American culture. Taking place in Los Angeles, where Beatty was raised, the book centers on an unnamed character who embarks on a mission to get his “ghetto community,” Dickens, reinstated on the map. The Sellout won Britain’s prestigious Man Booker Prize, becoming the first-ever American novel to receive the award.

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Picador USA The Sellout by Paul Beatty

<em>The Sellout</em> by Paul Beatty
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Credit: Picador USA
The Sellout Gallery
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Event Recap: How Paul Beatty Interrogates the Dominant Culture

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Excerpt: ‘The Sellout’

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Steve Carroll
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Three Questions for Paul Beatty

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The Subversive First Sentence of ‘The Sellout’

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Recommended Black Satire Books

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What Does It Mean to Be a “Sellout”?

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Post-Racialism and the Facade of Equality

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Mehmet Hilmi Barcin
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The Linguistic Daredevilry of ‘The Sellout’

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