''John Henry Days'' is a 2001 novel by American author

Colson Whitehead Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work '' The Intuitionist''; '' The Underground Railroad'' (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Awar ...

. This is his second full-length work.

Plot summary

Building the railways that made America, John Henry died with a hammer in his hand moments after competing against a steam drill in a battle of endurance. The story of his death made him a legend. Over a century later, freelance journalist J. Sutter is sent to

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

to cover the launch of a new

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

at the first John Henry Days festival.

Reception

Maya Jaggi, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', praised ''John Henry Days'', writing that it is "propelled by the quality of the writing and observation which, together with his serious intent, elevate it above frothier social satire." Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', novelist

Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel '' The Corrections'', a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Pr ...

likened the novel to '' Ulysses'' and ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'' in its "encyclopedic aspirations", but added: "''John Henry Days'' is funny and wise and sumptuously written, but it's only rarely a page turner."Jonathan Franzen (2001
"Freeloading Man"
''John Henry Days'' review, ''

''. Published 13 May, 2001. Archived fro
here
on 28 November, 2017.

Honors

References

External links

''John Henry Days'' Discussion Guide
{{Colson Whitehead 2001 American novels Novels by Colson Whitehead Novels set in West Virginia Doubleday (publisher) books