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The Intuitionist
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
59 posts | 57 read | 87 to read
Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist wowed critics and readers everywhere and marked the debut of an important American writer. This marvellously inventive, genre-bending, noir-inflected novel, set in the curious world of elevator inspection, portrays a universe parallel to our own, where matters of morality, politics, and race reveal unexpected ironies.
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review
Robotswithpersonality
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Mehso-so

Hmm, as a debut, I should probably reserve the option to try another Colson Whitehead in the future as his books have worked for many. Indeed, an enthusiastic pitch is what got me into this one. I fear in the interests of not spoiling anything the pitch I heard misled me into thinking I'd get dueling factions in a whisper of magical realism alternate reality of elevator inspectors: esoteric lit fic/weird book.1/2

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 Instead I got a 'gotcha' ending to a drawn out allegory about racism with a side of corruption. Not my thing. Had some beautifully written passages, but also a fondness for multiple digressions/flashbacks to a point at which fine-tuned tension morphs into a grating drag. No thank you. ⚠️Racism, torture, period typical racial slurs, outdated language, blackface 7mo
7 likes1 comment
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Robotswithpersonality
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Today's 'scratched my brain just right' phrase.

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Robotswithpersonality
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Continuing the theme of descriptive similes that add a sense of foreboding.

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Robotswithpersonality
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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You know the kind of writing this makes you want to roll around in it like a puppy in a pile of fallen leaves? 😍

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Robotswithpersonality
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Of all the ways to describe a haircut.
Vibe: successfully created!

5 likes1 stack add
review
Hooked_on_books
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Mehso-so

I have such respect for Whitehead as a writer, but this one just didn‘t work for me. I found it really engaging in places, but overall it was a kind of weird that just isn‘t my kind of weird.

Ruthiella Agree. It was odd. I‘m glad it wasn‘t the first book I read from Whitehead. 1y
Hooked_on_books @Ruthiella I had the same thought! I can‘t imagine not reading his other books. 1y
50 likes2 comments
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Scochrane26
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Mehso-so

I‘ve had this book for several yrs, & it fit into a prompt for my library‘s book challenge (afrofuturism or afrofantasy) I didn‘t like Whitehead‘s writing style in this one. I know I missed some key points, too. There are 2 factions of elevator inspectors—Intuitionists & Empiricists. An elevator falls & Lila Mae, the only Black female, is accused of messing up. An allegory for race, capitalism, government. Others may like this more than me.

Scochrane26 Trigger warning—use of n- word 1y
31 likes1 comment
review
Jen2
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

Good!!!

Ruthiella Such an odd book! I definitely want to read all his stuff. 2y
Jen2 It‘s the best kind of weird! 2y
42 likes2 comments
blurb
jlhammar
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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📕 Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
🖊 Ishiguro, Kazuo
🎬 It‘s A Wonderful Life
🎤 Indigo Girls
🎶 Instant Crush - Daft Punk

#ManicMonday #LetterI
@CBee

CBee Thanks for playing! 😊 2y
44 likes1 comment
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Eggs
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Bridges of Madison County 😭😭😭 2y
59 likes2 comments
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JackOBotts
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
Pickpick

April #Roll100 complete ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I took a break from this as it got off to a bit of a slow start for me. However, after coming back about 2 months later, I was pulled into Lila Mae‘s journey into the unknown of the Department of Elevator Inspectors.

PuddleJumper Sometimes you aren't in the right head space. Taking a break can be really helpful 2y
18 likes1 comment
review
plemmdog
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Mehso-so

My first Whitehead. Thinking I should‘ve gone with something else…I‘m not sure what to make of his elevator obsession…

BkClubCare I loved this! 😄 I thought it creative. 3y
plemmdog @BkClubCare I admired his creativity, and also his ability to channel a sort of film noir, yet never really knowing the exact time era or location. But his prose is not easy… 3y
BkClubCare I read this in 2017, read it because I needed another try of Whitehead‘s writing. Others mentioned that he overwrote this, but my issues were more how vague he can be with setting details? Yet he made a unique world in this. I probably should read something else by him. I didn‘t appreciate The Underground Railroad until others explained to me what they got out of it. Is this your first read of his? He's been busy lately! (edited) 3y
plemmdog @BkClubCare yep! First read. I actually started Underground but for some reason it didn‘t grab me and I moved on. My book club voted on reading this, and I think we all going to be a little cranky when we meet to talk about elevators😂 3y
21 likes4 comments
review
Billypar
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

"Two warring factions in the Department of Elevator Inspectors..." begins the back flap description, which should be enough to pick up this strange and wonderful blend of 'speculative noir'. In this society that looks a lot like Civil Rights era New York, elevators are an academic discipline of sorts and lie at the center of a conspiracy that our elevator inspector hero Lila Mae must unravel. A creative and hilarious spin on the detective novel.

vivastory The only thing better than this pic is your review! I loved this book. Easily one of my favorites by him. 3y
Leftcoastzen Great photo! 3y
Billypar @vivastory Thanks! It was actually my first Whitehead, so I'm eager to read more based on everything I've heard about his other work. 3y
See All 12 Comments
Billypar @Leftcoastzen Thanks! 🙂 3y
erzascarletbookgasm Great review. I see what you did with the photo! 👏😁 3y
jlhammar Such a good book! 3y
Billypar @erzascarletbookgasm Thanks! Yeah, it was either that or being the weirdo taking a picture of a book inside an elevator (not that I'm above that 😅). 3y
Billypar @jlhammar It really is - not many authors can interrogate racism while also having a good mystery and plenty of humor at the same time. I was impressed! 3y
vivastory I think that you would also really like 3y
Billypar @vivastory Ooh - thanks for that rec! That's not one I hear many people talk about but I like the description. 3y
vivastory It's been years since I read it, but I remember thinking it was smart & funny. It felt different from his other books (which I also love) 3y
Billypar @vivastory It is always great when you find an underappreciated gem in a famous author's catalogue. 3y
55 likes1 stack add12 comments
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NikkiM5
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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#FirstLinefridays @ShyBookOwl

It‘s a new elevator, freshly pressed to the rails, and it‘s not built to fall this fast.

Happy Friday 💃🏿

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GatheringBooks
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Eggs
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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#12booksof2020 #Day2 @Andrew65

Maybe an unpopular opinion but I loved this

Andrew65 This is one I haven‘t read. 4y
vivastory Definitely a favorite of the year 4y
Eggs @Andrew65 It‘s a great story! 4y
See All 7 Comments
Eggs @vivastory yes🤗 4y
Ruthiella I liked it but didn‘t love it. 😀 4y
Andrew65 I‘ve enjoyed his books. 4y
Eggs @ruthiella @Andrew65 👏🏻📚🤗 4y
51 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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Ruthiella
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Here‘s hoping that work starts to level off as we slide into the holiday season...did I just jinx myself? 😱

In any case, I will definitely participate in @Andrew65 ‘s low key, Chose Your Own Goals Readathon #NovelNovember! I for sure will finish the tagged book and then? I feel like I need to set some stretch goals this time around-we‘ll see! 😀

Please join in if you are so inclined and repost!

Andrew65 Thanks for the repost, and great to have you with us. 4y
24 likes1 comment
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DrexEdit
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Happy Birthday, Colson Whitehead! A favorite author of mine for many years now. I've read just about everything he's written and it's all wildly different and it's all exceptional. Here's a list from Lit Hub today with suggestions where to get started:
https://lithub.com/dont-know-where-to-start-with-colson-whitehead-heres-a-readin...

review
LauraJ
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

The best way to describe this is Literary Noir. It‘s my favorite Colson Whitehead book so far. It‘s about being an outsider and elevators. Difficult to describe, but perfect if you‘re looking for a unique read.
#AuthorAMonth

NeedsMoreBooks I enjoyed this one 😊 5y
jessinikkip 😂 The cat doesnt look extremely pleased by the book 5y
Soubhiville What a great photo! 5y
Soubhiville Logged, that‘s 11📚 5y
73 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Soubhiville
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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We‘re in the last week of February and so, it‘s the last week to post your reviews for Colson Whitehead for #AuthorAMonth. Please be sure to use the hashtag, tag me, and post as a review to get your books logged. As of 6pm central time I‘m caught up, feel free to check that all your reviews say “Logged 📚” and tag me if I missed one.

So far there have been 43 reviews of his books! I‘m amazed at the level of participation, and so happy 😁.

See All 15 Comments
Bookwormjillk This has been fun! 5y
LibrarianRyan 😁👍🏻 5y
AmyG Thank you! 5y
Eggs Thanks Soubhi for doing this 💗💗💗 5y
erzascarletbookgasm That‘s it for me this month, just one book, as that‘s the only book of his I own. Thank you for your hard work. 5y
Cinfhen Unfortunately I bailed on my Whitehead 😕I had already read Underground Railroad & The Nickel Boys. Hoping to read a Murakami next month. I bailed on 👉🏽 (edited) 5y
TrishB Thanks 👍🏻 5y
TheAromaofBooks Thanks for the update!! Loved Backman, but Whitehead wasn't my style. Looking forward to trying another new author for March!! 5y
ValerieAndBooks I look forward to next month (next week?! 😳) , since I have several of Murakami‘s books in my TBR! How many of them I‘ll actually get to, we‘ll see 😊 5y
Mdargusch Thanks for motivating me to finally read books on my TBR! 5y
MoonWitch94 Didn‘t get to anything in February but March is looking up already!!! 5y
86 likes15 comments
review
NeedsMoreBooks
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

Unpopular opinion but I actually liked this better than The Underground Railroad. Set in a parallel past universe, where elevators are super important, it focuses on Lila Mae Watson, a colored elevator inspector. She is framed for an accident and the story chronicles her search for the truth and to clear her name. The different aspects of racism made it a better read but there was quite a lot of theory on the mechanisms of elevators #AuthorAMonth

LauraJ I agree! My favorite Whitehead book. 5y
Soubhiville Logged, that‘s 7📚 5y
NeedsMoreBooks @Soubhiville thank you 💖 5y
Soubhiville 😊🥰 5y
46 likes3 stack adds5 comments
review
TheAromaofBooks
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Mehso-so

Sometimes a book makes me feel kind of dumb, and this was one of those books. I never really "got" what Whitehead was driving at. Is this some kind of allegory? (I'm terrible at both identifying and understanding allegories, being more the straight-shooter type haha) The story is very slow moving, with sometimes confusing jumps in time and characters. (Who is the screaming man?) I wanted to know what was going to happen, but never felt connected⬇️

TheAromaofBooks to the characters or the story. It's incredibly rare for it take me more than a day and a half to read a book this length, and it took me almost four days to get through this one, and not even because I was reading other things - just because I never really felt interested in picking it back up. Not a horrible read, but not one I particularly liked. Still planning to read The Underground Railroad next week to give Whitehead another try. 5y
Suet624 I find this author to be hit or miss. 5y
See All 7 Comments
TheAromaofBooks @Suet624 - I found a description of this book listing it as “speculative fiction“ and I think that may have been part of my problem with it. I would have liked it better if the setting was either more significantly different from our world, or was just straight historical fiction. Still interested to give him another try, though. Which of his books have you found to be more hits than misses? 5y
Suet624 @TheAromaofBooks Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys are ones I would lean toward. 5y
TheAromaofBooks @Suet624 - cool, I have Underground Railroad out from the library as well!! Hoping to try that one next week. 5y
Soubhiville Logged, that‘s 3📚 5y
65 likes7 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Maybe I will actually finish this one while getting brake work done??

Also loving this bookmark @Crazeedi sent me a while back. ❤️

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TheAromaofBooks
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Having trouble connecting with this one. A lot more technical information about elevators than I was anticipating! 😆

Soubhiville It‘s really interesting to me that I‘m seeing folks love his most recent 2 books, but not really enjoying his backlist. (edited) 5y
SamAnne @Soubhiville I‘ve thought the same thing. Whitehead was on my TBR list for awhile before I picked up Underground Railroqd. Loved it and read Nickel Boys. I‘ve been following along on this reading challenge to choose my next one and there have been some mixed reviews. 5y
AmyG @Soubhiville i read John Henry Days and found it to be overly wordy. The man can write and some of the descriptions were brilliant. But he seems to have honed and pared down his writing in his most recent two books. It made them more enjoyable to read and more focused on the story itself. 5y
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TheAromaofBooks @Soubhiville @SamAnne @AmyG - glad I'm not alone. I've noticed some of the more lukewarm reviews of his older books as well. I think I'm slightly hampered in this story by not really knowing anything about elevators, so I don't know how much of this stuff is completely made up, how much of it is real, and how much is in between. It has an almost magical realism flavor that isn't really my style, despite being an interesting story. 5y
SamAnne @TheAromaofBooks well, how much do you really want to know about elevators LOL? 5y
TheAromaofBooks @SamAnne - okay, good point! 😆 5y
61 likes6 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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#weeklyforecast - currently reading the tagged book for #authoramonth. The Breakwell is my #bookspin title and Watership Down is my last #LMPBC read!! The others are just for fun!!
@Cinfhen

review
Eggs
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

2nd Whitehead read-February!! Clever and eloquent, Whitehead‘s writing style is impeccable, and the premise and resolution are one-of-a-kind. Lila Mae Watson, the first black female elevator inspector, has the highest rate of success—she is an Intuitionist, judging the safety of an elevator by simply riding it. As opposed to the Empiricists who actually examine cables and such. But 1 day Lila‘s elevator crashes for no reason?? #authoramonth2020

TheAromaofBooks I have this one from the library!! I think I'm going to read it next week. Glad you give it a thumbs up! 5y
Eggs Hope you like it too! 5y
Soubhiville Logged, this is 7!📚 5y
Eggs Thanks Soubhi❣️ @Soubhiville 5y
68 likes6 stack adds4 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Today's #libraryhaul is mostly Whitehead books for #AuthoraMonth. I've never read any of his books, so I am looking forward to giving him a try!

Starless Sea also came back in. I wasn't in the head space for it when I had it around Christmas, but am hoping to get into it this go-round.

An Episode of Sparrows is a random book from my TBR that I know almost nothing about!

All in all, a good haul.

@Soubhiville

vivastory I really liked Apex Hides the Hurt 5y
TheAromaofBooks @vivastory - I was intrigued at how all of his books sounded different from one another. Probably won't start one until next week, but I'm looking forward to trying them. 5y
BookishMe I picked up Underground Railroad too! I have a copy of his book but it'll have to wait ;p hope to finish Starless Sea and Night Circus this year... I like her writing! 5y
TheAromaofBooks @BookishMe - I really love The Night Circus a lot, although I know its floaty style isn't for everyone. Starless Sea came in at the library for me right at Christmas/New Year's and there was just too much going on for me to really focus on it, and I quickly realized that if I tried to make myself read it then, I wasn't going to enjoy it, so I sent it back and put myself back on the waiting list haha Things are quieter now, so I'm hopeful!! 5y
BookishMe @TheAromaofBooks 👌🏾👌🏾happy reading! 5y
66 likes5 comments
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LauraJ
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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“It‘s a new elevator, freshly pressed to the rails, and it‘s not built to fall this fast.”
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

ShyBookOwl Yikes! 5y
54 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ATB
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Transitioning from work to book in my roost here at the Library.

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LauraJ
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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My cats‘ favorite boxes are #indiespensable. Cecil won‘t even give me a chance to see what‘s in the box! @Powells
#catsoflitsy

Soubhiville Haha! My Froedrick is the same way. All the boxes belong to him. That‘s cute. 5y
llawela Aww what a beauty 5y
ValerieAndBooks 😍 aww! I love him!! 5y
43 likes3 comments
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stephanie_reads
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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“But who can resist the seductions of elevators these days, those stepping stones to Heaven, which make relentless verticality so alluring?”

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EmilieGR
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
Pickpick

Upscale sci-fi

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stephanie_reads
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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I forgot to post my tiny haul from Independent Book Store Day! I‘m excited to read both of these!!

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JLaurenceCohen
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead

While it begins as a who-done-it tale of sabotage and guild politics, The Intuitionist ends as a profound reflectuon on the strategies of masking, passing, and camoflauge practiced by African Americans to survive in the US.

7 likes1 stack add
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alimabean
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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“She thinks, these white men see her as a threat but refuse to make her a threat, cunning, duplicitous. They see her as a mule, ferrying information back and forth, not clever or curious enough to explore the contents. Brute. Black.” // Took me a bit to get into this one, but now I‘m hooked!

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alimabean
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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“We conform to objects, we capitulate to them. We need to reverse this order. It is failure that guides evolution; perfection provides no incentive for improvement, and nothing is perfect.”

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Bookish.Leftist.Auntie
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
Bailedbailed

A bit disappointed because CW's writing is incredible yet I simply could not get into this one. I may try again sometime but for now it's a DNF for me. The story didn't ever flow comfortably for me and the subject matter couldn't hold my interest.

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CaitlinR
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

Colson Whitehead‘s 1st ...who knew elevators could be so fascinating. Lila Mae is a black “intuitionist” elevator inspector in an organization that rewards the empirical approach and where people like her simply don‘t hold these jobs. Is the accident a fault of her approach, or is someone trying to force her out. Whitehead uses this unusual canvas to explore racial and sexual discrimination as well as new technologies. Great read.

RaimeyGallant Interesting! 7y
17 likes1 stack add1 comment
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WanderingBookaneer
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Thank you, @JenP , you shouldn‘t have. ❤️😘❤️

JenP Just a little thank you! I realized I already had your mailing address so@you got something any way. 😉 hope to book is good! 7y
103 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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mklong
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

Colson Whitehead‘s writing is so brilliant that I hate him a little out of sheer, blind jealousy. On its surface this is an alternate history set mystery in the glamorous and high stakes world of...elevator manufacture and inspection. Yes, really. It is so much more than that though. For starters, it‘s a biting racial allegory and political commentary, but even that barely scratches the surface. There are so many layers here, it is astounding.

mrozzz Great review! 7y
TrishB What @mrozzz said 👍 7y
batsy Lovely review, the book sounds fascinating. 7y
RohitSawant Fantastic review! 7y
50 likes7 stack adds4 comments
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mklong
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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1. My nerdy pumpkin!
2. The tagged book, it‘s one of my November book club picks
3. Dark. I‘ll eat milk chocolate too, but you can have all of my white chocolate
4. Fake jewelry. My allergy is real, but ladies feel free to use that allergy to your advantage
5. Hmmmm I‘m in the archives today and I guess the acid-free folders are yellow-ish
#HumpDayPost

Ms_T Best. Pumpkin. Ever. 7y
DivaDiane Love that pumpkin! 🎃🤓 7y
56 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Heidsalot
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

Loved it! Just finished it up as Joseph was going on stage at Pilgrimage Music Festival. And yes, I brought a backup book to read between acts. 😁

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Well-ReadNeck
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Panpan

This was my book club pick this month. Full disclosure: I picked it. Had heard it was masterful. But, I have to be honest, I just didn't really get it. There were soooo many things going on here. I enjoyed the first 80 pages, then it sort of turned into the Fountainhead and got way too confusing for me.

Robothugs I thought that image was on the book at first. I was thoroughly confused. 😂 7y
ephemeralwaltz @Robothugs me too😂😂😂😂 7y
RiotMom @Robothugs same! ? I was like "I didn't get that cover on mine!" 7y
83 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Birdsong28
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

Good. Well written even though at times the story felt a bit disjointed as it kept on jumping from one character to another or one scene to another and there is no real ending.

#Fleet
#LittleBrownBookGroup

13 likes1 stack add
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malloryomeara
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pickpick

Whoa. This book isn't a page turner, but it's a page savorer. Whitehead is a wildly talented writer. The sentences are gorgeous. This examination of race and society is incredible and fascinating and just strange enough to be perfect.

15 likes1 stack add
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BkClubCare
The Intuitionist: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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"Hey, Jane Eyre," Ben Urich says brightly when Billy unlocks the door. "Good book."
"Good enough," Billy mumbles.

Am still at the car dealers waiting... Thankfully I have a good book. #booksreferencingbooks

24 likes2 stack adds