Book : Paul Beatty|Slumberland

Paul Beatty was already a well respected poet and performer when he published his raucous, wildly entertaining, incendiary first novel White Boy Shuffle. This was followed by the acclaimed and thought-provoking Tuff, and and anthology of African American humour, Hokum. Despite a potentially fraught relationship with ‘black’ or ‘hip-hop’ literature as a genre, Beatty transcends the ghettoisation of his work with his sheer originality.

Beatty arguably reached his most creative and innovative with his third novel, Slumberland. Described as ‘…about a disaffected Los Angeles dj who travels to post-Wall Berlin in search of his transatlantic doppelganger’ on the sleeve, the intro inevitably fails to convey the breadth and scope of Beatty’s imagination, or the skill and joy with which he conveys language. DJ darky’s voyage of discovery, from his job as a ‘jukebox sommelier’ in a Berlin bar to searching for the perfect beat, and performing for neo-Nazis is a backdrop for a dizzying exploration of music, language and culture, which conveys both the dexterity and the humanity of the author.

Put more simply; an immensely entertaining read.