Glencarlyn Book Club: "The Nickel Boys"
 

Let's talk about books at Glencarlyn Library!
Join us at the Library for a book discussion on "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead.
The Glencarlyn Book Club is held monthly at Glencarlyn Library, on the last Tuesday of every month. Snacks and drinks will be provided.
We are reading:
- Jan. 28: "Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen
- Feb. 25: "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead
- Mar. 25: "Invisible Women" by Caroline Criado-Perez
- Apr. 29: "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
- May 27: "Happiness Falls" by Angie Kim
- Jun. 24: "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf
- Jul. 29: "The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler
- Aug. 26: "Dubliners" by James Joyce
REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED. By registering, you will receive event updates.
A limited number of reserved print copies of the selected book will be available at Glencarlyn Library circulation desk approximately one month before the book club meeting. Books are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons are also encouraged to place holds on available print or digital copies.
For more information, please call 703-228-6548.
- Date:
- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
- Time:
- 6:45pm - 7:45pm
- Library:
- Glencarlyn Library
- Audience:
- Events for Adults Good for Adults Age 55+
- Categories:
- Book Discussion
- Calendar:
- Arlington Public Library
- Location campus Glencarlyn Library
- Audience:
- Categories:
About the Book:
As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to heart: He is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grand-mother, Elwood is a high school senior about to start classes at a local college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides physical, intellectual, and moral training so that the delinquent boys in its charge can become honorable and honest men.
In reality, the Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors where the sadistic staff beats and sexually abuses the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear out back. Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr. King's ringing assertion Throw us in jail and we will still love you. His friend Turner thinks that Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble.
The tension between Elwood's ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision with repercussions that will echo down the decades. Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys' fates will be determined by what they endured at the Nickel Academy.
Based on the real story of a reform school in Florida that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.
About Our Events
Arlington County provides accommodations to individuals with disabilities upon request. Please contact us at least five (5) business days in advance.
- Phone: 703-228-5993
- Email: Jberg@arlingtonva.us