Book 12 – “Apex Hides the Hurt” by Colson Whitehead

Apex Hides the Hurt by Colson Whitehead is a book I seem to have acquired through a monthly book subscription I no longer use. I had previously read Zone One by the same author and had been underwhelmed with how he had used a great idea and I found the same thing with this current book – I felt that there was a lot more potential to create a book that would grip me more. As ever, these are personal views and it may be that others enjoyed these books a lot more than I did.

Apex Hides the Hurt is about names and what they reveal or hide of the essential nature of things. The main character of the book is someone who names things for a living (a nomenclature consultant). Usually he names items for sale but in this instance he has been asked to be involved in the naming of a town.

Winthrop was named for its richest and most important man, a white man who was one of three trustees of the town. The town had originally been named Freedom by the ex-slaves who founded it but their town had gradually been taken over by Winthrop and his family and eventually it had been named after the rich white man who controlled its wealth. Now, the Winthrop family are no longer powerful and the town is considering a new name to think of the future.

The consultant examines the three names and learns of the history of the town and how the names have disguised and covered over the truth of what has happened. The consultant is never named in the book but we learn about his past too and how things that have been covered over have caused him harm. The message of the book is that renaming things doesn’t eradicate unfairness and injustice and that it doesn’t prevent decay.

I thought that the idea of a nomenclature consultant was fascinating and that the notion of a town changing its name to reflect the aspirations and loyalties of the inhabitants was very interesting. I didn’t, however, find the book engaging. I thought that the main character was very odd and none of the other characters particularly likeable or well developed. The idea was great but the actual novel was clever rather than gripping and I certainly didn’t find it the “comic tour de force” it has been described. Colson Whitehead is a highly regarded writer and his books win awards but it seems that his style doesn’t resonate with me.