APEX HIDES THE HURT by Colson Whitehead

Reviewed by Melissa Fish

What’s in a name? Colson Whitehead addresses this age-old question in his intriguingly-titled Apex Hides the Hurt, a novel that focuses primarily on the character and experiences of a nomenclature consultant who travels to a small rural town undergoing a name-changing crisis. The town’s history, future growth potential, and race relations all fall central to the debate as three different sects of residents clash over what the town should be renamed. Caught in the crossfire, the nameless protagonist must, as an outsider, struggle to uncover the truth about the town’s history and spirit. Interwoven throughout the narrative of the town is the personal story of the consultant’s past. As the story progresses, this conjoining of past and present reveals an inherent connection between the tale of the town and the tale of the protagonist until it gradually becomes apparent that, for the consultant, to rename the town is to rediscover his own soul. (more…)