

In a review in The Boston Globe, Saul Austerlitz called it a "wickedly funny new novel". It was highlighted among The New York Times 100 Most Notable Books of the Year, and also highlighted among 100 noteworthy books from 2006, as published by The Charleston Gazette. Overall, the novel was critically well received. The article made Whitehead question how a similar process is used to assert a certain control over one's environment (his example is a boulevard named after a particular person), and yoking the two concepts was the beginning of the ideas that led to his composition of the novel. In an interview with Alma Books, Whitehead states that the concept of the book originated from an article about the naming process for new pharmaceuticals such as Prozac. Following this, the consultant promptly returns home, where his foot injury continues to bother him even more than before. This led to the amputation of his toe, his departure from the nomenclature firm, and the beginning of his hermetic lifestyle.Īfter much deliberation, the consultant decides on the name "Struggle", the original idea of the other of the two original founders, Field.

Because of the colored bandage, he never discovered how his toe was badly infected, and fainted on the sidewalk after fleeing from an awards party. After repeatedly stubbing his toe and covering it up with Apex bandages, the consultant accidentally stepped into pig feces during a company team retreat.

#Apex hides the hurt free
Winthrop wants to keep the name Goode wants the town to revert to the name it bore at its founding as a town of free blacks, Freedom while Aberdeen wants to call it "New Prospera".Īs the consultant talks with the residents of the town and investigates its history, the backstory of his injury is gradually revealed.
#Apex hides the hurt software
However, three key citizens disagree what the name should be: Albie Winthrop, descendant of the town's namesake (who'd made his fortune in barbed wire) Regina Goode, the mayor (descendant of one of the town's two founders) and Lucky Aberdeen, a software magnate who's leading the drive to rename the town. He travels to the town of Winthrop after requests from the town council, which has proposed that the town be renamed. The novel begins with the main character being contacted by his former employer, which he had left after losing a toe.
#Apex hides the hurt skin
The protagonist of the book is an unnamed African-American "nomenclature consultant" who has had recent success in branding and selling Apex bandages, which come in multiple colors to better match a broad array of skin tones. The book is set in the fictional town of Winthrop.

In a positive review for American magazine Entertainment Weekly, Jennifer Reese called the book "a blurry satire of American commercialism", adding, "it may not mark the apex of Colson Whitehead's career, but it brims with the author's spiky humor and intelligence." The book was included among The New York Times 100 Most Notable Books of the Year for 2006. The novel has received mostly positive reviews from critics, with few negative comments. During his visit, the main character is introduced to several citizens attempting to persuade him in favor of their preferred name for the town. He is asked to visit the town of Winthrop, which is considering changing its name. The novel follows an unnamed nomenclature consultant who specializes in creating memorable names for new consumer products. Apex Hides the Hurt is a 2006 novel by American author Colson Whitehead.
