Colson Whitehead has written a true masterpiece. Despite being a non-American person, I still appreciate the importance of this book. Aside from the sensitive central theme of the story, which is racial segregation, I see this as a good character study of someone who strives to find his own identity. The moral argument is subtly incorporated through good storytelling. Would you rather adjust in order to survive in an unforgiving world, dominated by unfair rules and standards or would you live as a good person no matter what people throws into you. In the end, I think through Elwood's development, we get to see his answer.

Which takes me to my next point: the plot twist. Yes. It was enjoyable, though I kinda expected it.

The reason why I rated this book 3 stars is primarily because of the writing style. Whitehead's prose lean more into non-fiction style, and sometimes there are some parts that seem didactic to me. There are also characters that just popped up out of nowhere and would disappear later on, which took me out of the story for quite some time.

All in all, like pain and itch, this book demands to be felt.