Though it is difficult to find a comparison between Hell of a Book and Jason Mott's other works, given that he is relatively a new author, Hell of a Book is certainly his most well-received piece. The novel is a story of personal understanding and race, something that Mott is able to relate to on a personal level.
Hell of a Book begins rather haphazardly, with a naked main character running through the halls of a hotel. It almost appears as if the book will be a sex comedy, given that the unnamed protagonist starts to hook up with everyone he meets.
However, the expeditious rise to fame of the author are likely the true reason for the chaos seen at the beginning of the novel. Now that his work has reached the hands of many, he is not quite sure what to do, and is trying to promote his book further on a book tour.
The fact that the main character does not have a name (or, at least, none is given) is something that really stands out in Hell of a Book. It could be representative of several things, but that is truly up to the reader to determine. For one, it could be that his dizzying stardom has brought him to be perceived and read by many people - but no one truly knows the real him. It could also be allegory for the struggles that he has faced discovering his own identity.
As the main character continues hearing stories about a Black boy that has been shot, the one begins to wonder, along with the famous author, whether this was a singular event or there are simply children being shot every day. Soot reveals his own story to the author, but that alone does not help him solve the mystery of why African Americans continue to struggle for equality. The main character also meets The Kid, but is unsure whether this person is simply of figment of his imagination.
Hell of a Book reveals the rather harsh truth that there might not be an answer to every question. Many things straddle the border between real and imaginary, and the unnamed main character unknowingly bounces between them.
