The Intuitionist

E836741

The Intuitionist is Colson Whitehead’s debut novel, a genre-blending work of speculative fiction and noir that explores race, technology, and power through the story of a Black elevator inspector in a surreal city.

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf noir fiction work
novel
author Colson Whitehead NERFINISHED
centralTheme bureaucracy
power
professional ethics
race
technology
urban politics
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReception critically acclaimed
explores institutional racism
professional guild politics
technological utopianism and dystopianism
fictionalConcept Empiricist school of elevator inspection NERFINISHED
Intuitionist school of elevator inspection NERFINISHED
followedBy John Henry Days NERFINISHED
genre Afrofuturism
literary fiction
noir
speculative fiction
hasISBN 9780385493000
hasMotif elevators as symbols of social mobility
surveillance and inspection
influencedBy noir detective fiction
speculative urban fiction
language English
literaryMovement contemporary American literature
mainCharacter Lila Mae Watson NERFINISHED
narrativePerspective third-person narration
narrativeStyle detective fiction elements
genre-blending
notableFor allegorical treatment of race and modernity
innovative world-building around elevators
pageCount around 255
partOf Colson Whitehead bibliography
plotElement elevator accident investigation
protagonistEthnicity Black
protagonistOccupation elevator inspector
publicationYear 1999
publisher Anchor Books NERFINISHED
Doubleday
setting unnamed surreal city
targetAudience adult readers
timePeriodOfPublication late 20th century

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Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Colson Whitehead notableWork The Intuitionist