The United States has a rich tradition of great literary surnames: Twain, Hemingway, Melville, Steinbeck each is immediately recognizable, tied to a range of works that captured the zeitgeist of a particular historical moment. In our present cultural climate, where literature's power as an artistic force has dimmed, such names have become uncommon. Whitehead may be one of the few that carries equivalent power. It stands for elegant, unpretentious prose, and a preoccupation with themes of virtue and identity in an America that continues to wrestle with its complicated history of racial injustice. More than that, it usually comes attached to thoroughly enjoyable novels.
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