5 Reasons Supermarket Is the Breakout Novel You Didn’t See Coming

Supermarket, by Bobby Hall—also known as rapper Logic—is one of those books that seemed to come out of nowhere. This mindbending debut has rocketed up the bestseller lists despite almost zero advance publicity, and it’s generating tons of buzz—for very good reason. In fact, Supermarket is one of the year’s most unexpected delights—and here are five reasons it’s going to surprise the heck out of you.
Bobby Hall, aka…
This is Hall’s debut novel, but not his debut everything, because Bobby Hall is Sir Robert Bryson Hall II. And Sir Robert Bryson Hall II is the rapper Logic, behind multiple number-one rap albums and the quintuple platinum hit song 1-800-273-8255. Logic apparently decided to write a novel when his manager told him “Yeah, dude, you can’t write a book.” Based on how well Supermarket is doing, someone please tell Logic he can’t cure cancer or solve world peace, like pronto.
Nothing Up His Sleeves
To say that Supermarket is a mindbender is an understatement. No spoilers here, but what’s really remarkable is how Hall doesn’t hide the fact that this novel is going to mess with you. He overtly breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to readers in the very first chapter, alerting us to the fact that he—or the main character—is fully aware you’re reading a book. And that’s just the beginning of the mind-screwing you will endure in this novel. On the surface, it’s the story of a frustrated, dissatisfied young man who takes a job at a supermarket to research a novel he’s writing. He takes notes on everyone he works with, and takes inspiration from the events at the store. That’s level one of a hundred, but the way he admits the surface trick may tempt you to relax.
Do not relax. Buckle up.
The Soundtrack
Logic’s a musician, so it’s not surprising that music plays a big role in the novel. Narrator Flynn cites songs that have affected his life, and bonds with the people around him via a shared love of music. Songs and bands are name-dropped regularly, and they’re often the sort of crate-diggers that will have you scouring the internet for information. But as a wonderful surprise, Hall also released a bona-fide soundtrack to the book, of all original music. The soundtrack both augments the reading experience and offers a unique opportunity to get inside the head of a writer while reading their work.
The Themes
It might be tempting, going in, to classify this work as a celebrity’s book, or a work of metafiction that exists just to break some rules. But Logic’s an artist who has been upfront about his struggles with mental health, an artist whose biggest hit is literally the National Suicide Prevention Hotline number. It should come as zero surprise that Supermarket is ultimately a raw and powerful rumination on how depression and mental illness can conspire to destroy a life—and how that destruction is not inevitable. Ultimately, this is a book of hope, a story that assures us all that we might be messed up, but we can—and should—survive.
Two for One
In a lot of ways, the most surprising thing about Supermarket is that it’s really two stories in one. There’s a complete arc in the first half of the book, a whole story. Then the second half of the book deconstructs the first half and makes of it a whole new narrative, that doesn’t so much replace the first half as reinvent it and assimilate it into something bigger. Because Hall doesn’t hesitate or use half-measures, he simply rips the band-aid away when it comes time to reveal the big twist. Where other authors might have made a meal of it, Hall tears through it with a wild energy that perfectly matches the events being described.
Best of all? There’s a point. Hall brings it all home with a satisfying ending, solidifying Supermarket as not just one of the more surprising books of 2019, but also one of the most assured debut novels of all time.