Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Harlem Shuffle

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Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

34 reviews

bookgurl488's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was about a man who was straddling two worlds. The first world was that of a family man that sold furniture in his store and the other one; was a two bit crook inherited from his father side of the family. The dichotomy of these worlds is what made this book interesting. He would not have survived these worlds without Pepper. He was awesome.

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zofoklecja's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Bardzo dobre. Gatunkowo raczej nie moja bajka. W pewnym momencie zagęszczenie nazw i nazwisk zaczęło mnie męczyć.

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knkoch's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Colson Whitehead is very talented. Every book of his I’ve read has felt important, but never the same. While The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad are essential, they’re also heavy; Harlem Shuffle felt zippy and exciting, almost like a crime or heist caper. Almost. Because it’s still set in Harlem in the 1960s, and its characters are very much entrenched in the context of that time: institutional racism, corruption, civil rights protests, and gradual, gradual change, through grit as much as through hustle.

Every character is handled so carefully, both in their virtues and flaws. Whitehead manages to convey so much of their backstory and personal philosophy without it ever feeling clunky or expositional. He handled time jumps and background more gracefully and seamlessly than anything I’ve read recently. I suppose I just have to read everything he’s written now and savor his expertise.

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ynna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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rmgilchrist's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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agnesg's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful informative mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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eegah's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A riveting anthology of stories about 1960s Harlem, showcasing Colson Whitehead's ability to transport you to a historical setting.

I can definitely see how this wouldn't work for everybody but it did for me. Enjoyed the interplay of all the different characters and elements.

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was really engaging and interesting! It almost felt like it had a couple different stories inside it, but in a way that completely worked.

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elenatamsen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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jessgreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Rating: ⭐⭐✨⬜⬜

Title: Harlem Shuffle

Author: Colson Whitehead

Genre: Heist Novel

Setting: Harlem, NYC, USA

Month Read: March 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2021

Publisher: Doubleday

Pages: 318

*Book of the Month Selection

TRIGGER WARNING-

Death / Murder / Drugs / Sex / Language / Crime / Racism

"Alma used the word settled the way less genteel people used motherfucker, as a chisel to pry open a particular feeling."

No Spoiler Summary:

Ray Carney is a black furniture salesman in Harlem, NYC in the 1960s. He comes from a hard family, his dad did crime and was rarely around, and his cousin Freddie is an on-again / off-again drug addict who ends up getting Ray involved in a heist of the Hotel Theresa. Once the heist goes off as planned, Carney stays in the crime world on the side, and used his money to upgrade his family status, as well as expand his growing furniture store.

You follow Carney through the 1960's in Harlem- race riots, heatwaves, and a cast full of characters from rich to poor, black to white, and seedy and seedier. Will Carney stay in his new double life, or will he have to pick between the two empires he's built?

Review:

I really get why people like this novel a lot, and Colson Whitehead in general- his writing is captivating and beautiful and he paints a scene better than a looooot of authors I've read. However, after this and Nickel Boys, I have to come to the hard conclusion that Whitehead's books just aren't for me- and that's okay! You won't like every book you read, or every author, and even if they're highly rated and highly hyped, some things just don't stick with you. That's really how I felt about this book, as much as I really tried to love it.

The characters were interesting, and having lived in Harlem I LOVED the setting, and could almost see the buildings and locations set. I just wish that it was a faster book? It took me over a month to read 319 pages, which is not usual for me, and eventually had to get down to a 'just finish this one chapter per day' way to get through it because I hate to DNF a book, especially when I'm already halfway through something before I realize how much I don't like it.

If you like a slow build heist novel with an open ending (Whitehead said in an interview on Book of the Day, I think, that there will be a sequel) this is for you. I personally think this book would work great in a television format, but he also said in that same interview he isn't open to adapting this.

Recommendation:

Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale Jr

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

"You have to have an inside you, she used to say, and an outside you. Ain't nobody's business who you are really, so it's up to you what you gave them."

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