Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

34 reviews

for_esme_with_love's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious slow-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

4.0

My favorite kind of crime novel: one with no copaganda to be found! 

Set in 1960s Harlem, this noir thriller follows a furniture salesman wrestling with his commitment to remaining on the straight and narrow, all the while his path is increasingly filled with twists and disreputable turns. The narration is full of shrewd observations about a city that is crooked to its core, introducing us to a cast of deliciously unsavory characters. I loved the subtle humor -- witty repartee between characters and a protagonist who can't help but wax poetic on the value of a good sofa or dining room set, even in the most dire circumstances. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing and Forced institutionalization

The racism and homophobic displayed by some characters are definitely supposed to be bad, not the views of the author

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.25

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. The story had potential, but was not compelling in the way that, e.g., Deacon King Kong was, thinking about other literary writers turning to mid-century NYC for a crime caper genre. The stakes didn’t feel as high as I know they were supposed to, and it was hard to get into the characters’ motivations. The book got better generally as it went on—the third part was the best, but still not that good. This was shallow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was just okay for me. I found it a bit repetitive and a little tedious at points. I loved the New York setting and the sort of Mafia type feel that it had going on, but I didn’t find the characters all that compelling and the other plot got a bit predictable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

kjulie's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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

3.75

In the end I found that I appreciated this. I wasn’t sure if I’d finish it, as the writing style really didn’t work for me (it felt distracted and disjointed), but Colson Whitehead got me to eventually care about the characters! It’s loosely a collection of heist stories, but more directly the story of Ray Carney discovering who he is and what he’s capable of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Drug use and Homophobia

cybellet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

chasinash's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Starts slow and really picks up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, and Violence

skylaturner's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Police brutality, Death of parent, and Abandonment

habitualrereader's review against another edition

reflective 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? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed the characters and their voices, and the writing did a wonderful job of transporting you. That said, the novel didn’t feel particularly plot-driven, and the different parts of the book didn’t seem connected to one another aside from following the same characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Gun violence

badmom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Whitehead’s writing is rich & engaging, blending historical details about Harlem & civil rights with the plights of his multi-layered fictional players.  Even most of the side characters are vivid and meaningful, if only in helping the reader fully grasp the gravity of poverty + systemic racism in our society. The sparks of humor, sometimes dark and grim, remind us to appreciate the humanity in everyone we encounter. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Police brutality

klfgasaway's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Police brutality