Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

5 reviews

citybookspgh's review against another edition

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challenging slow-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

Rambling. Didn’t hold my attention. Disappointing. 
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bookgurl488's review against another edition

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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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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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bandysbooks's review against another edition

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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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butyougotmysoul's review against another edition

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

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.  I will say up front - this novel has several typos and errors that made some of the storyline hard to follow - the wrong names in some places makes everything a little difficult unless you're reading extremely closely.  With that all being said - I had a little bit of a hard time with this novel - there were points where the plot FLEW by, but then other times that seemed extremely extraneous.  I'm not entirely sure why some parts were added to the novel.  All that aside, I did enjoy this book overall.
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