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skudiklier's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide
bjerz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Death of parent
kabamango22's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Violence
elenatamsen's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment
beccabarpel's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.5
Whitehead's novels are always worth reading. His characters are layered and take the usual tropes to a deeper level. The tone and details make it obvious that he did his research. The portrayals of the intersections of class and race and education make the separations between each group muddy and distinct at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, and Violence
jessgreads's review against another edition
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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Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Rape, and Abandonment
samsearle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
ninjamuse's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse and Police brutality
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder