Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

8 reviews

knotekerin's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-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

3.75

not the easiest read but the character development made it worth the effort. plus i needed to know if Carney would get away with it all. Whitehead is an incredible writer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Classism

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark reflective tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

tigertheory's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

Just didn’t draw me in like Whitehead’s other books. As an EFL speaker, it was hard to keep up with all the dated slang at times and I have to be honest – sometimes I didn’t know what was going on at all. 
In terms  of style though, Whitehead portrays New York City and Harlem expertly and with so much wit that I was actually audibly laughing at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt

bel017's review against another edition

dark informative sad

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

 In 1960s Harlem, NYC, a black man tries to balance and separate his straight and criminal lives. 

Lots of CW for marginalised people living in desperate, violent, poverty stricken and oppressive situations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Grief, and Alcohol

rmgilchrist's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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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

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

na_no's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, Abandonment, and War