Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

20 reviews

eegah's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Blood

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. 

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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

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

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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

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

wrestleacademic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Murder

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

ncoletti's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Sexual violence

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

davidrb's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense 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

5.0

STRONG, STRONG contender for my favorite book of the year, and certainly for my favorite published this year. Wonderfully paced, dryly funny, and with such a tight grasp on story and plot. I came out of it way more emotional than I banked for. The Count of Monte Cristo references...wow!

Savored every minute.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

There's a scene midway through the book that veers close to rape and will likely trigger people who are affected by sexual assault.

butyougotmysoul's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol