Reviews with content warning for Murder - Harlem Shuffle

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Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

41 reviews

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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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

elenatamsen's review against another edition

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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

eslsilver's review against another edition

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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

4.75

Content Warnings

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."

Search Similar Reviews:

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wrestleacademic's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

samsearle's review against another edition

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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

ninjamuse's review against another edition

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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

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

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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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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.

Content Warnings

kjulie's review against another edition

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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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