Outrageous, satirical, hilarious, provocative, farcical, mind-blowing, brilliant - this book looks to be the first huge hit of 2021. The premise is straight forward: a young Black man is plucked from his barista job at Starbucks to be groomed, trained, and set loose in the world of NYC sales. We encounter racist bosses, abusive training methods, questionable decisions, socioeconomic disparity, unequal friendships, white privilege, neighborhood gentrification, racial bias to the nth degree; in other words, ALL the problems in America today. Darren (aka Buck) is one of the most compelling characters I have ever encountered. As he tells his tale of how to succeed in sales, I found myself inspired, infuriated, perplexed, appalled, hopeful, you name it, with his behavior and actions. This book will turn your brain upside down, and could provide the best book club discussion of the year. In other words, do not miss reading this book.

Black Buck
By Mateo Askaripour

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

//Synopsis
Darren is twenty-two years old and perfectly content with his life working as a manager at a Starbucks, being able to hang out with this girlfriend, and living with his mom in their Bed-Stuy apartment. After Rhett Daniels, the CEO and founder of an NYC startup, spots something in Darren when getting his morning coffee, Darren starts down a path where he's called "Buck" and becomes a ruthless salesman. He changes into a person that his mother and oldest friends don't recognize, creating a schism between his past life and his new one. However, this path also leads to a chance for him to help other young people of color enter the whirlwind world of sales and success.

//Review
This book was truly a rollercoaster of a novel—in a good way. Buck was generally an unlikeable narrator for the first part of this book, but that was clearly intentional since it showed Buck's change, growth, and development over time. The book is written as a self-help/memoir that was geared toward teaching the reader how to be an effective salesperson. This format worked really well for me and this plot specifically because it allowed Buck to insert his own commentary and thoughts, which I think added a great element to the story. This narration also created a sense of foreboding throughout the book because you knew something was going to happen but you were not sure what it was or the nature of it. I feel like I spent the whole story waiting for the other shoe to drop and holding my breath. But all this did was keep me engaged and wanting to keep reading.

This story is plugged as a Wolf of Wall Street type story and satire, and for the first part of it, that's true. The workplace atmosphere that Rhett pulls Buck into very much screams the unbridled debauchery that that movie portrayed. However, even in the beginning during those scenes of heightened work-hard/play-hard mentality, the book's more serious themes still are prevalent. The issues and commentary of racism and racial tensions made me uncomfortable, agitated, and frustrated—and rightfully so. They all drew on today's realities and it's frighteningly not too far-fetched that those story lines and incidents could manifest in the real world, doubling the importance of the message and meaning of this book. This story packs a lot of punch into it and the ending really threw me (also in a good way)!

Thank you @netgalley @hmhbooks for this egalley in exchange for an honest review!

It’s been so hard for me to read this week because I’ve been actively trying to distract myself from obsessing over the election and state of the world while also playing myself and checking social media every 3.4 minutes. So I really wasn’t expecting to get any reading done this week and I was cool with that. But when I started reading this randomly on my commute to work and had a hard time putting it down amidst all of the foolishness, I knew it was🔥.

This book was engaging and suprisingly fun to read considering that it’s a satire focused on racism in startups. I really enjoyed @askmateo ‘s writing style and I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the characters, even when I wanted to slap some of them at times and while it’s different from the books I normally read, it’s a strong debut.

So I’m going to leave y’all with the synopsis and tell y’all to grab this when it comes out on January 5, 2021.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

There’s nothing like a black salesman on a mission.

An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother’s home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC’s hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.

After enduring a “hell week” of training, Darren, the only black person in the company, reimagines himself as “Buck,” a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he’s hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game.

#blackbuck

What. A. Trip.

Darren’s transformation into Buck takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions - from mildly uninterested to hating him to wanting him to succeed. He and the folks he surrounds himself with are all satirical depictions of societal archetypes. As a Latina in tech, some of these satirical points hit close to home and many were uncomfortable to sit through, BUT even in those uncomfortable moments, the driving force for Darren/Buck always seemed to be relatable (to an extent).

The layout of the book - sales 101 tips interwoven with the story - serves as an effective tool to keep the reader engaged with Buck’s reasoning. The chaotic pace helps make some of the wilder twists of the story seem almost organic (instead of straight up ridiculous).

Overall, Askaripour’s Black Buck is an interesting read. Def don’t go into the book with a closed mind or expecting a happy go-lucky trajectory.

This was such a thought-provoking read, and read in part like a memoir crossed with a self-help book for sales people. It is a huge commentary on racism, with some confronting situations for Buck, the only black employee at a tech startup. As the story progresses, we see how this affects Buck & what he does about it. Every character is unlikable for at least part of the story (some for all of it), but I think this was a story that had to have this.

I loved Black Buck. It was raw, original and honest. Honestly I could see it as a TV series. I felt it touches upon a lot of the issues BPIOC experience in the professional world and their personal life - feeling torn between two worlds. I did not expect that twist of an ending. I felt the characters were realistic and I think its a book that every teenager and adult should read. I hope Mateo keeps writing more books; we need his words.

This devastating dark satire of racism in tech startup culture grabs your attention and doesn't let go. Darren, a young black man working at Starbucks, is recruited into a cult-like workplace that challenges his identity and values. As the humiliations pile up, he seeks to find his own means of surviving and thriving in this all-white environment. Laser sharp humor, keen social insight, and mastery of dialogue make Askaripour a new author to watch.

The opening chapter of this extraordinary, satirical first novel is an author’s note penned by Darren, the protagonist. In it, he writes, “there is nothing like a Black salesman on a mission” and begins to tell the story of how he, as a directionless twentysomething living with his mother in Brooklyn and working in a midtown Starbucks, became that man. After being recruited as the only Black employee at Sumwun, a questionable start-up with a bizarre, cult-like atmosphere (replete with daily chanting), Darren is quickly christened Buck and absorbed into the increasingly high-pressure and often racist inner workings of the company. While he tries to square his growing discomfort in his new role in this strange, morally dubious workplace with the expectations of his family and friends, tragedy strikes, and Darren secretly begins a rival start-up focusing not only on training people of color to enter the white world of elite sales but also to revolutionize the industry. Askaripour has created a skillfully written, biting, witty, and absurdist novel that sheds light on racism, start-up culture, corporate morality, media bias, gentrification, and many other timely, important themes. Askaripour is an author to watch.

Really liked this one!! Black Buck is A debut novel that I’m so glad I had the chance to check out and I was impressed. This story line is interesting and well written. It's entertaining but also touches on some very relevant issues ongoing in today's society. I would definitely recommend this one to a friend.

This book is a rollercoaster - it took a bit to get going for me until it crested that first hill and then it was just one surprise/thrill after another. Bracing yet exhilarating! This will be a great book for handselling to patrons and I think it would lead to lively bookgroup discussions as well.

Startup Culture and Black America collide in this sharp, funny, and moving debut novel. Askaripour takes some big swings with the book's heightened satirical elements and it mostly works, especially with such well-drawn characters at the heart of the story. Such an interesting and poignant way to examine race and diversity in the modern workplace. It's a sad truth that white people are constantly threatened by people of color advancing in the world, but something that needs to be accepted as fact before we can move forward and do better. Books like this certainly help shine a light on institutional racism. It doesn't hurt that it's also a thematically rich and wildly entertaining novel that will surely show up on the best of 2021 lists.

I enjoyed the concept of this book. It was like a self help satire (is this a new category?) and had plenty of unexpected twists and turns. I didn't see the ending coming, and couldn't put it down.

The books is described as being “for fans of Wolf of Wall Street and Sorry to Bother You” and honestly I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Darren has been working at Starbucks for 4 years when one of his regulars offers him an opportunity which changes his life. He is propelled into the world of sales at a mysterious and over-the-top startup. What follows is a mock-memoir with shocking twists and turns.

I loved the dark and fast-paced tone of the story which drew the reader into the world of the story. I also enjoyed the timely discussions of race, privilege, and capitalism and explored the dark-side of ambition. Darren is a very well-written character and I keep going back and forth whether I like him or not, but either way his story always kept me on my toes. Would highly recommend this fresh story to everyone.

Thank you Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an advanced copy of this book, but as always al opinions are my own!

"Black Buck" by Mateo Askaripour is a novel about Buck, a man who strives to achieve his dreams by turning into a salesman after meeting a start-up CEO while he is working as a Starbucks barista. There were a few funny parts of this book, and I thought that some of the supporting characters were decent, but despite being fiction, I found this book to be pretty choppy and not rooted in logic. Buck's workplace was anxiety producing and some of his actions were just really sad. Others may view this book differently, but this is not one I would suggest.

This book is well written and has good character development I just couldn’t personally get into the story and found it a little bit of a struggle to keep reading. Either way it just left a little lacking for me personally. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Black Buck follows Darren "Buck" Vendor as suddenly finds himself working at a NYC-based internet start-up and his life changes more or less overnight. This book is satire and reminded me a lot of the Sellout by Paul Beatty in tone and theme. Black Buck moves quickly and is very readable. It lost one star for me as parts of it felt a little too far-fetched--even for a satire. Overall a very enjoyable and readable debut novel.

BLACK BUCK by Mateo Askaripour is a wild ride of a novel about a salesman, Buck, and his rise to success. Uniquely he tells his story directly to us, the reader, and there’s lots of little tips for us along the way. There were definitely some funny moments and some quite surprising things that happen that I didn’t see coming. I really liked the conversational tone and dialogue and the foreshadowing. Once I got to around the midway point I just couldn’t stop reading and had to find out how it would all end. I’d definitely be interested to read more from Askaripour in the future!

Black Buck is a whirlwind of a book that made me feel multiple emotions: hope, frustration, rage, and confusion.

Darren was a charismatic narrator and dynamic character to follow. He's funny, cool, and naive. Sometimes I'm cheering for him; other times I was rolling my eyes at him. In addition to Buck, Mateo Askaripour fills out the story with other interesting characters including Soraya, Rhett and Wally Cat.

The author also does a great job exploring various topics such as startup culture, blind ambition, and racism. When Darren first starts at his new job, he experiences racist hazing from a senior sales leader. While I found myself raging about Darren's abuse, I also related to how he justified the abuse. Swallowing racism to prove that you belong at the table. The author perfectly frames the frustration that minorities experience when trying to balance ambition with their humanity.

I still don't know how I feel about the end of the book. Scarily, the racism and craziness towards the end of the book was both over-the-top and completely realistic. I still don't know how I feel about the ending, but overall an adventure of a book that I flew through. I'm excited to see more from Mateo Askaripour.

Thank you to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the ARC.

Mr. Askaripour hits it out of the park! What an incredible read. Darren works at Starbucks, he is quite happy with his life and feels that his big break will eventually come. He is very bright, the valedictorian of his class. His friends and family think he is not living up to his full potential. One day Rhett, a founder of a start up company from several floors up in the same building walks in for a coffee. Darren proceeds to sell him on why he should try a new coffee rather than his usual. Rhett so taken with the young salesman ends up offering him a position in sales. Darren is nicknamed Buck, after Starbucks and remains Buck for the remainder of the story. He rises to success despite many obstacles including Hell Week and much discrimination. He begins to change with his success and not always for the better, at least that’s what his friends think. Many other reviewers have detailed more of the plot, I want to switch gears now and tell you about the characters and the writing.

Every single character left nothing to the imagination they were so well done. Each of them was complex and complete. I felt like I personally knew and was invested in every one of them. From Brian’s ticks, swearing and bad complexion to the brutal account executives roll playing during hell week, Ma, Jason, Soraya, Clyde and the rest of the cast. The writing is exquisite. I kept feverishly turning pages. The dialog written to express conversations in black slang was sensational, it puts the reader there. Even though I didn’t understand all the meanings, I eventually got most of it. Discrimination and reverse discrimination, it’s all here, in your face. It’s alive and well exactly as it’s written, no one can ignore it.

I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did. Many reviewers have written about the books humor. Honestly, there is some funny, lighthearted dialog but I did not find this book humorous.

I won’t give away the end but I have to say it plain blew me away! This one definitely has huge WOW factor. I’d give it ten stars if I could and I’m usually pretty stingy with five. GET YOUR COPY!

An enjoyable read, though some of the satire was a little heavy-handed. Still, a great illustration of white supremacy/backlash in the workplace that feels all too believable in these times.