A great exploration of everyday crime in 1960s New York City—the kind of crime about getting by, getting through, and only occasionally about getting even. I enjoyed how each section jumped forward and was its own short episode—each built on the one before, but was self contained. It built up an impression we were checking in with this group of people over time, seeing how events of the previous chapters/capers were ricocheting through their lives. I also enjoyed how the omniscient narrator seemed to speak with full knowledge of the end of the chapter and the results of each tale of criminal malfeseance, and so would occasionally drop a heavy hint to a twist or shocking outcome right before the main events—a narrative enticement to keep reading that I fall for literally every time.

This is my third Colson Whitehead novel which I have had the pleasure to read. Whitehead is gifted in drawing you into a world that he paints, so much so that you start to second guess if you don't actually live in the 1960's and are observing the protagonist's life right alongside them.

Carney walks the thin line between what is straight and crooked. The crooked side lets him dream of a bigger home for his family, however he is careful not to stray too far. But what happens when he is yanked across the line? How will he shake the responsibility thrust upon him? Harlem Shuffle follows Carney as he navigates the fine fence between "good" and "bad."

This story keep you on your toes. Constantly looking over your shoulder to see who is keeping their eye on you. This novel has me looking forward to the next world that

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday for access to this title for my honest review.

Colson Whitehead is certainly a good writer and I found myself smiling or chuckling at quite a few of his phrases, BUT, somehow, on the whole, Harlem Shuffle was a whole lot of nothing much of a story. I definitely enjoyed being immersed in the Manhattan of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and specifically the Harlem neighborhood. But there were so many characters to keep track of that it was hard to follow the story. Also lots of name-dropping of famous people who really had nothing to do with the story. There were a lot of asides that added some historical point of information, such as the mention of how NYC demolished Seneca Village to create Central Park, thus displacing a lot of black people, and lots of information on home furnishings (the main character owns a furniture store in Harlem), but these didn’t really move the story forward. It seems I’m in the minority when it comes to Colson Whitehead’s books, generally enjoying them but not gushing over how great they are.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

While I received the eARC from NetGalley, I wound up mostly listening to the published audiobook by Random House Audio on a long plane flight. The narrator, Dion Graham, did an excellent job with the many voices.

I am a big fan of Colson Whitehead’s books so I was really excited when it was announced he had a new book coming out this year. The plot of this book felt really different than his others but his rich writing style never disappoints regardless of the subject.

Harlem Shuffle is a wonderful mixture of mystery, historical fiction, and pop crime novel. Set in 1960s Harlem, we meet Ray Carney. Ray owns a furniture store that’s part legit business and part front for other dealings that Ray finds himself involved - particularly when his cousin Freddie swings by. We meet his family, friends, employees, and business acquaintances along the way.

Whitehead’s way with words allows the reader to really visualize the city. You can see the people and the way they dress. The furniture store, apartments, diners, and other buildings come to life.

I don’t want to give away too much as to not ruin the plot but I really did enjoy this one and will always pick up any new Colson Whitehead book!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Although I found the descriptions of the characters and 60's Harlem to be interesting, the novel was very repetitive and, at times, slow. There was neither enough plot nor action for the book to be engaging. The criminal activity was more background, rather than the center of the story.

I’ll start with what I loved- the writing in this book is pure Colson. Always a treat to enjoy his unique comparisons and vivid descriptions.

Unfortunately, I found this one tough to follow and not a terribly cohesive story. Perhaps it’s just me and how I like to enjoy a story, but the jumps in time were loosely connected and it felt like skimming the surface instead of diving into the characters.

Ray Carney is a furniture store owner in 1960's Harlem whose straddling the line between the honest life with his wife and kids and the crooked life as a fence. His cousin Freddie is no help in his endeavors to follow the honest path, but the money earned from his work as a fence will help to give his family a more comfortable life. As we follow him through pieces of his life as a fence, we learn that the two halves aren't as separate for him, or anybody else, as he would like to believe.

If you go into this book wanting a good crime caper, you will be disappointed. Thats how I went into it, and I nearly DNF'd it as a result. This, to me, is much more of a historical fiction character study of Ray and those he crosses paths with. Once I saw it this way, it enhanced my reading experience tremendously and I'm glad I pressed on. I liked getting to know the characters and how Whitehead made the city itself a character of the book.

One complaint is that there is a LOT of narrative (there are more details about furniture in this book) and sometimes it became a slog to get through. Overall, I'd recommend to those who enjoy a more character driven novel.

Thank you to Doubleday Books, author Colson Whitehead, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

A gloriously entertaining novel of heists, shake downs and rip offs set in Harlem in the ,960s, come from Pulitzer prize winning author Colson Whitehead. What I loved moat was the struggle the main character, Ray Carney, faces between living his family friendly life versus the life he lives underground, in the complicated world of 1960s Harlem. What wasn't my favorite was the author's writing style. It was difficult for me to follow as it jumps around a lot from viewpoint to viewpoint and character to character. For me this is not a style that I engage in well. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this writing and fully believe that this will soon become a classic. My favorite quote from this book was "How long do you keep trying to save something that has been lost?" Stopped me in my tracks. Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for an advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is my second book by Colson Whitehead and the second I struggled to finish. . The setting is amazing and Colson Whitehead is a great author but perhaps not for me.
Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.

Colson Whitehead does not disappoint in his newest novel, “Harlem Shuffle.” A tale of how one man, who goes by Carney, desperately wants to be on the “right” side of the law or fence and to run a legitimate furniture store. Carney longs to have a stable home for his wife and children. Unfortunately, his cousin’s rash decisions as well as his father’s criminal dealings from the past forces Carney to deal with the seedy-side of Harlem. Carney and his cousin become pivotal players in a heist that goes awry. Over the span of several years, Carney is haunted by his involvement all while trying to climb the social ladder to make a better life for himself and family.

Whitehead demonstrates how no matter how badly one strives for the “American Dream”, it often is just out of reach because of forces beyond our control such as race, class, and education. It is impressive how Whitehead examines such issues amidst creating a suspenseful story about a heist. The reader receives an education while being entertained. Equally impressive is how the 1950s & 1960s culture of Harlem is captured. The setting is developed so well that the reader can visualize it; this would be an amazing movie. An added bonus is the deep dive into Midcentury Modern furniture design, which the main character lives and breathes.

As a high school teacher, this book would be a great addition to a reading list for AP Literature & Composition because of the complexity of plot, characters, and setting.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me early access to this book. As I write this, this novel has become so popular that it is nearly impossible to check out at the library and is on the list for Goodreads list for 2021 Best Books of the Year.

atmosphere, voice, aspirations, corruption...atmosphere, voice, aspirations, corruption... this book has everything, presented like the saddest jazz song ever.

OH MY GOD this book is masterful! The only other book I've read by Colson Whitehead was Apex Hides the Hurt--which is an amazing book--and reading Harlem Shuffle cemented him in my mind as one of the best authors in America today. The setting of this book--1960's New York City--was perfectly executed by Whitehead. Gritty, colorful, a little dangerous; this book was full of life and had me compulsively turning every page. Funny, dark, suspenseful, and full of hope, Harlem Shuffle is not to be missed.

Perhaps Colson Whitehead is not an author for me. This is the second book I have tried to read and it has me scratching my head.

Ray Carney owns a small furniture store but takes in some hot items on the side for a little extra money. He is married to Elizabeth whose parents look down on her choice of husband. When the book opens she is pregnant with their second child. His cousin recommends Carney as a fence for the goods they plan to sell from a robbery of the Hotel Theresa. All sounds good but nothing ever really happens. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and I didn't care for a single one of them. I didn't know much about Elizabeth except she works at a travel agency. I did feel kind of sorry for her because she could have picked a man that wasn't slightly "bent" and risking the life that they had.

The thing is the book was beautifully written. I felt a strong sense of Harlem in the 1960s. Gritty and dark and isolated but it wasn't enough for me.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Doubleday.

Not as memorable as The Nickel Boys, or Underground Railroad, but enjoyed it. Appreciate the range, and breaking down of genre barriers (from zombie novel, Zone One, to near future allegory, The Intuitionist, and now crime fiction) Colson Whitehead is on a mission. Recommended.

Another example of a book that might be too literate for the audio format. I enjoyed parts of it and the character of Carney, but the sum was somewhat confounding. I'd like to go back and re-read.

My experience with Colson Whitehead is this: 1) I feel like I should love his books because he is clearly an immensely talented writer. 2) I abandoned Underground Railroad. 3) I liked The Nickel Boys. I think Whitehead is one of these authors who I can acknowledge as great and also say “he’s not for me”.

Harlem Shuffle was a slog for me and I ended up abandoning after 123 pages. Sometimes that 100 page mark is where things hook me, but after that, if I’m not invested by that point, I’m moving on. I’m not interested in finishing a book that will probably put me in a reading slump. I do like literary fiction so I don’t always need a plot to move quickly but so little was happening that I was literally getting sleepy and rereading sentences 3-4 times.

What I do think was done well was the setting. Harlem is a living being in this book and I could vividly imagine myself there. There are some sentences that just perfectly capture a mood or an expression or a feeling or even the whole season during which the story happens. If you’re a diehard Whitehead fan, you’ll probably love anything he writes, but if you’re already indifferent, I would just skip this one.

This is the first book I've read by Colson Whitehead. He is definitely a talented writer, and I think this book qualifies as Literary Fiction because of the depth of characters and the intense plot. It is a mystery, and I really like the main character Carney as we learn more about him and his family as the book.unfolds. There are some high class bad guys that remind of the Godfather. I could easily see this book being made into a movie for I think it would be a great movie! At times though the plot confused me. I want to read more of Whitehead's books. I strongly recommend this book!

3.5 stars

This is a book about 1960's Harlem and the crime sprees and layered relationships associated to them. There is some entertainment here as you think about how the furniture store down the street may be much more than it appears. To me, this book didn't draw me in to the story line as much as I had hoped. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and I didn't feel a connection to them.

I recently read Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. It was a big departure from the classics I normally read. It spanned 20 plus years of the life of a guy who lived in Harlem starting in the late 1940s. Considering my rural upbringing, this was far from anything I had been exposed to. It takes such different skills to live in an inner city. A worthy read for suburban students.
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This book was really interesting. It was a look inside 1960s Harlem. The setting was like another character in the book. And I loved all the characters and the language of this book. It was such an amazing book. Just be warned it does deal with some difficult issues.