Ray, Ray, Ray.... You wanted to be an overachiever and a crook at the same time. You knew that people who made it in your day didn't make it because they were hard workers. All of them had side hustles. They wouldn't accept you in their ranks before you became one of the bad boys who hid their side-business while working with police and crooks at the same time.

I love Colson Whitehead's New York stories as he always brings a new perspective. I liked how this story was divided into three parts to show Ray's ups and downs on both sides of his double life and how he managed to keep those separated. Eventually, the goodness in him, the overachiever in him saved his life and reputation in most of the cases. He put himself in very difficult positions when Harlem was burning down, yet he managed to prevail. This story is a great read to understand the times and divide between Harlem and below 100th street.

There was one quote I really liked (hoping it will be there for final cut): "Park Avenue was a like a chart in one of his economics text books illustrating a case study of a successful business, Manhattan street numbers on the x axis and money on the y. This is an example of exponential growth."

HARLEM SHUFFLE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just when you think you ‘know’ Colson Whitehead’s writing, he flips the script and releases a historical drama about a family tree entrenched in crime. I gobbled this one in one go.

Ray Carney is one of Pulitzer Prize winning author Colson Whitehead's liveliest and most accessible characters. "A little bit crooked, a little bit bent" is the capsule description that accurately fits this midcentury black man who wants to be the man he knows he has it in him to be - successful, admired and respected by upstanding neighbors and acquaintances in his Harlem community, a good husband and father providing a comfortable life for his family, and building his furniture business into a thriving enterprise . But the other side of his personality - the slightly crooked Carney - can't resist his regular walks on the wild side, especially that interval between sleeping abd waking when he indulges the opportunity to fence a few stolen items, sell what might have fallen off a truck or diverted to his back room on it's way to someone looking for a bargain . And despite his good intention, his feckless cousin and boyhood best friend Freddie keeps thwarting them and dragging him into hare- brained schemes that he knows will never turn out as expected They don't, of course, and the final one explodes into violence that threatens to turn Rays life - and his family - upside down ..A rollicking novel with an unforgettable protagonist .

This was totally different from any of the author’ s previous books. This book started out vey slow, however it picked up halfway through the book.

Harlem Shuffle offers a loving look at Harlem between 1959 and 1964. Ray Carney is the son of a crook and he decides he wants to be nothing like his Dad. He goes to college and wants to buy a furniture store. His seed money ends up being his father’s dirty money found after his death and that shaky start to respectability foreshadows how Ray’s life will proceed. While maintaining the veneer of a up and coming businessman, he becomes embroiled in his cousin Freddie’s heists as a fence and his life becomes entangled with Harlem’s criminal underworld. As always Whitehead’s writing is brilliant. The historical picture of Harlem is fascinating. The characters are all flawed but like able- even Pepper a hardened criminal who was a friend of Ray’s father has redeeming moments. I see another major award gracing Cookson Whitehead’s shelf with this one!

Colson Whitehead has a best seller in his new book, Harlem Shuffle. Life in Harlem is learning to survive under difficult circumstances. There is a fine line between being honest and basic needs. It is easy to rationalize doing something wrong for the right reasons. When the odds are stacked against you how can you ever come out on top? This is where honesty and decency collide .with reality. In the end, there are no winners, just survivors. Everyone should read this book.

Ray Carney is a furniture salesman in Harlem in the early 1960's, trying to build a life for himself and his family that will provide a better life than the one he had as a child. His dad was a street thug, always pulling jobs and using muscle to stay safe. Ray is determined to stay straight, away from his childhood of crime, but keeps getting pulled into schemes by his cousin Freddy, who has more dreams than sense. Ray's life becomes more and more complicated as he tries to keep the two sides of it apart and tries to keep himself and his family safe. What struck me most about Harlem Shuffle was the fact that it could have been written as a present-day story and there would be very little difference in the social makeup of NYC and the nation as a whole.

Solid 4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC. Really enjoyed this book and loved the characters. The author grabs the reader from the very beginning. Will definitely recommend and hope to see it out on audiobook too. Especially if it has a cast of characters

As a Harlem native I was extremely excited to read this, and it did not disappoint. It’s my first time reading Colson Whitehead and I completely understand why he’s a legend. It’s charming and atmospheric, really puts you in the heart of the city.

DNF at 22%. This book is thoughtful and very well written, but it just isn't for me. I was expecting a thrilling plot with a focus on the actual heist (a la Six of Crows), but the heist happened off-screen and is only briefly recounted by a side character. It reads more like a historical family/contemporary drama with a little bit of humor. I would recommend Harlem Shuffle to anyone who likes racial commentary/drama set in the 1950s or 60s.

4 stars for a book about Harlem, New York city, from the late 50s to the late 60s. The author calls this book "a love letter to Harlem.". This book is more about the changes in culture than about crime . It is narrated by Ray Carney, son of Mike Carney, a small time crook. Ray wants to go straight and opens a furniture store. But he accepts merchandise from questionable people to sell. His contacts with the underworld bring him into dangerous situations. How he resolves them amid the changes in society, including riots and civil rights protests, makes for an enlightening window into Harlem during this period. I recommend it to historical fiction fans and crime fans.
I read this book in two days.
One quote: "Put it like, that, an outside observer might get the idea that Carney trafficked quite frequently in stolen goods, but that's not how he saw it. There was a natural flow of goods in and out and through people's lives, from here to there, a churn of property, and Ray Carney facilitated that churn. As a middleman. Legit."
Thanks to Doubleday for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
HarlemShuffle #NetGalley

i just. i don't have any words to successfully describe colson whitehead's writing. i have never not been blown away and gut punched and torn apart by his work, and this is no exception. we are so lucky to have such a masterful writer, and i feel so lucky to be able to read his work.

I needed to reorient myself after reading Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whiteheard because I had just spent three days immersed in late 1950s to mid 1960s Harlem. Our tour guide through the novel is Ray Carney, an enterprising family man who's "only slightly bent when it comes to being crooked". Carney's contacts range from criminals to pillars of society, and some who are both. His assortment of associates embroils him in heists and plots throughout the book. As the reader traverses the intrigues and the neighborhood, Whitehead never allows us to get lost. He consistently focuses on his characters' humanity. We see where they came from, where they want to go and what matters to them. Whether Carney will become the first Black salesman licensed to carry a popular line of furniture is as important to him and to us as whether a heist plan will succeed. It's those little moments of everyday people living their everyday lives that make the novel, like its subject, great.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Harlem Shuffle is very different from Colson Whiteheads most popular books. If you’re expecting another Underground Railroad, this is not your book. If you’re up for a crime caper in Harlem in the 1960s civil rights era that sometimes makes you laugh and sometimes makes you cry, this is right up your alley!

Thank you to Doubleday and Netgalley for this ARC!

"Harlem Shuffle" by Colson Whitehead

Pub Date: 9/14/2021

Summary:
Set in Harlem, New York during the 60's, Raymond Carney, a furniture salesman, Is trying live life as an entrepreneur on the straight and narrow. However, his cousin Freddie keeps involving Carney in several small side jobs. Carney torn between the two worlds does what he can to keep a low profile but keeps getting pulled in deeper as the schemes keep getting bigger.

Review:
It caught me from the moment I began reading and was not able to put it down. I was constantly rooting for Carney to make the right choices for himself and his family and help Freddie find a way out. The story deals with racism, family values and what happens to us and everyone we love when we take the path of least resistance. Some character's grew, such as Carney and Pepper, while others remained stuck with no desire to move forward, like Freddie and Linus. The description of Harlem and New York City as an ever changing landscape was a character in itself. Each change indicates that you can't stop progress no matter how hard we try to keep things the same. It's in with the old and in with the new.

This was a beautifully written story of a family man trying to make a decent living selling furniture. His life at work and then at home is like you are following 2 different people. The descriptions in the book brought you right back in time and it really made you feel like you are walking right down those same streets alongside Ray. I devoured this book and found myself not being able to put it down. It was my first book by the author and I am interested in reading more of his backlist. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Let me begin with this is my first Colson Whitehhead novel. His last 2 books were on my radar as TBR. So when I was given the opportunity to read this ARC, I jumped at it. This 1960's story is about a man named Ray Carney who is trying to move himself up from his past to a better life for himself and family. He struggles daily living between being a criminal and being a straight forward man. At first I will admit, I had a hard time getting into the story. I was finding Whitehead's narrative a little too descriptive for me at times. It however, grew on me as I got deeper into the book. I enjoyed the insights of NYC, the political issues, racial discrimination, income class differences between black and white, and rich and poor and how divided NYC was even back then. Whitehead is truly a gifted and talented writer. and I am glad I stuck with this book. Thank you to #NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review. # HarlemShuffle #ColsonWhitehead

“Harlem Shuffle”, the latest work of the award-winning Colson Whitehead, takes us back to New York City’s Harlem. Separated into three parts set in 1959, 1961, and 1964 this story is a multifaceted historical fiction centered around crime and family drama.

The story is told vividly and meticulously of how the illegal underworld and legitimate overworld intersects. Told as a political and social crime novel, at the heart of the book, it’s a family saga and a love letter to Harlem.

Thank you to NetGalley, Colson Whitehead and Doubleday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️️

HARLEM SHUFFLE centers around Ray Carney, a straight-laced salesman just trying to run a furniture business, but Ray has secrets. His family lineage of criminals is far from upstanding. Against his will, he finds himself drawn into an elaborate heist and leading a double life.

The novel shines in its portrayal of Harlem in the 1960s. I felt completely transported to the bustling streets and the historical events woven into the story. If you like a strong sense of place, Whitehead’s got you covered.

The middle of the story lost a bit of the momentum and luster that the novel started with. The pace slowed as it dealt with Ray’s inner turmoil of who he desired to be and who he actually was. I also had a hard time keeping track of the heists and the character dynamics. I got lost in the shuffle, if you will.

Prior to picking up Harlem Shuffle, I had read a few books that required great focus, so a breezy palate cleanser book could have helped my headspace. This just didn’t hold my attention like I had hoped.

In true Whitehead fashion, the ending packs a punch and finishes strong. THE NICKEL BOYS was a top read of 2019 for me and I still plan to read THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD this fall.

RATING: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)
PUB DATE: September 14, 2021

A big thank you to Doubleday Books and Netgalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Harlem Between 1959 and 1961.

“Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…”

Carney sells furniture at a good price at his store on 125th Street. He’s married to Elizabeth and they are having their second baby. Times are tight but they are happy.

People like him. They have no idea that he comes from a line of crooks. He may act normal and talk normal, but that seedy side is still inside of him. He isn’t making big bucks so when his cousin sometimes drops off an item, he doesn’t ask where he got it.

When said cousin falls in with a really bad crowd. They are making plans to rob the Hotel Theresa. Fancy for Harlem. A lot of the book is about them planning crimes that go badly.

Unfortunately for Carney, his cousin has volunteered him for the job. His associates believe he is a fence. These are guys you don’t say no to. And things go bad. So badly that Carney has a lot of new associates. And none of them is the good kind.

Now he has to decide. The businessman or the crook. Can he avoid getting killed? Will he finally have some money? Will he still be able to sell his furniture?

This was less violent than the other books. But the racism and crookedness are all there. It’s painful to read but Ray Carney is a character who has a story worth telling.

NetGalley/September 14th, 2021 by Doubleday