Of course I had high expectations of this book that follows a Black furniture store owner in Harlem in the 1960's caught between doing the right thing and getting involved in organized crime because of the author. I find when I have high expectations, I'm never quite satisfied and that was the case with this book. I loved this book as a work of historical fiction. The crime elements didn't work for me as much but I still enjoyed reading the book.

My thoughts here are for an advanced copy that I was sent in exchange for a review.
I’ve come to expect a lot from Colson Whitehead, and Harlem Shuffle, while moderately entertainingly, lack the depth of something like The Nickel Boys. This is not to say that all lit needs to be as weighty as some of his earlier works, but I wasn’t expecting a lighthearted dramedy that is actually sort of humorless. There are interesting elements, and the novel reads more as a beautiful love letter to the Harlem of 50s and 60s than the story of Ray Carney and his crew.
Overall, a well-written and likable enough book, but surprisingly easy to disengage from (it took me about a to read what would usually only take me a day or two). If you’re interested in a heist-style dramedy set in a bygone Harlem, give this a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.
Colson Whitehead's new novel deals with racial tension in 1960s Harlem. Whitehead shows the struggles of a black man trying to move up in a society that creates oppression. Straddling the line between being an honest business owner and dealings with crooks, Ray portrays a man facing the pressures of the world in which he lives. Whitehead's prose is seamless and his tag-line descriptions add a flare of creativity.

Writing: 5.5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 4.5/5 (for me)

Colson Whitehead is a master of bringing a place and time to life. Harlem in the 60s — this is the story of a man who came from nothing and relentlessly made something of himself. But it’s not the typical rags to riches story with people “managing” to do this and that. This includes all the details of just what he had to do to make it in the world as it was — the pay offs (to gangsters and the police), the loyalties and trust, the “deals” made, the heists, and the constant jockeying for power, influence, and importance by the big shots while everyone else struggles to get by.

Carney is “only slightly bent when it came to being crooked”. He has principles but suspends them as necessary with full awareness. He runs a furniture store with a secret side line in low level fencing of stolen goods. He primarily manages to stay out of trouble except when his cousin Freddie pops up (Freddie’s most constant refrain — “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble”).

Fantastic scenes in Harlem — The Theresa Hotel, known as the “Waldorf of Harlem,” Striver’s Row for the African-American elite, Black Star Travel agency to help black travelers at the time make their way through parts of the US without getting lynched. Some vivid scenes from the 1964 Harlem riots, resulting from the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman. All narrated by Carney with his somewhat cynical (and pretty realistic) worldview.

Whitehead is a fantastic writer — this had a little more focus on unsavory elements for my taste but it was very hard to put down.


A few quotes (out of many):

“Carney took the previous tenants’ busted schemes and failed dreams as a kind of fertilizer that helped his own ambitions prosper, the same way a fallen oak in its decomposition nourishes the acorn.”

“There was a hole in the air where the Ninth Avenue el used to run. That disappeared thing.”

“He reconsidered: The consequences remained, but the reasons had turned spectral, insubstantial. Harlem had rioted — for what? The boy was still dead, the grand jury cleared Lieutenant Gilligan, and black boys and girls continued to fall before the nightsticks and pistols of racist white cops. Freddie and Linus were gone, their heist unwound as if it had never happened, and Van Wyck kept throwing up buildings.”

“Death took Freddie from Carney and mourning returned to him a visitation, an invisible companion who shadowed him everywhere, tugging at his sleeve and interrupting when he least expected: Remember what my smile looked like, Remember when, remember me. Its voice grew quiet and Carney didn’t hear it for a while and then it was loud again: Remember me, This is your job now, Remember me or no one else will.”

I did not finish this book because it just was not grabbing me or my attention. I firmly believe that some books are better read as a physical copy and I think this might be one of them, I will pick this up again and finish it when I can read a physical copy. But I totally nominate it for library reads because his writing is phenomenal.

Thrilling, suspenseful and complicated crime novel that will likely reward repeated reads. Whitehead is one of the best novelists of our lifetime.

After voraciously devouring Colson Whitehead’s newest work, “The Harlem Shuffle,” there are three elements that I would like to cast straightforward praise upon in particular.

First is the cast that the author has brilliantly crafted. The internally-riven Ray Carney of course is a delightfully complex figure, and not long after his introduction, I knew that this was a man whose story I wanted to follow closely until the very end. However, Carney is also a member of a sizable and wonderfully rich array of characters who all did their part in making the book such an absorbing read. Whitehead definitely has a remarkable skill for adding new faces into a story and making them fully realized and made three-dimensional within a matter of just a few paragraphs.

Second, the plot itself. It’s just such a deliciously thick tangle of fences, power plays, schemes, clashes, and crossed and re-crossed paths that it was a struggle to keep myself away from the book.

Finally, the backdrop of the story - an early 1960s Harlem - is so immersive, and brought so much to life that it feels less a setting and more a unique main character in its own right.

Of course, these weren’t the only parts of "Harlem Shuffle" that made me eagerly tear through it in less than three days - there is so much more to enjoy, much of which I have omitted out of concern for accidentally spoiling anything or others. However, they were definitely the highlights of what proved to be the biggest blast that I have in a long while in the realm of historical fiction, and what is most definitely the most fun I have experienced with a Whitehead work. The author once again proves himself to be a contemporary literary master.

What a delight. Comical and tragic and wry and philosophical all at the same time. This isn’t as much of a ground breaker as earlier work, but is more likely to appeal very widely. Bravo.

The writing style feels both descriptive and right to the point. You can feel the energy through this book, which is so fantastic. As a teaching tool, it would be wonderful paired with August Wilson. Definitely recommend!

obviously well written and engaging for the most part, but very well done genre fiction. A LOT of "telling" at the end especially. Lacks emotional oomph, ultimately, but is a fascinating read.

Raymond Carney is a guy trying to make it. He is a Black man in a white man's world, who from time to time needs to do some underhanded stuff to make ends meet and take care of his family. He's a good guy who knows some shady characters compliments of his shady late father. So what!
Colson Whitehead brings the Harlem of the 1950's and 60's to life with his well crafted turn of phrase and his flair for telling a good story. He has a way with words that keeps you rooting for this Everyman, that the character of Carney is; even when he is doing something crooked.
I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Moral complexity of the main character was palpable and was designed to feel *almost* reasonable and rational. Loved the 1960s Harlem setting.

Whitehead never fails to convince readers that he can write about anything he likes. In this one, as he tackles Harlem in the 1960s he is back with his signature sharp writing with bringing a time gone by to life. Those who are fans of his work will love it and those who haven't read him yet need to get on it.

An historical novel with an easy rhythm and an amber glow of nostalgia.

In three linked stories set in Harlem between 1959 and 1964, Ray Carney walks the line between being a straight business man and being a crook. He owns a furniture store (and one of the joys of this novel is the detailed and loving descriptions of the mid-century furniture and the evocative brand names of the time) but has a side hustle as a go between for those trying to move items that don’t belong to them.

Ray calibrates his aspirations through property, walking the streets of the city while picturing himself and his family in ever more upscale homes. As time progresses, Ray sinks more into his illicit sideline while at the same time his furniture business takes off. While it is the former that drives the narrative of the novel, it’s the latter that brings a fresh lens to the backdrop of Harlem.

The thriving Black middle class - bankers, lawyers, politicians - look down on Carney, a mere salesman. But he cannot be held back as his personal success mirrors the optimism of the era and he eventually, if reluctantly, is allowed a foot in the door.

The three stories throw Carney into challenging and, potentially, deadly situations but he’s got a sharp brain and a will to survive. The supporting characters, often with Runyonesque names, are equally well-developed and rounded, though the female characters are a little thin. The tone is warm and humorous, even as the situations Ray gets himself in are decidedly not and not everyone close to him survives.

This is only my second Whitehead novel, and though the subject is not as big as The Underground Railroad’s, the attention to the telling detail in the characterization and setting is similarly exquisite and definitely worth your time.

Thanks to Doubleday and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

What an amazing read! I loved all the characters and the way Whitehead winds and moves them through the plot. I love the way history and thriller are balanced with Ray's choice between the crooked and straight pathways of life. Timely and I'm convinced anything Colson Whitehead writes, everyone needs to read.

This is a novel about being trapped by circumstances. For Ray Carney, it seems that no matter how hard he tries to rise above his background of being raised by a criminal, and no matter how hard he tries to be a successful and honest businessman, his family obligations and the color of his skin make his goals nearly impossible. His cousin who is like a brother to him keeps dragging him into ill-fated criminal activities that put his business, family, and his own life at risk. The reader becomes immersed in the impossibility of the decisions Ray has to make as the actions spiral out of his control. Set during three separated years of the 1960's, the issues of prejudice, loyalty, betrayal, and fate are just as relevant today. The portrait of Harlem during the 60's is vivid, and I can easily imagine this being made into a noir film.

Wow. I think this is Whitehead's best work yet. Set in Harlem beginning in 1959, all I could think was that this is almost a Black version of Mad Men, my all-time favorite show. The time frame is the same, it's New York but the parts they never showed on Mad Men. The just-right historical details are there, right down to specific furniture and electronics models, and the characters have that same sort of shadiness.

Ray Carney, an aspirational furniture dealer, is the son of a man who really was a crook, but he wants a different life for his lovely wife and children. He does a few deals under the table, but the majority of his business is entirely legitimate. Still, he has the background and connections to take advantage of the odd opportunity that might fall his way. I hate to compare him to Don Draper, but if I did, I would say that he is that same type of unconventional midcentury striver who has secrets and is willing to get his hands a little dirty, but manages to come out on top. However, he does not have Don's problems with women and alcohol. "The way he saw it, living taught you that you didn't have to live the way you'd been taught to live. You came from one place but more important was where you decided to go." Throughout the story, Carney gets himself into and out of big trouble with a crazy cast of characters, all of whom Whitehead just nails. The crooks and goons are delightfully awful, and female characters like Carney's wife Elizabeth and his secretary Marie just shine. Even the more unsavory ladies are beautifully characterized.

The world-building is so fascinating. Carney's store is right down the street from the Hotel Theresa, which is near the Apollo Theater, giving him, and the reader, a glimpse of the Harlem high society and glamor of the day. "The red carpet outside the Waldorf of Harlem was the theater for daily and sometimes hourly spectacles, whether it was the sight of the heavyweight champ waving to fans as he climbed into a Cadillac, or a wrung-out jazz singer splashing out of a Checker cab at three A.M. with the devil's verses in her mouth." There are jewel heists. There is a snotty social club for Black businessmen, and Carney's initial rejection from this group leads him to serve a dish of revenge that is most enjoyable because it is served very, very cold.

Along the way, as he is unfolding this epic story, Whitehead explores the culture of Black America in the 1960s (again, the flip side of Mad Men). He incorporates some social justice elements that maybe will have some people thinking it's about time someone told these stories. Carney's wife works for a company called Black Star Travel, which specializes in helping people of color navigate Jim Crow America, somewhat like the Green Books. Black Star helps people organize trips, avoiding dangerous places and keeping to Black-owned and Black-friendly hotels, restaurants, and businesses. Life in Harlem is observed from the street level, and a riot that develops after a white policeman shoots a Black youth is observed from the perspective of business owners like Carney, who are sympathetic but really just don't want their store windows broken out.

It's life, it's history, it's love, crime, the Black experience, joy, great writing, a deep dive into New York's secrets, and just so awesome I may have to go back and read it again more slowly.

Colson Whitehead writes beautiful sentences and interesting characters. This is a very different book from his previous two books, so at first I had to orient myself to this shift, but it feels more like some of his earlier work. Sometimes I read a sentence that makes me laugh, even though the situation the character is in is far from funny. That is a skill. Even though this book is lighter than The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, it still makes a point on the endless struggle of an African American to rise above his surroundings and succeed. Another great book by Colson Whitehead!

Loved it. Colson Whitehead spins a tale in an Elmore Leonard vein with some social justice themes thrown in for good measure. Can be read just for the sheer joy of reading a crime thriller or can be read deeper as an analysis of racial and inner-city issues that have been woven into the fabric of America. Great writing from a great writer. Each character is so vivid. .

Ray Carney wants what is best, not only for himself and his business, but his ever growing family. But life in Harlem, strained under the pressure of the growing civil rights movement, watching his business flounder, and his crooked cousin, Freddie and friend, Pepper, always seem to be around with a new scheme, are not making life easy for him.

When Freddie and Pepper offer Ray a job to help him keep his head above water, Ray can’t refuse. But when the job doesn’t go as planned, Ray will do whatever he has to to protect his family from finding out.

‘Harlem Shuffle’ is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. With most books, I could tell you the beats of the story, the natural path most stories take to tell the tale. ‘Harlem Shuffle’ felt completely different. After you read the inciting incident, a strange alchemy takes hold where a chaotic chase takes place, and we follow Ray, Freddie, and Pepper through riotous New York as they chase the next job, the next hideout, the next double-crosser who would have it all crashing down, and you don’t get your wind back until the end, when brakes are slammed and that world shatters. When you can ask yourself “what was that all about?” and, even after sometime to absorb what happened, still come up dazed.

‘Harlem Shuffle’ is my first Colson Whitehead novel and I’m not sure how I feel about it. It’s raw, violent, fast-paced and angry. I’m a bit unsettled about it. I’m still in my daze and I don’t know if I’ll come out of it.

“Just because nobody knows doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”