The description had a lot of promise for me but the storyline was all together too complicated for me to follow along.

This is a beautifully crafted multilayered historical fiction piece that I found to be completely un-put-downable. I love historical fiction and especially loved the time period of this book. I found it completely engaging! Thus far, Colson Whitehead has never let me down and I don't anticipate he ever will. A beautiful, must-read read!

I am a firm lover of Colson Whitehead's writing and books. Having read, and given both, Underground Railroad and Nickle Boys 4 stars each, I waited impatiently for Harlem Shuffle to go to print. I got the book and started it quickly after receiving it. However, I was unable to get into the flow of the book at that time, so thinking it was me, I put it back on the shelf to attack at a later date. That later date is now...

I did read the book this time, but did not find it as compelling as the other two I have read. It took me a long time to settle into this book. I believe that I was just expecting more from the story than what I was given.

A black man in Harlem in the 1960's was trying to make a good living for his family. He came from a downtrodden family, some of whom had gone to the opposite side of the law to make their living. He was willing to fence some small articles through his upright business for his family - once in a great while. Until his cousin offers his assistance as a fence for a big robbery. Now he is torn - stay legitimate and working hard for his money or turn to easy money and a shadier existence? How much influence does family have? Now he knows the dirty cops, has had the underworld opened up to him. Where does his morality lay?

Family influence, race, poverty and social power play a big part in this novel. It is all veiled within the family dynamic as the city of Harlem is exposed for what it was in the 1960's.

Tried to start this book so many times and just couldn’t ever make any headway. The writing is really good, to no one’s surprise, but this book is not for me.

Colson Whitehead is a writing god. I had just finished The Underground Railroad when I saw this available on Netgalley. It's got an incredible set of characters. Admittedly it drags a little bit and isn't as intriguing as either TUG or Nickel Boys, I still recommend it highly!

Harlem shuffle
If you asked his neighbors and businessmen in Harlem, he was an upstanding furniture salesman. But “Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…”.
In Harlem Shuffle we follow Carney as he establishes and grows a hometown furniture store in Harlem. The only problem seems to be his cousin, who delivers a few pieces of jewelry or some TVs of dubious origins for Carney to fence. As Carney’s legitimate business grows, so does the side business. The only question is: Will he be able to outwit and outlive the shady underworld in which he lives? The latest book from two time Pulitzer Prize winner, Colton Whitehead, does not disappoint.

This was a great read and so different from Whitehead’s recent offerings. It was fun to be back in a genre-centric world and see Whitehead plying his trade as he knows best. This book is full of sly references that will delight New Yorkers and heavy son a noir feel that will intrigue even those who haven’t made it the Big Apple. The sensitive portrait of a protagonist trying to make his way and stay on the right side of morality while supporting his family will win over even the hardest hearts. And the multiple settings will enthrall even casual readers.

I am quite the Colson Whitehead fan. The Nickle Boys has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Harlem Shuffle was an excellent shift for Whitehead from his famous historical fiction which has highlighted struggles in the African American experience.

As a fan of the period known as the Harlem Renaissance, this book resonated with me in the scope of setting, character behaviors, music, the Harlem criminal networks, and more.

Ray Carney is the focus of this novel: he is a business owner and friend to his community. His cousin, Freddie, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. Ray has familial criminal background, as a result of his own father's life choices, but he has worked to build a life outside of crime in order to separate himself from his criminal father. Enter Freddie to drag Ray into the depths of underworld jewelry thieves and worse.

Without giving away spoilers or too much of the story, I will say the strong vibes of the 1950s and 1960s usher this novel through to its conclusion and I am left wanting more! Decisions have to be made and consequences will have to be accepted by Ray Carney to escape from the clutches of the dark, criminal forces at work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Doubleday, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars out of 5.

2.5 OK stars, rounded up

I liked the rhythm of Whitehead’s writing, its just that the plot moved very slowly. I liked the Harlem setting and that Ray Carney tried to live honestly, but there seemed to be too much temptation around to earn the quick buck. From the publisher, “The heist doesn't go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes. Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score?” I’ll never know, as Ray and his friends lost my interest.

Warning: use of language that is not used in polite company

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.*

Following The Underground Railroad, I was excited to see this title available on NetGalley. I forgot it was in my TBR and when my book club selected it I was thrilled to see I already had a copy.

Colson Whitehead writes beautifully. His characters are fully developed, intriguing, and interesting. Yet, somehow, this book just didn't capture me. Harlem Shuffle is the story of Ray Carney, a young black businessman operating his furniture store in Harlem in the 1950s. He's also running a side racket unloading stolen items his cousin and associates of his father drop off in his store.

There are capers, criminals and everybody has two sides in this story. I struggled to get through it.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review

I struggled to finish this and ended up putting it down at around 100 pages. Not the same level as his earlier works like the Nickel Boys which I LOVED.

A crime novel about Harlem in the 1950s – or, actually, three separate but connected novellas in 1959, 1961, and 1964. The star of each is Ray, owner of a furniture store on 125th street; he's proud to help people furnish their homes, and if a few of the pieces he sells he didn't come by entirely legally, well, that doesn't really make him a <i>fence</i>, does it? But when Ray's good-for-nothing cousin Freddy turns up, having promised Ray's help in fencing some very valuable jewelry to a dangerous mobster, Ray finds himself spending a little more time on the shady side of the law. And then a little more time, when Freddy turns up again a few years later. And then maybe just a little more.

<i>Harlem Shuffle</i> is excellent at creating a sense of place and NYC's history, but it just didn't grab me the way I wanted. It's too dark with too much social commentary to be really fun, and it's too heist-y with gangster cliches to be really deep. It sits uneasily, not quite one thing or the other. It's... fine? It's fine. But it's not great, which many of Whitehead's books are.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4649485149

This book was a little slow and not at all a thriller. It's nothing like Whitehead's previous books, but still has his very distinct voice. No one writes a setting quite like him and he will remain an auto buy author for me.

Such a great book. I loved how the comedy is thrown in there amongst the hard things. Thank you for letting me read this book.

I think my main problem with this book is that it is being marketed as a heist when the heist aspect of it is barely even the main plot of part one of the book. I went into it looking for a detailed heist and was sorely disappointed, but that's not a problem with the book itself as much as the marketing around it.

I did enjoy seeing Ray Carney struggle with being on the straight and narrow and getting thrown in with the crooks of Harlem. Colson Whitehead paints a beautiful portrait of Harlem in the 60s and that setting was probably my favorite part of the book.

This is my first Whitehead and I don't think it will be my last.

Harlem Shuffle is the first Colson Whitehead novel that I have read. Ray Carney's plight with trying to be "good enough" for his wife's family and an upstanding businessman in the Harlem community juxtaposed with his shady side business, one he is desperately trying to leave behind is an entertaining ride from beginning to end. Whitehead's writing keeps you engaged even in the slower parts of the novel.

I keep hearing about how wonderful a writer Colten Whitehead is, and I jumped at the opportunity to review his latest novel, Harlem Shuffle. I loved his writing style and I’m ready to read more of his books.

Harlem Shuffle takes us back to the 1960s in Harlem. There are three separate, but related, sections of the book. Ray Carney owns a furniture store in Brooklyn and is happily married to Elizabeth. Elizabeth grew up in a wealthier family and her father does not approve of Ray. Ray grew up the son of Big Mike, a criminal in Harlem. Ray is only slightly crooked. He may fence stolen items for his cousin Freddy, but he is mostly on the up and up. When Freddy gets Ray inadvertently involved in a jewel heist, Ray’s life changes forever. It becomes harder and harder to keep the two sides of his life separate. Is Ray the striver or Ray the crook his true nature?

This book was excellent. I loved the noir aspect of it and vivid descriptions of Harlem in the 1960s. I felt like I was immersed in this world. I loved the characters and Ray’s internal struggle. I loved his loyalty to his cousin Freddy. I had a hard time with the format after the first one third of the book until I realized they were basically three separate stories. In the first and last story, Ray gets involved in bad business to help out Freddy, and in the middle Ray gets vengeance against someone who crossed him. I thought it was interesting that there wasn’t much difference between crooks and “high class” people.

Favorite Quotes:
“’I may be broke sometimes, but I ain’t crooked, ‘ he said to himself. Although, he had to admit, perhaps he was.”

“A few blocks was the difference between the strivers and the crooks, between opportunity and the hard scrabble.”

“How long do you keep trying to save something that was lost?”

“You could never know what was going on with other people, but their private selves were never far away.”

Overall, Harlem Shuffle was a great novel set in the world of Harlem in the 1960s. It was a family drama, crime caper, and the American dream all rolled up into one.

A Review Copy from NetGalley and Doubleday. Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. There is no doubt that Colson Whitehead is a leader in literary fiction. He has written and won well deserved awards. I really enjoyed how Harlem Shuffle was a little more light hearted yet dramatic with bits of comedy thrown in.

Colson Whitehead does it again! This book transports you in time to the 1950s and 60s and tugs at your heartstrings in ways Whitehead manages to do in each of his books. Highly recommend!

Harlem Shuffle is a story that follows the life of Ray Carney, a family man who owns a furniture store and is just trying to provide a better life for his family. When money gets tight Ray finds himself laundering stollen goods and getting caught in a vicious cycle that he can't get out of. With the influence of his cousin Freddie things get very dicy. I had very high hopes for this book. I LOVED The Underground Railroad, but this one just didn't live up to that standard for me. I just didn't find myself engrossed in this story and it fell short for me. I still gave it 3 stars because Whitehead's writing is still amazing. I just didn't click with the storyline. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.