Colson Whitehead is one of the best writers out there right now. Two Puliter Prizes say I'm not alone in believing this to be true. Which means that expectations are high for any book he writes. This is the third of his books that I've read and I've been wow'd by every one of them.

Is this one a crime thriller? The story of a family? An homage to 1960's Harlem? Yes, yes, and yes. And every one of those elements is marvelous.

"Living taught you,’ Ray believes, ‘that you didn't have to live the way you'd been taught." Sort of, anyway. Ray's father was the kind of criminal that people are still talking about long after his death. Ray is not that man. But Ray also wants a better life for his family - a home that will get his in-laws off his back, room for his children to have space to grow, a view out the windows and no elevated rail outside his building. So if he has to bend a few rules to make that happen, he's ok with that, as long as it's done quietly. You can't help but like Ray. Life's been hard he only wants what every man wants for his family.

“Crooked world, straight world, same rules,” Ray thinks. “Everybody had a hand out for the envelope.”

When he tries to move up in the world in a more above board way, Ray learns a lesson about the morals of the men he thought were the cream of the neighborhood that doesn't sit well with him. Then Freddie, who has been getting Ray into trouble since they were little boys, really brings the heat down on him. Between Ray wanting revenge and trouble Freddie brings to Ray's door, things get really tense and dark.

It was as hard to read as The Underground Railroad or as heartbreaking as The Nickel Boys, but it is, once again, a reminder for white readers that life for black people has always been just that much harder. That the system is set up against black people and poor people. That there is corruption around every corner.

You can take those lessons from this book. Or you can just enjoy is as a crime thriller. Or a book about a family's struggles to rise above poverty and their past. Or one of those rare books where the setting plays as big a role as the characters and the action. I liked it for all of those reason.

Colson Whitehead is a bonafide chameleon. The Pulitzer Prize winning novelist gave us an acclaimed 'End of the World' novel - Year Zero - wherin a pandemic devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead.. Then, he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning, 'The Underground Railroad', an electrifying and imaginative look at slavery in the Antebellum South before, during and long after the American Civil War.

With "Harlem Shuffle', Whitehead sets his sights on Harlem in the 1960s. The book is a rollicking romp filled with double crosses, thefts, shakedowns and gangsters. The book is about race, class, power, and an intimate and intriguing history of Harlem. It's also very funny, engaging, and addictively readable. I read an advance copy of the book courtesy of NetGalley and Random House, in exchange for an objective review.

The book's main character is a furniture salesman. Ray Carney, who desperately wants to balance his family and legitimate business with his “crooked” side of shady deals and criminal connections. This is clearly not an easy task., made more complicated by small-times hoods and the neighborhood low-lifes, dirty politicians, crooked bankers, and double dealing relatives.

Whotehead writes snappy, quick-paced dialog for a bevy of fascinating and believable characters. What I especially enjoyed in 'Harlem Shuffle' is the sense of time and place Whitehead vividly creates for this NY neighborhood undergoing a massive transition.

It is a wonderful book, often painful to read, but always enjoyable.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Most people think Ray Carney is a serious merchant and a good family man selling furniture at affordable prices. His wife Elizabeth is expecting their second child, and they live in a small apartment near the elevated train tracks. Elizabeth is from a well to do family and they are not happy about their living accommodations. With his business not making a lot of money, he does a few illegal things in the background. He sometimes fences jewelry that his cousin Freddie brings him and might sell televisions that came from dubious sources. There is a bit of an inner conflict, but he doesn't think what he is doing is hurting anyone. But when Freddie gets involved in a robbery at the historic Hotel Theresa, Carney is pulled into a gangster life. Navigating this double life becomes more and more dangerous. Will Ray Carney survive as others around him don't? Will he be able to keep his reputation intact?

I loved Underground to Canada and The Nickel Boys, but Harlem Shuffle didn't measure up for me. I read over 50% of this book and couldn't connect. There were several storylines, yet the book was boring to me, if that makes sense. I did finish the book, but I skimmed a lot of the second half of the book. Harlem Shuffle is an atmospheric historical crime fiction with rich writing, but not enough was happening for me. There seemed to more dialogue than anything else. I will say that others have loved this book, so it may be one you would enjoy. If you like a bit of a noir detective story, gang type books and stories about New York in the past, then this might be just what you are looking for.

I read this title for work, and it is outside of my normal preferences (crime fiction). This book was middle of the road for me. I never felt strongly compelled to pick it up, although it wasn't a bad book by any means. I did really enjoy the in-depth look at who held the power in 1950s and 1960s NYC and could appreciate the struggle the main character, Ray Carney, felt between striving for a better life and what kinds of sacrifices that required for a black man in that era (unfortunately much of what Ray encounters is not all that different in 21st century America). Crime fiction isn't a big pull for me, so that's my guess as to why it didn't land better. Well written, although I occasionally had to re-read a sentence or two to make sure I was understanding the author's intent (I think this is just characteristic of his writing style).

I jumped at the chance of reading a preview copy of this book from Netgalley (thank you) as I'm a big fan of the author. However, the story just rambled in my opinion and it was a struggle to finish. I enjoyed the character development of Carney and his family. The intrigue of Harlem in the 60's drew me in as I enjoy historical fiction. You knew that Carney wanted to go straight but family and circumstances kept drawing him in to the criminal element. It is interesting how he captured the illegal portion by educating himself with the jeweler and learning as time went on.

Colson Whitehead has written two other, wonderful books. I had high expectations going into this book, even though I realized his story line/material for this was quite different then the Underground Railroad & the Nickel Boys. However, overall, I was disappointed. The story felt all over the place, disjointed, and the writing was not nearly what it was in the past. Every good author has an off book, I hope that's all it is for this one and I look forward to what Mr. Whitehead writes in the future!

This author is a great writer there is no doubt about that. The characters were well developed the atmospherics were wonderful and he is joy to read. So why two star? Because I couldn’t connect and get excited about this book I quit after reading about a third of the book. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley

I love anything that Colson Whitehead writes and this book is no different!! Harlem Shuffle was wonderfully written and about a time period that I'm not too familiar with so this was a really enjoyable, information, and transformational book for me.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Hugely enjoyable and captivating crime thriller set in early 1960s Harlem. This book doesn't compare to Whitehead's previous books; however, I'm enjoying the departure. This read doesn't have the emotional depth of the others but it's nice to see his range as an author.

This one just wasn't as strong or as good as his others. Took a long time to get into it. It was a bit boring, in my opinion.

I enjoyed this story very much. The crime and racism of New York City of the past was enticing. You were always trying to figure out what would happen next. The heist portion of the book was great. I've never read a novel including that "heist" culture and it was intriguing to be privy of all sides of the "job" and how it affects all involved. This was such a twisty ride and I loved every bit of it. I would not put Harlem Shuffle in my library as I am a middle school librarian, but I would recommend it for public and personal libraries again and again.

This was a fun crime noir type adventure. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as Whitehead's other reads. I still enjoyed it, but it was lacking something from his works, not sure what, but it just didn't feel all there. I still think others will definitely enjoy this one.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙡𝙚 was an easy pick to read because of the writer Colson Whitehead. After writing Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning books like 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙 and 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙡 𝘽𝙤𝙮𝙨, Whitehead is an autobuy for me because he constantly pushes America forward with his social mores about race, class, and power. Once I realized Colson was going to infuse this dynamic into a Black family in a 1950’s Harlem backdrop—where the main character, family man Ray Carney, would straddle the worlds between the striver and the crook—then I was intrigued and so were many others. More than that, Whitehead also caters this book to be a “love letter to Harlem” as well.

I initially struggled to get into novel and at first I wished I could have shuffled to the end, but I did not want to let the book defeat me so I pushed through. It dragged in the first 50-60 pages or maybe even more. There was hardly any action so that didn’t help, but more so character development of Ray Carney, Freddie (his cousin), other crime mobsters, and supporting characters. The novel is also divided up into three distinctive historical times spanning from 1959-1964, where Harlem changes culturally and racially, too. It helped to just actually listen to the audio and hear the story being told to me for me to really enjoy it.

My favorite points from the novel:

* “The way he saw it, living taught you that you didn't have to live the way you've been taught to live. You came from one place but more important was where you decided to go.”
* “Plenty of crooks were strivers, and plenty of strivers bent the law.”
* “Ain’t nobody listening. Do you listen to what the roach says before you step on him?”
* “You have to know your limits as a man and master them.”

Carney’s main point overall in the novel remains to the striver or the crook: “there were always consequences.” Whatever we do in this life we have to be willing to ride the wave of that responsibility.

I really enjoyed this novel and loved feeling like i was transported back to that era of time. Such a talented author that never lets me down. I highly recommend!

Not my favorite of Whitehead's work but it will be a nice addition to our English literature curriculum and to the library.

Colson Whitehead is a heavy hitter who takes on weighty issues, so stepping back and taking a breather with a semicomic heist-type tale is not surprising. What is surprising, however, is that this novel is so ordinary. Oh, it has some serious issues embedded in the story -- gentrification, economic segregation and corruption among public officials -- but they serve only as familiar road signs along the highway to hell. The plot was something akin to that of the great film, Chinatown, moved to New York City. Whitehead is a superb writer, so you can ride along on his prose, but the Harlem Shuffle, like the famous Ali Shuffle, sets you up for a sucker punch.

I thought the prose was lovely but I spent the whole book waiting for something to happen. Ray just wasn't interesting enough for it to just be a character study. I would have loved some action or anything to really happen. Enjoyed the setting a lot though.

Dazzling, entertaining and richly written novel by award winning Whitehead never fails to impress. A love letter to Harlem and to Black history and presents.

This was a good book, but I normally love Colson Whitehead and I had to put this one down and come back to it a few times--I'm still glad I read it, as it was very different from his last few books. Thanks to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.