Ray Carney’s father was a criminal, but Ray is going straight as a furniture salesman in 1960s Harlem. Well mostly straight, except for when the odd opportunity presents itself - usually when his cousin Freddie appears to get him into trouble.

Set over three time frames we get an insight into Carney’s life. His efforts to be respected by his more successful in-laws and to be recognised both within the black community and white businesses. The darker side of his environment and family history through his cousin Freddie who keeps bringing trouble to his door. All against the backdrop of the civil rights movement and riots in Harlem after a white cop kills an innocent black youth.

I enjoyed the premise of the novel, and the last third set in 1964 was particularly interesting with the social backdrop and as the earlier plot comes to a crescendo. However, it is quite an ambling plot, with some movement between different points of view, and if I’m honest I got a bit lost and disinterested.

Very different from the previous two Colson Whitehead books I’ve read (The Underground Railroad and Nickel Boys) where I’ve been completely captivated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for giving me access to an ARC of this book. I was excited to get this ARC because I really enjoyed Whitehead’s earlier novel The Underground Railroad. However, that book was so singular in the way that it merged historical fiction with more speculative elements to put a new spin on narratives of slavery and the more horrifying chapters of America’s history, I was struggling to imagine where he would go next. At first glance, Harlem Shuffle seems like a very different sort of book to The Underground Railroad. It is set it Harlem in the 1950s and 60s and centres around a man named Ray Carney, who is trapped between two personas. ‘Straight Ray’ is an upstanding small business owner and dedicated husband and father who wants to climb the ladder of respectability and move his family into a better neighbourhood. ‘Crooked Ray’ is the son of a small-time Harlem criminal who has never fully been able to outrun his father’s reputation and who is happy to look the other way when goods of questionable provenance move through his store. However, Ray’s careful balancing act starts to wobble dangerously when his cousin Freddie brings him in as the fence on a high-profile robbery of the Hotel Theresa, ‘The Waldorf of Harlem’. A high stakes caper ensues that expertly blends the comic and the dramatic into a multi-layered piece of historical fiction where you can never quite predict what will happen next. What The Underground Railroad and Harlem Shuffle have in common is their sweeping examination of Black history in America that fixes an unflinching eye on the prejudice of the era. Ray’s relentless striving in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers and setbacks, in both the straight and crooked halves of his life, creates a twisted sort of hero’s journey that you won’t be able to look away from.

Having read Whitehead's 'The Underground Railroad' and 'The Nickel Boys' previously, I was excited to delve into his newest novel and WOW it did not disappoint. As with Whitehead's other books, from the first page he manages to take the reader to a completely different setting through beautifully vivid descriptions and rich characterisations - it was a joy to be transported 1960s Halem and escape the world of covid mundanity. I didn't feel strongly attached to the characters straight away, but by the end of the novel, I felt deeply connected to Ray and found myself recommending this book to anyone that would listen. This is a great book to read if you appreciate good storytelling, rich descriptions and a captivating plot.

I could read Colson Whitehead's shopping list and review as "a fantastic read, master storytelling and character development".
That said I had high expectations for Harlem Shuffle and I wasn't disappointed.
it's a mix of genres but also a reflection on racism, fighting for your right and a love letter to Harlem and New York.
It's a slow burning novel, sometimes you have the impression that nothing is happening but at the same time you know the something will happen.
Carney is a man with a double life but he's also a man trying his best to give a decent life to his wife and children. He's got to face what it meant to be a black man in the 50s/60s but he have also to face the disapproval of his wife family.
Even if it's not tense as the previous books there's plenty of food for thought. It talks about 50s/60s but he also talks about the world we live in.
Colson Whitehead is a master storyteller, his style of writing is apparently plain but his descriptions and characters made me think even when I wasn't reading.
If you are expecting The Nickel Boy pt 2 this isn't the right book, if you want to read a fast paced/action packed story this isn't the book for you.
But if you want to read a well written story that will make you think and enjoy what you're reading this is the right book.
I loved it and it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

DNF.

I got to 50% and just couldn’t summon up the enthusiasm to continue with this book. It’s a heist/crime caper set in 1950s/60s Harlem but despite some nice prose, the story was sending me to sleep. Too many bit part characters and side stories that went nowhere. I say this as someone who read and really enjoyed The Nickel Boys.

Many thanks to @netgalley, the author and Doubleday Books for the ARC. This just wasn’t for me.

One of the most anticipated releases for 2021, Harlem Shuffle portrays Ray Carney’s life as a re-spectable furniture salesman inevitably clashing with some of the unsavoury activities he ends up getting involved in following in his father’s footsteps.
Part noir novel and part social reflection of the United States of the time (and of today, to some extent), Whitehead masterful writing gives an incredibly vivid depiction of 1960 Harlem with a ton of cultural references from the era.
However that is unfortunately where the enjoyment of the book ended for me. I never felt re-motely invested in the characters or the story and I quite struggled to finish the book.
It didn’t really work as a crime novel as it was plagued by a directionless plot with very little tension building up in the story, and it didn’t work as a more theme-driven novel either since the socio-economic aspects of the story remain firmly in the background.
I had high expectations given the pedigree of the author, and I’m afraid these were not really met. 5/10

does colson whitehead know how to miss? i don't think he does. i've read both underground railroad and the nickel boys, both of which were serious and heavy and important. but like the title implies, harlem shuffle has such a verve and groove to it, an absolute crowd pleaser.

Ray Carney just wants to lead decent life as a black furniture salesman at the beginning of the 1960s in Harlem. His wife Elizabeth is expecting their second child and even if his in-laws are not happy with him, his life is quite ok. His cousin Freddie shows up from time to time with some bargains and Ray does not ask too many questions about the origins of the odd sofa or necklace. But when Freddie and a bunch of crooks plan to rob the Hotel Theresa – something like Harlem’s Waldorf – and as for his help to get rid of the loot, his life becomes a lot more complicated especially since Ray quickly understands that there is not much room for negotiation.

With “The Underground Railroad” and “The Nickel Boys” Colson Whitehead has catapulted himself at the top of the list of contemporary writers. Just as in his former works, “Harlem Shuffle” brilliantly captures the mood and the atmosphere of the time it is set in. It only takes a couple of pages to get a feeling of 125th street of the time and first and foremost, how people experienced the riots after the shooting of an unarmed black boy by a policeman. Thus, even though the plot is set sixty years in the past, he succeeds in connecting it to present day events and issues.

“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.”

Ray has decided for a decent life with his furniture store, he keeps to himself and his family and does not want to get involved too much in any criminal doings. He has grown up with broken glass on the playground, killings where just a side note of everyday life. Yet, Freddie is his cousin and blood ultimately is thicker than water. They have grown up like brothers and the bond cannot easily be cut even though this time, it means serious consequences.

The novel develops slowly but it is those seemingly unrelated marginalia that provide the depth of the story and create the atmosphere on which the story lives. A great novel vividly written and definitely worth reading, however, I am not as enthusiastic as I was after reading his former novels.

Round up to a 3.75 for the quality of the writing. Well written, but a case of 'I loved the synopsis but in execution it didn't work for me.' Would still recommend it giving it a go.

Well written as all of Whitehead's work, but not quite my taste - my third Whitehead and I think I've come to realise that his style is not one that quite works for me.

Fans of Colson Whitehead will love this one! It’s a slow burn, meandering through the lives of residents of Harlem in the 50’s and 60’s. The characters and their stories are portrayed with such a loving honesty that shows their goodness and humor as well as the darker parts. Well worth a read. This novel will be released on 14th September.

Thank you to netgalley and Little Brown Book group for an advance copy.

Harlem Shuffle toes an interesting line between being an out-and-out heist novel, and a deeper side about protest and resistance to oppression, as its characters struggle to make ends meet in an area that has been routinely ransacked for its wealth.

For me, the latter theme of the novel was more effective, with some blisteringly powerful scenes and descriptions of just what rebellion and resistance can look like in a world where characters have to fight tooth and nail just to stay afloat. Our main characters especially are caught in this bind, and so we follow their plans to carry out various schemes.

However, something about the book didn't always connect for me, and I often found myself wanting the scenes of protest and uprising more than I did the more daily lives of these characters. That is not to say that they are badly written, but something about it meant that I never truly felt like I knew these characters or had much of a sense of their motivations beyond a surface level. I had similar feelings with his previous novel, Nickel Boys, so it may well be a 'me' problem where I don't quite connect to his style.

That aside, there are some rich and interesting moments in this book that vividly paint a very specific and often overlooked period of US history.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My expectations were high for this book, and I also wasn't sure what to expect as I was such a fan of his previous book the Underground Railroad. This takes a completely different approach/genre being that of more a crime thriller and descriptive journey through Harlem and the 1960s. Starting off the bat with our protagonist, Ray Carney who lives a double life (hence the title) tries to juggle many things, values, responsibilities, vendettas. We also get the descriptive nature of the book describing what life was like during the 60's and landmarks of the area which will be well known to some from that time. Overall, this novel is fun, engaging, intriguing and a step far away from what I was expecting have read Railroad, but that can only be a good thing - keeping me guessing, teaching me new things and introducing me to an old world I knew nothing about. Loved it and Love Colson Whitehead!

Harlem Shuffle By Colon Whitehead.


Following on from Bestseller The underground Railway and The Nickel Boys, Colon Whitehead depicts an inside look at Harlem,New York during the late fifties and sixties . The central character Ray Carney is the ambitious owner of a successful furniture store with the odd illegitimate side hustle. Ray is intrinsically a good person but the many temptations of flawed characters around him force him to navigate between survival and providing a better life for his family. Spanning different stages of his life the book reveals his experiences with racism, police brutality ,mafia type personal protection, heists and trying to prove himself to his family.

Thank you to Net Gallery for an ARC

Excellent. I loved The Underground Railroad, and thought was very good as well, even though the tone was very different. The characters were well written and the story itself was fast paced and believable. It was fun to read and I would recommend it.

Whitehead is clearly a very talented and successful author. So, picking up this novel, which immediately follows his previous two Pulitzer-winning books was perhaps not the best entry point to his body of work.

Throughout the book, I kept asking myself what I'm reading. On the surface, the plot is fairly straightforward.

Ray Carney is a furniture salesman who "was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked". This means he has a side business as a salesman of miscellaneous items of questionable origin without asking questions. We follow Ray in three interconnected short stories taking place a few years apart in Harlem during the 50s and 60s. As the story progresses, Ray is either the victim of circumstances, or deliberately makes choices that result in him getting increasingly involved in the criminal world.

Despite beautiful prose, the characters are not particularly interesting, and there is almost no momentum to the story. Events are often told in retrospect, there are frequent digressions in the middle of the action, and flashbacks and flash-forwards tend interrupt any suspense. I have no doubt all of these are deliberate choices from the author.

So, if this is not a crime caper, or a thriller, or a mystery, what is it?

The book is very atmospheric, and the period Harlem is rendered vividly. We encounter some big themes: systemic racism, class discrimination, corruption, police brutality, and the ethics of living in a society that endorses all the above. These are all treated tangentially, and the author uses a light touch when evoking them. And this is perhaps my best interpretation of what this novel is: a sort of modern morality play set against the backdrop of a nascent civil rights movement.

After reading the last page of this book, I sat there for a moment and wondered what I had just read.

It's not that the story is hard to explain. We follow our main character Ray Carver, owner of a furniture store, a husband and a father, an upstanding citizen 80% of the time. The other 20% is more dubious in nature. His father was a crook, and Carver is at least a little bent. Just a little, though; he just passes on items that are passed on to him, and doesn't ask questions about their origin. But when he inadvertently gets involved in a heist, the line begins to blur more and more.

But this book isn't really about the heist, even though that is how it starts. In fact, I wouldn't necessarily say the book has much of a plot. What's important are the issues it raises, and it uses Carver as an example to do so. Through him, Colson Whitehead paints a picture of what it was like to be a Black man in Harlem. Carver is constantly struggling between who he imagines himself to be (a good citizen) and who he is inclined to be because of who his father was (a crook). Every situation he lands in is an opportunity to lean more one way or the other. There are three parts to this story, all linked together by the choices Carver makes that lead him on the next leg of his journey and our further exploration of Harlem's underbelly. On the way we find discussions of classism and colorism, corrupt and racist police forces, and the power of the rich. Most of these are only touched upon, but it's done really well and helps to create an image of Harlem during the 50s-60s.

Carver is also our vessel to explore Harlem, and Harlem almost feels like another character in the book. It develops much as Carver does, changing throughout the years, and the author really takes the time to describe the setting in lush detail without going over the top with it. The hustle and bustle of Harlem becomes its own entity and an important part of the book.

The ending wasn't what I expected. I feel as if Whitehead lulled me into a false sense of complacency, where I figured I knew how this would end up. That wasn't the case, and I was pleasantly surprised with where the book leaves off. It's an easy read, decently paced and beautifully written, and the prose was definitely one of my favourite parts of this experience.

This is the second book I read by Colson Whitehead, the first one being The Nickel Boys. Since the previous one left such a strong impression on me, and instantly made me a fan of Colson's writing, Harlem Shuffle was something I could not pass up.

It did not disappoint. If you've never read any of his books, I say it will take some time to get used to his writing style. It's dense and intricate, very detailed, but not overwhelming. It's the kind of writing that requires every ounce of concentration you have, because no word is used in vain. Every word, phrase, sentence is used to send a message, describe the setting, create the atmosphere, bring value to the story in some way. I don't advise you run through this one, skim or skip anything. This story, deserves your full attention.

First of all, I believe nobody creates an atmosphere like Colson. He will take a simple thing such as our main character walking down the street, going to the restaurant, and he'll describe everything he sees, smells, or thinks about along the way, and from this description you'll learn about the street, the people, how they walk, talk, think, what the day looks like - EVERYTHING. It's not drawn out, floral descriptions, it's very precise, but very captivating once you realise this. It's incredible how he does this. Since everything takes place in New York, you'll get a lot of brand names, cultural references, street names, so he really tries to bring the setting to jump out from the pages of the book. For me, it's like 3D reading.

This story has a pretty good pacing. It's definitely not predictable, and I was hit with the ending to an extent. I expected some things to happen, because Colson basically guides you as the reader to deduct conclusions, but then he adds in a twist you might not expect. I really appreciate this.

And, if you're planning on reading this book, you have to know this isn't just a story about some guys life. This book tackles so many topics but in such a great, thoughtful, raw and honest way. From politics, classicism, racism, I mean, just so many things, but it doesn't feel superficial. All these elements that make a successful novel are just layered and layered and intertwined together, and he just does this so effortlessly.

He simultaneously focuses on the bigger and smaller picture, and makes us focus on our main character's current situation, but also how it all fits and reflects the political and societal circumstances.

This definitely isn't a lighthearted read, though it does have this thread of humour that goes through it, which I appreciated. It's not ha-ha funny, it's just there, and you feel it. It's also not gloomy and dark to the point you have to put down the book. It can be tense at times, it put me on the edge and had me biting my nails worrying about the future of our main character. I was definitely invested.

I think fans of Colson Whitehead wont' be disappointed. Anyone who is reading this for the first time, I suggest take your time and enjoy his writing.

Not your usual Colson book but that is ok - it nice to get a departure from an author you know. To see their different sides of story telling. There is a book for every reader. If The Nickel Boys wasn't in your wheelhouse but if you enjoy a crime novel. This book is for you. And, that speaks a lot about the author that can appeal to every reader.

Colson Whitehead deservedly won the Pulitzer prize (and a bunch of other awards) for his previous two novels. Those two novels both detailed tragic times in the history of America. The Underground Railroad was a dark fantasy on attitudes and responses to slavery while The Nickle Boys explored the impacts of institutionalisation and associated abuse of young Black offenders in the 1960s. Harlem Shuffle explores another historical place and time with no less skill but with a decidedly lighter touch.
Harlem Shuffle opens in 1959, Ray Carney is in the furniture business, although not all of his furniture is strictly legitimate. It is his criminal sideline that makes him vulnerable. And in the The Truck, the first story of three in this novel, when Carney’s more bent cousin Freddie comes by and tells Carney he has volunteered him to be the fence for a heist he is involved in, Carney can do nothing other than go along. So begins a heist story in which, being a heist, nothing goes according to plan.
The next story, Dorvay, jumps forward to 1961 and involves a complex plan of revenge and retribution. And the final story, set in the aftermath of the Harlem riots in 1964, sees Freddie drag Carney back into the thick of things, but this time dealing with criminals much higher up the food chain, including the powerful Van Wyck family.
Harlem Shuffle is a story of ambition and the American dream. Ray Carney has his legitimate business that he wants to succeed and grow and ambitions to move his wife and family from their tiny apartment below the train tracks to something grander on Riverside Drive. And while his dreams are partly funded by his “bent” side, he finds, as he climbs the greasy pole of success, that everyone he deals with is ultimately a little bent themselves and it is all about learning the rules of the game.
Harlem Shuffle is filled with shady but relatable characters. From Carney’s disreputable cousin Freddie, to Pepper, his father’s old offsider and war veteran, to Moskowitz, the fence who teaches Carney how to value the jewellery he brings so that he is not ripped off, to the policeman who comes to collect every month on behalf of the local mobster. But despite all of this, and his own inner darkness, Ray Carney is still a protagonist that readers can both cheer for and worry about as he overcomes adversity while becoming more deeply enmired in the criminal web that seems to cover the city.
Throughout the narrative, Whitehead brings the neighbourhoods and people of Harlem in the early 1960s to life. He paints a vivid picture of the city from the shops to the diners and the clubs. But it is also a city that is changing – the old elevated railway is being torn down, the World Trade Centre is about to be built and progress is in the air.
Colson Whitehead might be best known now for his last two books but he is no stranger to using genre, such as in his 2011 zombie apocalypse novel Zone One. In Harlem Shuffle he puts his own spin on the tropes and traditions of the crime novel, in particular heist narratives. He delivers both an engaging and tense crime narrative while also bringing to life a time and place. But more than that, Whitehead continues to use his stories to highlight the historical and ongoing challenges faced by black communities in America. To once again make the point that no matter how far that society has come towards righting the wrongs of the past, there is still a long way to go.