Harlem Shuffle: A Novel

Couldn't get into the writing style, put it down and picked it back up, still couldnt get into it. DNF

I wanted to like this book so badly. I enjoyed Nickel Boys and Underground Railroad has been on my TBR for a while. I heard a piece on NPR about how groundbreaking this book would be and it just didn’t meet expectations for me. I dredged through it, confused by the time changes and rotating cast of characters. The main character was written well, but the story was hard to follow. I listened to the audio, so that could have something to do with it. I thought it was just alright. There was never a clear climax in my opinion and I just felt like I had to finish it but had no actual desire or motivation. As strange as it sounds, I’d still give it another shot one day maybe on paper this time. Not a winner for me at the moment

This newest slice of life centers around Harlem in the early 1960s. An era i am definitely not familiar with. We witness the world through the eyes of a man who aspires to be a successful business man, but whose father was a petty criminal so…family business is tempting. I appreciate whitehead’s ability to frame characters i care about in situations I can’t imagine on my own.

With “Harlem Shuffle”, Colson Whitehead flexes his range as an author. Placing us in a 1960’s Harlem crime and social drama that shows the beautiful and at the same time gritty sides of the city. Even in this moment in time, Whitehead does not forget the themes that have made his writing so wonderful. Moral inconsistencies and redemption arcs feature throughout the book. What makes this one even more compelling is the role of family dynamics in the story. Whitehead shows us how blood can be a reminder of where you come from and also an anchor keeping you where you are. That reflective quality makes already hard decisions into lose-lose propositions. For some of our characters being the last one laughing even while dying may be a win in itself. For those reasons and more Whitehead is proving masterful at revenge stories. Moreover, his fluid narrative style and vivid descriptions paints a picture of an American Dream that really is more of an American Hustle. Everyone playing their hand hoping that Lady Luck will be with them that day. A daily scramble for survival and social mobility that for some takes a back seat even to the race and identity battles that form the larger picture.

I appreciated the way it highlighted the differences in what life is like for blacks versus nonblacks and how 70 years ago still echos into the present as far as police murdering people and our very slow profession on dismantling the systemic racism.