Black Buck (Askaripour’s debut novel) is unlike anything I’ve ever read…with mixed results. On the positive side, I appreciated Askaripour’s commentary on workplace culture and particularly racism (both micro and macro) in the workplace (and in general). And, I loved his overall message of members of a marginalized group banding together to fix a rigged game and helping others learn how to succeed at that game. I also loved that he structured the book like a sales manual, specifically calling out key takeaways. On the flip side, the publisher is marketing Black Buck as “satirical” and I don’t normally read much satire, but I suspect the genre may not work well for me. A number of plot points felt too over-the-top for my taste (over-the-top plot points are one of my general reading pet peeves) and the opening section of the book that focused on the sales company’s hazing schtick felt repetitive and went on too long. I actually almost DNF’d around 36% for this reason. But, the schtick did fall away soon after the 36% mark and I got more engrossed in the story. Black Buck (a #readwithjenna pick) absolutely made me think, but missed the overall mark for me. 3.25 stars.

I kept picking up this book despite my initial misgivings. I didn't find the main character appealing but he had a certain magnetism. Also the humor, satire, and biting commentary on contemporary business, startups, racism in the working world, were appealing. The plot itself is rollicking and appealingly twisty. I'll be recommending this one as appropriate.

I liked this book but I'm not sure it lived up to all the hype it got. It was a good satire but hit somewhere in the middle between really scathing and really funny. I think it could've been more, but I'm not mad I read it.

This was a fast paced book with great character development. I enjoyed seeing the rise and trials of the main character. It also reminded me more of the movie 21 rather than Wolf of Wall Street.

"Black Buck" is a mixture of racial injustice, "Wolf of Wall Street," and "White Tiger." A cutting look at the foundation of white supremacy, Askaripour's novel has a searing wit and a compelling voice. Darren rises (literally) from the bottom floor of a NYC Starbucks to a high-up sales position at a downtown firm. Darren loses his soul for a bit... but regains it, to some disastrous (for him) results. My one complaint is the end of the book whips by so quickly that I don't have much time to be invested in the newly introduced characters. Regardless, I enjoyed "Black Buck" thoroughly! Thanks to netgalley and to Houghton Mifflin for the ARC, which I was provided with in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read anything like this before, the writing was so credible and believable that I was left goggling the protagonist Darren Vender, and trying to find his true origin. Whilst this is a fictional story, of a Starbucks manager turned salesman, the racism and privilege explored in this story is so real it hurts. Darren's inclusion in a world without diversity raises a plethora of incidents that are downright abusive. But the sacrifices Darren is prepared to make to 'seemingly' improve himself are at odds with all that he believes in. Characters like Clyde are overtly intolerant and made my skin crawl. I would recommend this read to those that want to educate themselves about privilege and is an important reminder that we should be aware of our bias and our privilege and we should champion and open the door to those without a privilege pass,

This was an interesting book, pretty different from a lot of other things I’ve read. I normally don’t think much of the comp titles that marketing departments like to toss out there to help sell books, but the two from the synopsis, Sorry to Bother You and The Wolf of Wall Street were pitch-perfect to me!

I’ve seen some complaints about how this book is over the top and to those readers I say......that’s kind of the point. This is a satirical novel. It’s also about a topic that’s likely to be uncomfortable for the average white person to explore. Black Buck is not supposed to be a ‘realistic’ depiction, true to life in every single way, but I think that people who operate outside the world Mateo Askaripour is discussing would be surprised to learn how much is pulled from real life examples.

As for the story, it’s a little all over the place for me. I felt like I read multiple books back-to-back as opposed to one cohesive narrative. Black Buck is broken down into five parts, and where a couple feel like natural breaks in the story, others feel like a complete departure. I don’t want to put spoilers in this review, but there are some pivotal moments in the main character’s life that really change the dynamic of the story Askaripour is trying to tell, and not always for the better. Sometimes I think he struggled with exactly what this book was trying to be, and instead of making some difficult cuts he decided to just include everything.

I also didn’t love the ending. Not because it was bleak or I didn’t appreciate the point the author was trying to make, but because it didn’t feel as well thought out as the rest of the book. It features a character introduced at the eleventh hour as a mustache-twirling villain instead of letting the natural consequences of Buck’s actions lead him to that conclusion. I just think there was a way to accomplish the same things without cheapening the effect.

As a whole, though, I did like the book. I’d recommend the book itself to anyone who’s interested in reading a searing debut about the intersection between the business world and race in America.

Black Buck is certainly an original novel. My thoughts regarding this book, while reading it and after finishing, are all over the place. The majority of the time I was reading I felt uneasy. I think that's the point here, though.

The themes here are very much extreme, and while some of them seemed a little farfetched, they do not lack value. Reading through Buck's experiences of racism in corporate America had me thinking about the office I work in, my coworkers who are POC, and what they have had to deal with.

I think I would've given this a higher rating if the structure was different. I know a lot of people enjoyed the fact that it was written and formatted as a pseudo-memoir and sales manual, but that took away from the story for me.

I can definitely say, though, that this is one that will stick with me.

CW: racism, white supremacy, bullying, death of a family member, cancer, harassment, violence, murder

Black Buck is satirical novel about a former Starbucks employee who finds himself in the world of sales when he boldly uses his powers of persuasion to convince a CEO of a start-up company to change his usual Starbucks order. Addressing issues of ambition and race, Black Buck exposes the dark side of pursuing the American Dream.
First, I want to say that you MUST go into this novel knowing that it is a satire. If you don’t, you’re going to be in a world of shock. This book had me laughing out loud at times and also had my jaw dropping to the floor. It was hilarious while simultaneously making me feel uncomfortable; however, this was the point. You’ll hear frequent use of the “R” work and even the phrase “white lives matter” which will definitely give you pause, but it’s all for a greater meaning, so pay attention.
This was my first satire novel, and while I enjoyed it, there were other parts of the book that just went over my head. I know absolutely nothing about business/sales (I come from a huge family of CPAs and was the black sheep that went into law enforcement) so a lot of what was going on was foreign to me. I really enjoyed the first 70%, but the last part turned into a bit of a different novel, which is where my rating dropped off. Nevertheless, I was rooting for Buck the entire time, and I truly appreciated the greater meaning of the entire book.
VERDICT: 3.5 Stars
Thanks to Mateo Askaripour and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a post-publication copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Black Buck was both hilarious and exasperating. There were moments when I truly laughed out loud (mostly in the first half of the book) and I appreciated those moments as a reader. But I also found the constant breaking of the fourth wall to be irritating and superfluous most of the times that it was employed. While I love a good book full of twists and turns, this one's seemed mildly implausible in a vaguely slapstick kind of way. So, if you're looking for an outlandish Bed-Stuy read that'll make you laugh along the way, this one could be a great choice! I just think I expected a more resonating message from it and/or as many laughs in the first half of the novel as in the second half.

If the amount of teeth clenching and fist balling I did while reading Black Buck as a white woman even holds a candle to how often Black people have to do the same while on the job, this author got his point across. This work of satire was incredibly engaging and had me in Buck’s head constantly, even when I stepped away from the book. I felt his frustration, his shame, and his anger, and his deep need to do anything, absolutely anything for those he loves. This book had a slow build-up, but around the 50% mark, a good book becomes an incredible one. I didn’t expect some of the twists and turns, making this book not just an important read, but also an entertaining one.

I have so much more I want to say, but I don’t want to delve into spoiler territory. I am not an own voices reviewer and I urge you to search out own voices reviews.

I read this book in January right before it was published and planned to write a review then but this has been a hard review to write. I would give the story 3 stars but ended up giving it 4 stars as I think it has an important message about racism and sales culture. The beginning was very strong but like many of the other reviews, the ending just pulled me completely out of the story. Without any spoilers, there were other less dramatic ways to get the apparent desired result (like tax fraud or the same thing on a much less soap opera level). It was hard to take the book seriously after that point. I don’t think the conference was a problem and could see that happening but everything after that just took a turn towards being a bit too manufactured towards the dramatic for me. However, the overall message, the narration style and most of the book were really good and I will read more by this author.
(I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

This was a super unique book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Simultaneously satirical and serious, hard-hitting, funny, upsetting. It has been likened to The Wolf of Wallstreet and that is definitely accurate. I loved Askaripour's writing style and would definitely read more by him. Highly recommend!

"An opportunity means change. An opportunity means action. But most of all , an opportunity means a chance of failure."

I received this book from NetGalley in September and when I started reading it then somehow I found it difficult to get into.

Last weekend while at the hairdresser to pick up this again and I just could not put it down.

This is a very well written story about a twenty two year old young man named Darren. A Starbucks employee, who in giving a good sales pitch while selling a coffee to Rhett Daniels CEO from Sumwun, a tech startup company located in New York, was given a life changing opportunity to work for a dream company. Little did Daniel know that this opportunity would change his life as he knew it forever.

Askaripour skillfully crafted this story, in that it provided not only entertainment but it gave a lot of life long lessons and really made the reader think about life in a deep way especially as it relates to success. Each character had an important role in the book which was awesome.

It is also important to note Darren's change of attitude when he became successful. These changes reflect the attitude of so many young people upon getting into profitable employment at an early age. The writer brought into the story the issue of race relations and issues beautifully. I liked how he was not one sided in the approach to the discourse on race.

Love the characters, Love the book. Well done!!!

Mateo Askaripour is a writer to watch this year. Black buck makes you feel a range of emotions. The way Mateo explores the Black experience and complexities of being a black man in a majority white workplace. The writing keeps you engrossed in the story and anticipating the twists to come!

I thought I was going to like this book. I found it to be very rushed at times. This book wasn't my typical genre and maybe that's why I didn't like it.

I have complicated feelings about this one. I enjoyed it and read it quickly. I keep seeing it billed as satire, but this is not your usual laugh out loud satire. An impressive debut and I look forward to seeing what he does next, I guess I just have an issue with the marketing.

The first half of the book read very quickly, then it kind of slowed down, and then the end just went OFF THE RAILS.

the concept of the book is certainly fresh, and as someone living in the heart of Silicon Valley, I was intrigued by the exploration of race in start-up culture (which, btw, is a bit different from Corporate America, which a lot of reviews have conflated). I liked how the narrator directly addresses the reader, like he is whispering secrets in our ear, and I liked the meta-concept: a book-as-fictional memoir, saran-wrapped as a Sales Bible. It is a gimmick, but the protagonist Darren, co-opts salesperson gimmicks to out-wit his superiors (read: white men).
However, for what has been called a race satire, I found this skimming WAY too close to the truth. Still, the plot twists were jarring and uncomfortable (as they should be!), and had a larger-to-life feeling to them, but I still have a hard time calling this satire when it’s not unrealistic. Honestly, it might just be white people who think this is full-on satire lol.
As much as this was enjoyable to listen to, this book left me wanting for a couple of reasons:
1) I was not impressed by how closely this plot follows Boots Riley’s film Sorry to Bother You (which I am a HUGE fan of - I just was disappointed to read a B+ paper to Riley’s A+ movie). Instead of being in conversation with the movie, it adopted the same broad-stroke themes and even some plot points, without digging deeper into its own message.
2) I wish this book explored concepts of masculinity in start-up culture or mentoring relationships in a gender-inclusive way. “Diversity gone wrong” was the motto, and this book is a prime example. This storyline was hyper-focused on racial divides between men in start-up culture, and the protagonist is ultimately the hero realizing his mom’s dreams. The plotline with his high school sweetheart made me cringe. I wanted Soraya to do better for herself than to just forgive his betrayal and “temporary delusion” with success. It even could have explored how monetizing mental health is an issue of access and distribution, and how sales companies target certain demographics that they think find more gullible.
Still, I would recommend this because it was thrilling and the narrator was personable and fun to get to know throughout the book. The absurd plot was highly entertaining and I am glad it came with a social message, even if I did find it a bit elementary.

This book is a WILD ride. I truly never knew what was coming next and Buck always kept me on my toes. The blatant racism in this book was so hard for me to read, which I think was it's intention. As a white woman, I don't deal with racial comments and this book really made a point to show me how obvious and apparent racism is. This book touches on the craziness of startup culture, which I can relate to in a sense since I worked at a company that prided itself on startup mentality. I can't wait to see what Mateo Askaripour puts out next!

If you work in business, I think you will like this book. For me this was not a personal favorite but I think that’s because I don’t work in a business field; I had a hard time differentiating what was supposed to be satirical and what was more representative of that life. I’m also not overly money driven so I had a hard time relating to many of the characters.

This follows Darren aka “Buck” and his climb to the near top of a NY tech start-up and all that comes with selling your soul for a bigger paycheck. I liked and loathed Buck in turns. He starts out as this really great guy who likes his job, loves his girlfriend and mom, and is overall content with his life. Once he joins the start-up and rockets to the top in short time, he turns into an insufferable, whiny jerk who makes excuses and blames everyone but himself because he can’t see what a terrible person he’s become. But then toward the end he comes full circle and realizes that he has the power to help others, specifically other people of color who don’t have the skills to get into these sorts of jobs. I really loved the Happy Campers and thought the idea was brilliant. I hope we really do see organizations like this now and in the future. I think they were my favorite part of the book. In the end, we see that Buck re-finds himself as a good guy who is able to stand his moral high ground after all.

Overall, not a favorite but it picked up for me toward the middle and end when the focus shifted away from the work and more to helping other people. I think I’d give it a 3.5/5.