Harlem Shuffle is the newest novel by Colson Whitehead. I absolutely loved Underground Railroad and Nickel Boys and was super excited to be gifted with an advanced readers copy of this one. Unlike the above mentioned novels, this one has a different vibe to it. The novel is broken in to 3 time periods between 1959-1964 and Ray Carney is our main guy. He's a married man with a wife he loves, baby girl and another on the way. He runs a furniture store in Harlem and most of his business is legit...mostly. Unfortunately he gets caught up in a "job" with his cousin Freddie, who is involved with some shady people doing some shady work. In the aftermath of the "Theresa job", Carney is stuck dealing with some unsavory characters and does his best to keep it from his family and especially from his in-laws who feel like their daughter could have done much better. Just when Carney thinks his past is behind him, cousin Freddie gets him involved in another shady situation that leads to some dangerous situations.

This novel paints a vivid picture of life in Harlem during the early 1960's. Carney is a guy who you want to root for but then he keeps making these questionable decisions and I was like, "Why, Carney? Why?" The novel shows how difficult it was to be black businessman in post WWII America whether to stay clean and poor or try to move up in the world by making few shady deals on the side. The characters are so flawed and so very well developed. And Carney? He's a good man, trying to create a good life for his family and build a better reputation for himself than his father had.

It took me awhile to get into this story.. There were A LOT of characters to keep straight and I couldn't keep track of who was who until I was well into the story. By the third part, I was truly invested in the characters and found myself rooting for Carney and hoping he could somehow be Freddie's savior and detangle himself from the mess he was caught up in.

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review can also be found on IG @maria.needs.to.read and on my Goodreads account.

"From the Skyline’s thirteenth-floor windows you could take in the lights of the George Washington Bridge one way, the Triborough another way, and the sentinel Empire State Building to the south. Top of the world."

Harlem Shuffle invites the reader to explore 1950s-1960s Harlem, New York, from the perspective of Ray Carney, a Black furniture salesman and family man. Carney prides himself on working hard, making an honest living, and not being "crooked," as are many of his contemporaries who make their way as con artists and petty thieves. But everything changes when Carney gets dragged into a heist of a major hotel and finds himself on the opposite side of things...

"It never occurred to him that things would go wrong, that the caper would go sideways and there would be consequences. There were always consequences."

The midcentury Harlem setting is the star of the show here. Colson Whitehead brings the neighborhood to life with vibrant descriptions of the culture, the sights & sounds, the bars & diners, the real history layered throughout. The details are utterly atmospheric and all but bodily transport the reader into another time and place.

"No New Frontier stretched before him, endless and bountiful—that was for white folks—but this new land was a few blocks at least and in Harlem a few blocks was everything. A few blocks was the difference between strivers and crooks, between opportunity and the hard scrabble."

Whitehead's characters are brilliantly diverse, not only demographically but in personality. We see the lowlifes seeding the Harlem neighborhoods with corruption and crime, the social climbers strategizing to keep up with the Joneses, and everything in between. These characterizations brought the story to life in incredibly authentic ways and kept me interested.

"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."

Harlem Shuffle is funny, gritty, immersive, and nuanced, and offers rich social commentary on race, class, integrity, and morality. A delight to read and an insightful novel to think about & discuss afterward. Highly recommended!

——

A huge thank you to Colson Whitehead, Doubleday Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received a digital advance copy of Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. Harlem Shuffle is scheduled for release on September 14, 2021.

Harlem Shuffle was presented to me as a heist novel, which meant I went into the book with certain expectations. This ended up causing some trouble for me as a reader, as this isn’t really a heist novel. Rather it is a story about the Little Man versus Big Crime. There is a heist in the novel, but it occurs very early in the book, and is only described in passing. This story is really about the waves that radiate out for many years after the heist, and how one man (not a part of the heist) deals with those waves.

Since I was expecting a heist novel, I was waiting for the heist to occur. When a heist was described, but as an event that didn’t involve our main character, and occurred fully off-page, I thought that heist was part of the set-up leading to the actual heist of the story. This feeling of waiting for the real event to happen made it difficult for me to get invested in the story. Ultimately, it also made the actual story feel flat to me. Again, this was entirely due to the expectations I had when I started reading, and most likely does not represent the actual story.

The story also covers enough time and introduces enough characters that I got a bit lost in terms of who was who. I think this was also connected to me reading the novel as if it were set-up to an event rather than the repercussions of an event.

Despite the issues I encountered while reading the story, there was an interesting tale here of the fall out from a group of small time criminals pulling a heist that impacted members of big crime.

I recommend Harlem Shuffle for readers looking for a historic crime novel. Just don’t go in expecting a true heist story!

Another excellent read from Colson Whitehead! Taking place in Harlem in the 50s and 60s, Harlem Shuffle puts the reader right in the middle of all of the action. I could have closed my eyes and been there myself. We take a journey with Ray, the son of a criminal. Ray is a respected business owner in the community, but continues to follow in his father's footsteps. Ray wants to do and be good, but there are so many other opportunities out there. He wants to be the best husband and father, but how can he do this? The characters in this story just come to life as we take this journey with Ray and his family.
This book is not as heavy as Whitehead's previous two books. It is an entertaining visit to a place and time that many of us did not experience. An easy, enjoyable read for all!
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

"Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..."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, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs?

By now we are all familiar with the name Colson Whitehead. In the book reviews posted by other authors and professional reviewers, the double Pulitzer prize winner is a must-read on everyone's TBR list. One review stated that Whitehead had won all the major writing awards with the exception of "the Edgar"; the prestigious award given to those in the horror/fantasy genre. So I expected something with a paranormal bent to it. Not so. Not even in the same section of the book store. Not to say this book wasn't good, just not what I was lead to believe I was going to find.
The story was slow but still interesting. Whitehead gives a view of '60's Harlem so vividly one would think he lived there as the famed New York neighborhood went through its changes and growing pains.
Personally, this book did little for me. I just could not get invested in the main character or his dilemma of keeping the two halves of his life separate. He was no more moral or immoral than any other businessman or crook out there. He worked for what he wanted and had little regard for which side of the law he stood on. Carney may have spent a lot of time worrying he was going down the wrong path, but he never hesitated when it was time to cross to that side of the street.
I have little doubt this will debut at number one on the NY Times book list, but will it be for the name Colson Whitehead or because the book is that good. I say the former will be the reason.
Thanks to @Netgalley and Doubleday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I honestly have to admit this my first novel by Colson Whitehead, and having heard and read phenomenal reviews about The Underground Railroad and the Nickel Boys, I was delighted to receive and ARC of Harlem Shuffle.

I'm not sure how to classify the genre of this novel. It doesn’t seem to fit a preset mold. All I can say is that it feels like a really strange book. It took me a very long time from beginning to end, always an indication that I can't really get into a book.

I also took this novel as an opportunity to learn more about Harlem and its history. While reading it however, it became very hard to keep up with the descriptions and the settings. There is a lot of "everything": Lots of characters, multiple side stories, many jumps from the present to the past and back to the present in a single paragraph and without any hints. I found hard to maintain focus and to comprehend where the stories were leading, I feel like I was constantly trying to scrimmage the main plot from the secondaries without much success. Everything and everyone in this book pulls in different directions and it felt to me like the main line lacked cohesion.

I'm still looking forward to read other works by Whitehead.
Thank you #netgalley #colsonwhitehead #harlemshuffle for the chance to read and review this book

We first meet business owner, furniture salesman, and sometimes middleman for moving electronics and jewelry of unknown origin Ray Carney in 1959 when he is unwittingly roped into a hotel jewelry heist thanks to his cousin, Freddie. Over the next five years, we see him walk the line of businessman and crook as he builds his business (and side business), gets revenge on those who look down on him, and tries to protect his family--including Freddie who brings trouble whenever he appears. It's a slow burn of a thriller that brings Harlem of the '60s to life and makes you want to know more about the truth of how NYC was really built--and at what cost.

A brilliantly written snapshot of a time and place that seems to be echoing across the decades. Harlem in the 1950s and 60s is rendered in exquisite detail through the eyes of one man - the owner of a furniture store and respectable family man Ray Carney. Ok, so sometimes, rarely, he may deal in things other than furniture as a favor for friends. A necklace here or there. A TV set that fell off the back of a truck. Whitehead takes you down the path and shows you how a kind and mostly honest man can easily get in over his head with layered descriptions that still makes me feel the hot and sticky closeness of a New York summer.

I do wish we had gotten to see more of Elizabeth, Carney's travel agent wife who worked hard to find and arrange safe travel and vacation plans for the Black people of New York. Maybe Whitehead is working on another novel about her. But this novel really didn't need more - he just made her so interesting in the few bits she had that I wanted to know a lot more about her and her work! Well worth picking up this title, with lots of fodder for discussion.

Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for this digital arc. I was so excited to be asked to read this book having loved the other Colson Whitehead books I have read but I really struggled with this one to be honest. I had a hard time engaging with the characters and the setting which made me sad because I have really loved his other work. I think for individuals with a deeper interest in Harlem in that time period, they may find what they are looking for with this work, I just was not able to. The writing was still beautiful itself so I am giving it 3 stars even though I could not engage with the plot.

I loved reading Whitehead's take on Harlem in the 1960s. His writing brings the setting to life, making me see and smell the words on the page. A great read and one I recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction.

At first glance, Harlem Shuffle might seem like a complete departure from Whitehead's previous two books- The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, both five stars reads for me. Harlem Shuffle is a crime heist novel, set in 1950s-60s Harlem, and it's quite pulpy. Underneath though, Whitehead is still shining a light on the racial politics, corruption, and inequities during the time, and he is still transporting us as the reader.

Ray, our main character, is a family man that sometimes turns the other cheek when his cousin hands him jewelry to sell and he isn't sure where it came from. When he becomes involved in a heist gone wrong, we see Ray grapple with the tension between his values and the circumstances he finds himself in.

This is definitely not my favorite by this two time Pulitzer winning author, but that is purely my own tastes. If you loved Deacon King Kong, I think you will love this book. I'd love to hear how others enjoy this- it publishes Sept. 14!

Every single book he writes is simply amazing and this was no exception. I have read them all and always wonder how he comes up with his ideas? I don't care!! I will keep reading him forever...

This was a fun heist novel and also a story about a man trying to make his way and be good for his family at the same time. It's set in the 50s and 60s in Harlem. I enjoyed it but got a little lost at some points. Pretty sure that was my fault and not the books'. 3.5 stars roundd down.

Really very good story. I think this is classified as a mystery, but I wouldn't call it that - there are various heists, and you wonder how things are going to turn out, but there wasn't one big overarching crime or mystery to solve. This was more the story of a man, and his life, and his struggle between being a legitimate businessman and a crook. Carney is interesting and complex, and I was hoping things would turn out ok for him throughout the whole story. This was very good historical fiction - very evocative of place and time. Harlem in the 1950's and 60's was brought to life, and there were many social justice issues woven into the story.

I'm very behind, because this is the first book I've read by this author even though I've wanted to read his previous books. I can see why he's a two time Pulitzer Prize winner, and will make it a priority to read those now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy - this was an excellent book to get to preview.

This book is a fun heist novel that also deals with family dynamics and trying to find the person you are. There are three sections to the book dealing with periods of time in 1959, 1961, and 1964. Ray Carney, the son of a criminal, owns a thriving furniture business in Harlem but can't stop himself from getting mixed up in illegal activity. Some of this is due to familial loyalty and some just his own self-interest. There are a lot of interesting characters and it's a vivid portrait of life in Harlem during the time period. Thoroughly enjoyed as I have other books by Colson Whitehead. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

4 solid stars. This was my first Colson Whitehead novel and it did not disappoint. The characters leapt off the page and, of course, it felt like Harlem itself was the main character. Family, and the crimes they commit, take center stage. Recommended.

This is the first time I’ve read anything by Colson Whitehed, and it won’t be my last.

He has written an eloquent and gritty tale of Old Harlem that spans from 1959 to 1964. The story immediately pulls you in and makes you feel as if you are there too. You’ll read Carney’s tale of his life and his struggles to define himself, through different parts of his life. He wants to distance himself from his father’s criminal past, but sometimes operates within gray areas. This book is powerful and is definitely something I believe that everyone should read.


My thanks to Colson Whitehed, Doubleday Books, and NetGalley for the getting to read this ARC and give my honest thoughts on it.

This is the first book I’ve read by Colson Whitehead, but from what I understand, it's a departure from her previous work. His last two novels tackled incredibly serious subject matters (slavery and the prison system) and they also both won the Pulitzer. So, how does one follow up that kind of success? With an ode to dime paperback crime novels, of course.

Harlem Shuffle is broken into three sections which each outline a scheme Ray Carney - full time furniture salesman and part time fence - is pulled into with varying degrees of success. Whitehead masterfully layers in family drama, social commentary and highly entertaining heists. He also introduces a colorful cast of characters of both crooks and straight citizens - though, as this book points out - sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

I fully enjoyed Harlem Shuffle and I am excited to read more by Whitehead.

A gritty look at the shuffle between respectable and shady. (Oh the gray areas!) Whitehead’s latest work is part heist novel and part love song to old Harlem, both aspects exceptionally well done.

“He was a wall between the criminal world and the straight world, necessary, bearing the load.”

Carney’s father may have been a criminal, but he longed for the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, temptation was hard to master. Carney is the perfect contradiction. On one hand, he is a respected and responsible business owner. But the other hand dabbled in the shady. Sometimes by his choice. Sometimes because of bad alliances. Whitehead’s depiction of Carney is deeply layered and richly nuanced. I found myself empathizing with him even when his decision confounded me.

But the best character in this novel is unequivocally 1960s Harlem herself. I was transported back to the nostalgia of the place and time. From the corner shops, to the greasy spoons and the dive bars. The streets were full of hustle and bustle. The people were ripe for change. And social upheaval was burgeoning. Whitehead masterfully wove together the emotion of the timeframe, vivid depictions of the neighborhood, and historical events that defined the era.

Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad prove Whitehead’s adeptness at writing, and his writing style shines in this novel as well. However, I felt his use of superfluous detail dragged portions of this book down. Just as I would get lost in the midst of a storyline, greedily devouring words, the scene would get bogged down in unnecessary backstory, stifling my enjoyment. To me, those offshoots derailed rather than adding to the momentum of the plot.

“They had their place and he had his. We all have our station in life- people, stars, cities- and even if no one looked after Carney and no one suspected him capable of much at all, he was going to make himself into something.”

Grimy and full of contradiction, this heist novel packs a punch. It’s worth the read.

Thank you Colson Whitehed, Doubleday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

“Harlem Shuffle” by Colson Whitehead ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Historical Fiction. Location: Harlem, New York City, NY, USA. Time: Part 1 “The Truck” takes place in 1959; Part 2 “Dorvay” in 1961; Part 3 “Cool It, Baby” in 1964. Note: This book’s plot is a bit lighter than Whitehead’s last 2 books, so read it for what it is, not what it isn’t.-
-
Ray Carney owns a furniture store on 125th in Harlem. Living in a cramped apartment with his wife and kids, he’s saving to buy an apartment in a nicer part of Harlem. But cash is tight, so when his cousin Freddie brings in occasional items that “dropped off a truck”, Carney knows the right jewelers and other fences to move a little merchandise. He’s just slightly bent when it comes to criminal behavior.-
-
On the “slightly bent” side of Carney’s life, cousin Freddie gets involved with a high stakes robbery at Harlem’s famous Hotel Theresa, and brings Carney in on it without his knowledge or agreement. The robbery unfortunately brings Carney to the attention of bigger criminals (crooks and cops) who demand payment and services.-
-
On the “mostly straight” side of his life, Carney is upwardly mobile, and needs the contacts that selling higher-end furniture lines and belonging to Harlem private clubs can provide. But getting there is not easy when your mostly absent father was a notorious criminal.-
-
This book is a different, slightly lighter genre for author Whitehead. With compassion and subtle humor, the author lovingly recreates the culture, community, sights, smells, sounds, and hustles of mid-20th century Harlem. It’s about family relationships, anger, revenge, and a protagonist with a yearning to achieve a better life for his family.-
-
Publication date is September 13, 2021 by Doubleday Books. With thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for this early copy, it’s 5 stars from me. 🌵📚👩🏼‍🦳”