Set in Harlem of the 1950s Carney, the owner of a furniture store gets pulled into a series of heists. A robbery of the hotel Teresa puts Carney on the radar of a big mob boss and changes the trajectory of his life.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me which absolutely kills me as a reader. I felt the plot just completely dragged and was not engaged at all.

In the first chapter alone, Whitehead affirmed my opinion that he is one of the most prescient and gifted writers of the 21st century. I have never been fond of mysteries or "whodunnits" until picking up Harlem Shuffle. The blend of social commentary, humor, and suspense provide ample entertainment. I expect that this title will be cherished by genre fans and lovers of literary fiction alike.

This book is about a family man who owns a furniture store in the 1960's. He tries to be an upstanding citizen which is kind of difficult considering he is also a petty thief.
I got to 25% of the book and I dnf'ed. I just couldn't get into it, it was all over the place to me and I kept finding my mind wandering to other things so I wasn't able to give the book the full attention it needs.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

FANTASTIC!!! Thank you Colson Whitehead and Netgalley for the ARC. I don't know how Mr. Whitehead does it. This novel is a complete departure from his other fantastic novels. His storytelling abilities let you envision New York right down to his apartment, the city streets, and the hustlers. I can't wait for the sequel "Crook Manifesto" (I've requested from Netgalley). Harlem Shuffle will leave you wanting more and Whitehead delivers.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions contained within are my own.

I’m not a big historical fiction reader but, ever since reading Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, I knew I would pick up anything he wrote! Apparently I enjoy a very specific brand of historical fiction and that’s books that revolve around the Black experience. This novel further cemented that fact!

Harlem Shuffle follows a Black man named Ray Carney living in 1960s Harlem. Carney is a furniture salesman with an adoring family… and maybe a little something less wholesome on the side. What started as selling a few questionable items that his cousin, Freddie, would pass on soon turns into Carney getting mixed up with a heist and local gangsters. Carney is trying to live a better life than his criminal father, while at the same time trying to prove to his snooty father-in-law that he can take care of his precious daughter. Money is tight and Carney soon finds himself living a double life: one as an up-and-coming furniture salesman and pillar of the community and one as a crook.

Once again, Colson Whitehead has blown me away with how easily he can pull me into a time period and setting so thoroughly that it feels like a memory. I feel like I experienced the riots in Harlem, the sweltering heat in the summertime, right alongside our main character. Whitehead’s writing is rich and evocative; it makes it easy to get lost in the pages and forget where you are until you put the book down! I love a book that can engross my attention like that and this one definitely delivered.

Beyond Whitehead’s incredible writing, the character work he does on Mr. Ray Carney is impeccable. It’s fascinating to watch his struggle between wanting to be a good man and wanting to give his family everything he didn’t have when he was growing up. His struggle to remain on the straight and narrow while being tempted by the seedier side of Harlem. I enjoyed the journey we follow as he slowly gets more and more involved with the criminal element, then tries his hardest to pull himself back out. It really showed how a bad set of circumstances can turn almost anyone down the wrong path. And Carney wasn’t the only captivating character in this book. There were so many colorful side characters that came in and out of his life throughout that absolutely shone on the page! I got a little excited when I found out there was going to be a sequel because I want to know what happens to all of them. I’m invested in their story and I’m ready to know more.

I was also a fan of the historical part of this fiction. We delve into what life was like for a Black man in 1960s Harlem and I love that we see both the bad and the good. I’ve grown weary of Black narratives that only focus on the trauma, so it was refreshing to read something that had a bit of both instead of just all the bad. Overall, this was an entertaining and insightful read that captured my interest from page one. And I know for a fact I’ll be picking up the sequel once it is out!

I loved the backdrop of Harlem in the 60s, but I got a little bogged down with all of the characters and flashbacks and background. Enjoyable read.

Typical of Colson Whitehead, he has created a complex and compelling story. Set in Harlem during the civil rights movement, we witness how Carney navigates his “new” above board life and his “old” underground criminal life. I loved this story and would recommend for all. He humanizes all of his characters even the stereotypical “bad guys.”The only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is that something I can’t quite pinpoint didn’t pull me in as much as his other books. The others I couldn’t put down; this one I enjoyed but didn’t need to keep reading.

I wanted to love this book. I am a Whitehead fan and have enjoyed his books prior to this one. While there were elements of this book that I enjoyed, especially the history of Harlem, I found it hard to stay focused. Sometimes, I found that there were pieces that didn't seem to fit together.

I liked many of the characters and rooted for Ray, especially.

I also caught a mistake in terms of time and place. There is a reference to "middle school" but middle school was only introduced in the 80s. Prior to this, the terms used was exclusively Jr High.

Colson Whitehead is an incredible writer, and Harlem Shuffle is another gem added to the new literary canon.

Set in NYC in the early '60s, this book is as much a love letter to Harlem as it is an examination of race and class as told through the exploration of Ray Carney.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I picked this book up because the author has been on my to read list for a while and the premise sounded interesting enough to a fan of historical fiction set in Black enclaves. While I knew the book revolved around heists and therefore held the promise of violence, I was not impressed by the paternalism that led much of the character interactions.

Whitehead is a literary maestro. Harlem Shuffle was a fantastic read and one that follows the story of Ray Carney. I was conflicted on Ray.....you want him to succeed but at what cost? Oh, this made me long for Harlem, a place I've never been.

I think this is one of those cases of right book, wrong reader. I enjoyed reading this book but not as much as other books by Whitehead.

Ray Carney is an interesting and very morally gray character. Through the different sections of the book, you see him slowly get deeper into the criminal underworld of Harlem in the 1960s. Carney gets involved in series of capers, going from a passive involvement to slowly becoming more active.

While crime is a large part of the book, it is is not the focus. Instead, Whitehead uses these events to explore questions of morality. I thought this was an interesting way to take on these questions but it sometimes felt a bit repetitive. The book also felt a bit disjointed at times, reading as 3 long, interconnected stories rather than a novel.

However, it’s hard not to love Whitehead’s writing and I enjoyed getting to know Carney’s story.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy!

I have read and love Colsen’s books thus far. This one, while, okay, was a little harder for me to get into. I think Colsen does a great job giving life to the characters and the story, but I didn’t give the time this book deserved. This story is one to be savored and not rushed through:

Couldn’t get into this book so I did not finish it. I did like the premise and the writing was good.

This book felt slow and less engaging compared to Nickle Boys or The Underground Railroad. The writing was beautiful, but the story was not a page-turner. That said, even if this one wasn't for me, I will still read anything from Colson Whitehead because of how much I loved his previous books. Keep 'em coming!

Ray Carney is only <i>slightly</i> crooked: he owns a furniture shop in Harlem and dreams of moving to a nice apartment with his wife and kids, and only occasionally has "gently used" items in his store into whose provenance he does not ask. Then his cousin Freddie asks him to be the fence for a big heist a buddy of his is planning, getting Carney deeper into the seedier side of town.

The book is structured in three parts: 1959, 1961, and 1964. Each of these has pivotal events in Carney's life, and - the final third in particular - New York City. The city Whitehead paints is detailed and rich, and we get to know the Black neighborhoods and question whether Carney's crime is really any worse than what other, more "upstanding" citizens are perpetrating at the same time. A great book club book and one that would reward rereading because when you already know the plot and what will happen to the characters, you can then concentrate on the details, the language, and the other elements that make one of Whitehead's stories so special.

I really loved The Nickel Boys, and Harlem Shuffle was definitely good but it didn't have the same lasting impact on me. Colson Whitehead writes phenomenal characters that leap off the page, but the beginning starts very slow and even when it picks up, it does so in a meandering way I had to focus really intently to get through.

Enjoyed the setting and characters in this story about a man in 1960's NYC. He is trying to live his life by the rules, but friends and family have other plans.

It pains me to say this, because I loved The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad. But I just cannot get into this one. I’ve tried. I’ve tried three times. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s just a case of right book, wrong time? Maybe I can only really get into fantasy, romance, and murder these days? I don’t know. Maybe someday I’ll come back to it but for now it’s a DNF.