What I really loved about this book was that it enabled me to enter into a world and a culture that was totally different than my own. Raised as I was in a pristine , all white, New England community in the 1960's , getting to know Ray Carney and the variety of other characters that were doing the Harlem Shuffle during this same era was eye opening in the best sense. Whitehead's novel makes that word real and accessable through creating characters that are both interesting and fully human, and then putting them in situations that fully engage the reader's attention and empathy. A wonderful reading experience.

Yesterday was #pubday for Harlem Shuffle and try as I might I couldn’t get it finished in time for posting! Thank you to @netgalley and @doubledaybooks for the eARC.

I wanted to read this one because I adored The Underground Railroad (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) and I want to read The Nickel Boys, but just haven’t gotten to it yet. After reading Harlem Shuffle, though, I might be bumping it up. 😉

Harlem Shuffle follows the slightly shady, mostly straight and narrow character of Ray Carney in Harlem circa the 1960s. Carney grew up in a family of slightly shady individuals just trying to get by and marries the daughter of a well-to-do African American family less than thrilled to have him as a son-in-law.

Carney navigates life on a slippery slope of heists, furniture sales, rip offs, etc. You just don’t know how he’s going to handle the next punch and you can’t help but like the guy!

One thing I really liked about this book was I learned something new! Did you know that before the invention of the light bulb we used to have two sleeps? Whitehead has Carney’s character go through a period of dorvay, which is actually a mishearing of the French term “dorveille.” This was a period of wakefulness in the middle of the night where most people took care of certain businesses (i.e. read, prayed, wrote or even conceived ::wink wink::) during the midnight hours. Simply put, we’d go to sleep when the sun went down, wake for a bit, then go back to sleep until the sun rose. Our normal sleep rhythm before Thomas Edison came along💡. Needless to say, I did a little side research while reading this novel.

I highly recommend this one, especially if you’ve read his previous work(s). Harlem Shuffle does not disappoint and it officially published yesterday, so go pick up a copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

"He'd spent so much time trying to keep one half of himself separate from the other half, and now they were set to collide."

How do you follow up a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel? If you're Colson Whitehead, the answer is easy. You simply write another Pulitzer winner. That's what he did with his last two efforts, The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys. Each of those books told powerful stories dealing with slavery and racism, unflinching portraits of a nation's tragic history. I adored both novels, and have been not so patiently waiting for Whitehead to write something new. The hype surrounding his first Pulitzer win was massive, so you can imagine the anticipation with which the world has waited for this follow-up to his second. The fine folks at Doubleday granted me access to an advanced copy of Whitehead's latest book Harlem Shuffle. While this new work is not nearly as serious as his previous two efforts, it is nonetheless impactful.

Ray Carney is a man between two worlds. In 1959 Harlem, everybody knows everybody. To most of the community, Ray is known as the upstanding owner of Carney's Furniture, a modest business on 125th street that sells good quality furniture at a reasonable price. It isn't much, but it's an honest living. Could things be better? Of course. Despite a decent living, money can be tight. Ray and his wife live in a small apartment that the impending birth of their second child will officially render too small. This is where the other side to Ray begins to emerge. You see, he's the son of a well-known crook, the kind of man who is completely counter to the honest businessman Ray has worked to become. Ray's struggled to carve his own path away from the shadow of his father for years, but the need for a higher cash flow is about to darken that path again.

It begins innocently enough. Ray's cousin, Freddie, periodically shows up to the store with a random piece of jewelry. Ray doesn't ask where the items come from, but he's happy to take them off Freddie's hands. A little extra income off the books never hurts. But then Freddie begins to escalate things. He joins a group of gangsters in a plot to rob a prominent hotel and volunteers Ray to hold and sell whatever loot is gained. The heist goes off with plenty of complications that place Ray in the sight of the worst kind of people. Suddenly his quiet family business becomes the meeting place for criminals, dirty cops, and other lowlifes who call Harlem home. As the novel progresses, Ray struggles to balance the two sides of himself, the cracks between them threatening to dismantle his entire livelihood.

Harlem Shuffle sees Colson Whitehead writing a story that places his readers directly into the heart of Harlem during the early 1960s. His descriptions of the place and people who inhabit it are as real as any of his previous characters, the kind of folks whom you could easily see passing on the streets as you visit the city. There's a lightness and sense of fun to this novel that wasn't present in his previous two works but don't let that fool you. Beneath the surface lies the kind of thoughtful commentary on race, class, and morality that readers have come to expect from this celebrated author. I hesitate to say that I enjoyed this book as much as I did other Whitehead novels. The opening portions of the book took a bit too long to establish the story for my taste. Still, the latter half of the novel had me breezing through the pages, breathlessly reading to see how the ending would play out. The uneven pace of this one is perhaps more noticeable because of the stellar plotting of Whitehead's last two books. Still, there's plenty about Harlem Shuffle to marvel at. Sometimes a great author writes a great book while other times they merely write a good book. I think that's the case with this one. It won't be my favorite book written by Colson Whitehead, but it certainly is a joy to read.

I never thought I would say this about a Coleson Whitehead book, but Harlem Shuffle is not for me, which I’m disappointed about because it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. The writing is fantastic, sharp and crisp. But I just can’t get excited about the characters. There’s a lot of stuff going on, but it just doesn’t feel interesting to me. I decided to walk away from this book halfway through and will try to revisit at a later time.

3.5 stars

A love letter to Harlem.

“Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…”

Ray Carney wants to go straight. He really does but when he opens a furniture store and money gets tight so when his cousin Freddy drops off a ring or two, Ray doesn't ask questions. Neither does the jeweler downtown. But it doesn't stop there, good ole Cousin Freddy and his crew plan to rob the “Waldorf of Harlem” Guess what? It doesn't go as planned. Now Ray who hoped to go straight, to provide for his wife and family has a new shadier clientele. Now Ray is walking a straight rope so to speak between being a bad guy/crook and being a hard worker running a business.

"I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

Set in the 1950's and 1960's, Colson Whitehead gives readers a glimpse into Harlem during that time. Harlem is very much a character in this book as well.

Colson Whitehead first caught my attention with The Underground Railroad and I was curious about this book. While this one did not grab me or leave me thinking as The Underground Railroad did. I found this book slow to start and it took some time for it to grab my attention. But it eventually grabbed my attention and I found this to be enjoyable. He is a gifted writer and storyteller. He does a little humor here and if you are looking for this book to be like his other books you will either be disappointed or pleasantly surprised. While I enjoyed this one, I wasn’t blown away.

Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bygone era in Harlem brought to life
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2021
This was a great read on so many levels. The story is compelling. Ray’s double life as a furniture salesman and a fence infuses the narrative with lots of challenges (both moral and otherwise) to be overcome. The characters are well drawn and easy to like even if they are not always on the up and up.

The best part of this novel, however, is the way it animates the Harlem of the 1960s. Clearly, Whitehead is a fantastic writer and he uses his well-honed skill give the reader an immersive experience.

I hope this is the first of many Ray Carney novels because I am curious about what happens to him and his family moving forward. Bravo!!

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Although the writing style and atmospheric tension of the novel was great, there were various sections of the story where I was incredibly bored and confused by the convoluted pacing of the novel. One thing I noticed was that there was way too much technical discussion on the culture and regularities of carpentry/radio; I understand that since this is the main character’s line of work, it would be reasonable for this to be mentioned, but many of the discussions on his work were too technical to be understood by someone who isn’t in that field, and appeared too frequently to brush off and move on from. Characters would be introduced once by name on page 30, for example, with little to no context as to who they are and how they correlate to the main character, and then brought up again on page 200, again, with little information about their character. Also, much of the heist scenes were very robotic and monotonous, devoid of any excitement.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4140496512

Harlem Shuffle

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Colson Whitehead’s newest novel takes us to Harlem in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Rough around the edges, Ray Carney is determined to make his furniture store a success and move past the stereotypical tropes about his race in pre civil rights America.

Told in three parts, Harlem Shuffle explores Ray’s world as he grapples with the struggle of being his ideal citizen vs. what his past says he should be.

Marketed as a thriller, I found Harlem Shuffle slower moving and harder to get into vs. some of Whitehead’s earlier works. While compelling and a window into a moment in time, I struggled to connect with the stories and the character development outside of Ray which could have added great context to the work.

Thanks to DoubleDay Books, Colson Whitehead and Net Galley for the ARC!

Such a great book! I don't want to call it fun, because that's not quite right, but engrossing and entertaining might be better. The setting, the characters, the heist, and the payback are all so good. I can definitely see this going straight to movie or series.

The setting is New York City and specifically Harlem during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s and that gives the story such an awesome vibe. The main character is a self-made man with a furniture store and a little something shady, too. He is a small-time middle man who takes items of questionable provenance to the right people. And then his cousin gets him involved in a heist where he will be the driver. But that’s not exactly what happens.

Mr. Whitehead shows the reader a peek at the underbelly, while also reveling in the successes. Drugs and poverty are present. Racial tensions turn violent at times, but always people keep on keeping on. The importance of family and those you consider family runs through the novel, as does pride of ownership.

My thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whitehead steps away from the supernatural here to follow the life of a man trying to live a lawful life but unable to resist the needs of family, friends, and others who seek to lure him into being the middle man for all sorts of exchanges. The plot seemed almost secondary, as the real story was about the city, and specifically about Harlem during several decades of the mid-20th century. Shops open and close, people come and go, the drugs change, the music unfurls through it all, and the city heat and chill envelop you as you read.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead is the story of what it was like living in Harlem in the 1960s. There were crimes, riots, racism, more importantly, families.

Ray Carney is a furniture salesman with a secret: an upstanding man by day, a malefactor by night. The only thing on his agenda is to keep his family safe.

It's not easy to keep a family safe with a cousin like Freddie. Freddie and Ray are as thick as thieves.

The pair run into situations that involve a cast of chancy characters.

I got a kick out of this read. I love the crime genre. This year I have had the opportunity to expand my horizon and read many books by and about other cultures. I appreciate the power of diversity.

A well-written book that you cannot miss. Problematical and very entertaining!

Colson Whitehead is an undoubtedly skilled writer! This book reminds me a bit of James McBride storytelling style, but with a lot less humor. I really like the characters Whitehead created in this story, but the action of the story feels less engaging. I would try reading this at another time, but at the moment I haven't finished. This is my first attempt at reading this author, and while I'm putting it aside I am not at all discouraged from his blacklist. On the contrary I can see what an excellent writer he is and I am eager to read his other work which might be better suited to me.

I am recuperating from a visit to the ER over the wet, so my review is coming later this week! I loved it!

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead is a historical fiction novel following Ray Carney, a furniture salesman trying to make a living to care for his wife and children. However, Ray becomes wrapped up in his cousin Freddie's illegal activities after he robs Hotel Theresa with a local gang. Soon Ray is intimated by the gang to peddle the stolen goods, bringing out the conflict between who Ray wants to be and the illegal activities historically performed by his family.

The characters in this novel were richly developed, that evolved throughout the novel. It is clear Ray is trying his best but feels conflict on how he can help his own marriage and children and his childhood family. Freddie was also an interesting character, one that you are frustrated with, but also likely recognize as the troublemaker or hurricane in your own family. However, somehow you still felt at a distance with the characters like you are watching from the outside rather than in the world. At the beginning this distance made it difficult to get into, but then the reader quickly falls into the narrative.

The novel started off slowly in the beginning, but the pacing picked up quickly once Ray become involved with Freddie's dealings. The setting that the writing create is descriptive and you can tell is well-researched and of the time. The storytelling is fantastic that is so well-written you will reread passages. Overall this was a novel with a unique premise that was well-written. I highly recommend this for those who want to read something different from what is currently in publishing and is well-written! Previous readers of Colson Whitehead will enjoy this novel!

Many thanks to the publisher Doubleday Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

As always, Whitehead's writing is engaging, detailed and a notch above everyone else! Even for a more lighthearted novel, where the material is less emotionally distressing than either The Underground Railroad or The Nickel Boys, Whitehead keeps the reader deeply involved in 1960s Harlem.

One of the best parts of Whitehead's novels is his strong world building. The amount of historical detail that he is able to convey without it detracting from the actual plot of the novel is tremendous.

The main character, Carney, makes for an excellent straight man and tour guide through a world that I was unfamiliar with. Sometimes, there were abrupt changes in POV that slightly confused me but once I got used to the rhythm, I greatly enjoyed it.

I know need to go back and finish up the rest of Whitehead's backlist!

What an amazing read. I will attempt to give a good review without giving away any of the plot. I recieved this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Doubleday New York.

THis book started off pretty slowly. I did not enjoy the firtst three chapters, but the story really starts to pick up in the fourth chapter. There was a lot of background infomration in the beginning and it felt like the story was taking too lng to be told. What I did not realize in my impatience to "solve the mystery" I didn;t realize that every single word, phrase, and piece of informaton is important so pay attention.

Very simply this is very different from the ther books Ahitehead has written and that is what I love about it. He is an ecellent writier who draws you into the story in a myriad of ways. The main protagonist Carney was an interesting person to follow around and to tell the story to. His cousin Freddie is like every cousin we have ever had, the one who always gets you mixed up in something. I enjoyed this book immensely.

It’s Colson Whitehead, so we all knew it’s going to be great, but it’s also fun! Raymond Carney is a furniture salesman in Harlem, trying to outrun his father’s crooked reputation, run a good business and build a better life for his growing family. That is until his cousin Freddie involves him in a heist that goes wrong, and sets Carney on a course that changes his life. NYC in the 60’s, colorful characters, sharp dialogue, and a fast paced story.

Bravo to Colson Whitehead on his new novel Harlem Shuffle. A big Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy. The two time Pulitzer Prize-winning author has written another outstanding story. Harlem Shuffle is a beautifully rendered, richly atmospheric and truly transportive work of art. I throughly enjoyed every page of this amazing book. The author once again changes gears and writes a wholly entertaining historical fiction, crime noir, family drama set in late 1950’s-60’s Harlem, New York. A storyline that pushes the boundaries and expectations of crime writing filled with diverse characters dealing with culture, community, socio-dynamics, politics, racism, ethics and more. Colson Whitehead’s books never disappoint and his latest brilliantly written story is definitely one that you will want to add to your fall reading list.
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Book Synopsis: “Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…” To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver’s Row don’t approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it’s still home.

Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time.

Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn’t ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn’t ask questions, either.

Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa—the “Waldorf of Harlem”—and volunteers Ray’s services as the fence. The heist doesn’t go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes.

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?

I suspect this will be a huge hit, from an author I admire. However, this story did not grab me. I found it hard to relate to any of the characters. I will continue to look forward to future work from this author.

Beyond Crime, Harlem, and Race: A review of the novel "Harlem Shuffle"

Harlem Shuffle
Colson Whitehead, Author
Doubleday Books, Doubleday
Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers

I’ve been a fan of Colson Whitehead’s work since I read his first novel, The Intuitionist. His take on social reality is often goes far beyond obvious tropes and predictability. Besides the eclectic subject matter of his novels (from zombie apocalypse to sci-fi slave escape thriller), his strengths as a writer are often his observational talents, his attention to quotidian detail, and his straightforward writing style that tends to hint at so much more than the stark realities he depicts. Harlem Shuffle does not skimp on social intrigue or attention to detail and history.

Part of this story feels, in the beginning at least, like a channeling of a kind of Walter Moseley approach to crime-oriented fiction. Moseley often impresses me with his depictions of post-war Los Angeles. Whitehead’s full-on story is as much about Harlem in the early 1960s as it is about Ray Carney’s troubles with petty crime. Whitehead has done his homework. There’s no question you could put this book on the historical fiction shelf. The level of detail is sumptuous and fascinating – from driving the streets during the day, to eating in numerous restaurants and dives, to the basic workaday life for many characters (particularly Carney, the main character). Perhaps the biggest treat for readers is the description Whitehead provides on Carney’s home furniture company and the trials and tribulations of being a small retail business in general.

Reading Harlem Shuffle, we’re actually treated to a story somewhat broken into three novellas from closely linked periods of time. Although everything in the book is heading towards the near weeklong 1964 Harlem riots, one of the truly unique and intriguing aspects of this novel is that Whitehead leapfrogs a good deal of what could be a straightforward story about racism and Harlem in the early 1960s. Instead, we get the unraveling of class on top of race and how complicated life can be for anyone trying to become a successful businessperson.

And yet, at times I felt distanced from this story as I read. It was difficult to feel connected to the main character, Ray Carney. Part of that problem may be the dilemma Whitehead has put Carney in, bouncing him back and forth between a desire to be an upstanding, successful businessman, and his tendency to see the financial through line that hustling and the underbelly of life offers. Carney is constantly tempted to work as a “fence” for his scheming, somewhat criminal and self-serving cousin Freddie.

There is more to this distancing, though. At times, the narrative voice feels somewhat disembodied, hovering further away from Carney’s heart and soul it should. No matter how fine the language Whitehead chooses, Harlem Shuffle can occasionally feel like social history more than story.

Ray Carney’s story is special, though, and obviously parallels the story of Harlem itself. We witness the rudiments of life as an American businessperson seeks to become successful in the heady days of early 1960s down-and-out New York City. The reader witnesses Carney’s family ties and the problems of class as it insidiously bumps real people around in real situations every day.

There are important social insights here in this story. Whitehead goes far beyond the obvious and the trite, and provides an ample dose of historical and geographic information about Harlem, trusting that readers will use their own intelligence and their own judgement to understand the depths of what he has presented. It’s likely that this book is going to be hyped somehow as crime fiction or a heist novel. I have to shrug at such a depiction. Harlem Shuffle is so much more than that.