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.-
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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.-
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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.-
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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.-
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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.-
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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. 🌵📚👩🏼‍🦳”

Harlem Shuffle is my first Whitehead novel. I had high expectations after his Pulitzer wins. Unfortunately this story felt bogged down by back stories, historical fact interjections and just words. While I cared about Carney and his cohorts, I found myself losing the thread of the story. It felt like I was listening to my grandfather reminisce about his younger years but somehow I was missing half of the story.

One would think that two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead is aiming for a three-peat with his new novel, Harlem Shuffle.

In 1960s NYC, Ray Carney appears to have outrun a childhood with a crooked father, criminals as sometime-babysitters, and a cousin who never seemed to recognize that the “fun” he drew Carney into always had consequences. Now with a business school diploma on the wall and the pre-eminent Harlem home furnishings store, Carney is a respectable businessman; nobody needs to know about the occasional “pre-owned” items that come and go through the backdoor. Everything is fine until the day his cousin, Freddie, convinces him to help with the Hotel Theresa heist.

So what happens to a man when the person he believes he is must face the person he might really be?

In Harlem Shuffle, Whitehead has artfully shown us Harlem as it was in the 1960s, detailing the social and power divisions of both black and white cultures and how power and money, or the lack thereof, affect choices. He has given us a cast of characters scaling all levels of the hierarchical ladder and then pulled back the curtain, or maybe it’s the cover of the dirty laundry bin, to show us what was really taking place (and probably still is). Through it all, we watch as Carney wrestles with, not only the criminal element in NYC (including the ones in designer suits and uniforms), but also the question of what his true nature may actually be.

Ray, Ray, Ray.... You wanted to be an overachiever and a crook at the same time. You knew that people who made it in your day didn't make it because they were hard workers. All of them had side hustles. They wouldn't accept you in their ranks before you became one of the bad boys who hid their side-business while working with police and crooks at the same time.

I love Colson Whitehead's New York stories as he always brings a new perspective. I liked how this story was divided into three parts to show Ray's ups and downs on both sides of his double life and how he managed to keep those separated. Eventually, the goodness in him, the overachiever in him saved his life and reputation in most of the cases. He put himself in very difficult positions when Harlem was burning down, yet he managed to prevail. This story is a great read to understand the times and divide between Harlem and below 100th street.

There was one quote I really liked (hoping it will be there for final cut): "Park Avenue was a like a chart in one of his economics text books illustrating a case study of a successful business, Manhattan street numbers on the x axis and money on the y. This is an example of exponential growth."

HARLEM SHUFFLE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just when you think you ‘know’ Colson Whitehead’s writing, he flips the script and releases a historical drama about a family tree entrenched in crime. I gobbled this one in one go.

Ray Carney is one of Pulitzer Prize winning author Colson Whitehead's liveliest and most accessible characters. "A little bit crooked, a little bit bent" is the capsule description that accurately fits this midcentury black man who wants to be the man he knows he has it in him to be - successful, admired and respected by upstanding neighbors and acquaintances in his Harlem community, a good husband and father providing a comfortable life for his family, and building his furniture business into a thriving enterprise . But the other side of his personality - the slightly crooked Carney - can't resist his regular walks on the wild side, especially that interval between sleeping abd waking when he indulges the opportunity to fence a few stolen items, sell what might have fallen off a truck or diverted to his back room on it's way to someone looking for a bargain . And despite his good intention, his feckless cousin and boyhood best friend Freddie keeps thwarting them and dragging him into hare- brained schemes that he knows will never turn out as expected They don't, of course, and the final one explodes into violence that threatens to turn Rays life - and his family - upside down ..A rollicking novel with an unforgettable protagonist .

This was totally different from any of the author’ s previous books. This book started out vey slow, however it picked up halfway through the book.