'Harlem Shuffle' by Colson Whitehead is a book in the style of Elmore Leonard, a departure for Colson Whitehead, or is it?

Ray Carney is a family man in Harlem in the early 1960s. He's got a furniture business and is a 'striver' during the day and has a shadier side at night, thanks to his cousin Freddie. Freddie pulls him in to capers and Ray acts as a fence, reluctantly sometimes. When Freddie steals the wrong thing, Ray may be in over his head.

A crime novel is a departure, but not the themes of race and power. The world here is palpable and living. The descriptions of the neighborhood and all that furniture are great, but do slow the pace down, which I leisurely took in, but other readers may balk at. Ray is an interesting character, neither good nor bad, he's just trying to do what's right for his family against a system that seems rigged against him. I really liked this book and Colson Whitehead is a favorite author. I highly recommend this book.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Doubleday Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC (egalley) in exchange for an honest review. Colson Whitehead is one of the most talented and versatile writers in modern time. Every book is different - it's really amazing that his catalog of books have all been written by the same person. This book is interesting because it takes place in a time that I don't often read about -- the 1960's and it's main character Ray is flawed in a way that many people are . He is a "crook" but trying to make his way through life as an upstanding citizen. This is a family drama novel as much as it is a crime story. I highly recommend this book. Plus it's Colson Whitehead...can he really do wrong? My great-grandchildren will be reading his novels in high school American Lit class one day as classics.

My review of this complimentary advanced reader copy is my unbiased and honest opinion.

I found this story an interesting view of life in Harlem in 1959. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by the characters and the story. The characters were predictable in their struggles to make life better but feel trapped in a life dealing with unsavory police.

Ray Carney went to Queens College and desperately tries to leave his relationship with the crime world behind. He runs a legitimate business or that’s his intention. It seems that being “bent” is different than being “crooked.” That is, of course, until he gets lured back into a situation which does little to maintain his reputation.

The writing is strong but the story unjust underwhelmed me.

I love Colson Whitehead - but this one fell short of the mark for me.

His talented writing is right at the forefront, but the plot lacked cohesion, a decent pace, and any intrigue. The summary promises a heist, which is really just a background plot to the main one which is... actually, I still don't quite know. There were many subplots but none really gathered enough momentum to become poignant enough for me to tell you what the book was about without giving you a full summary. On top of all of this, the timeline kept confusing me, as it felt like we were being pushed backward and forward through time - although we were not. Additionally, there wasn't a single character that I particularly bonded to, and there were quite a few who made me actively roll my eyes. This one wasn't for me, and the only reason it didn't get a 1 star review was because Whitehead's prose and tone was still spot on - but the story really wasn't good.

Whitehead does it again! It's 1960s Harlem and the community is thriving. Ray Carney is working to move out from the cloud of his father's shady lifestyle and make his new furniture store a success. Ray's story seems to constantly have him taking two steps forward and one step back as he gets dragged back into trouble by his cousin time and time again.

The book is broken up by chunks of time and can read a little disjointed. It took a little while to get into the swing and timing of the story but ultimately was a great read!

WOW a great book that EVERYONE should read at some point in their life.


Ray Carney, owns and operates a furniture store in Harlem. Carney is living in two worlds though: the up and up furniture store and the goods that must have fallen off a truck somewhere. Will Carney be able to navigate these two worlds or will everything hes ever known change?

First of all, I want to say that I am extremely honored to have received an e-arc from Doubleday and Colson Whitehead.

This is first and foremost, a love letter to Harlam and a time in the past. This novel is very well written. There are scenes that I will remember long after reading this book. Colson Whitehead has a way with describing characters like no one else. It is a great look into Black Harlam in the early 60s. If I were to classify it, I would call it a crime novel. I found it slow in the beginning. The pace definitely picked up in the third part of the novel.

I ultimately gave it 3.75. I would recommend it for people who want to be immersed in the time period it is set in. I would not recommend it for people who are looking for a thriller. The audiobook is also extremely well done.

In Harlem in the 1960s, used furniture shop owner Ray Carney considers himself only “slightly bent when it came to being crooked.” To his customers, he’s a friendly businessman making a living for his family, and no one knows the crooked life he grew up in. When money starts to get tight, and his cousin Freddie brings in the odd jewel, Carney doesn’t ask where it came from, he just passes it along. Eventually though, his slight bend begins to catch up to him.
…
The setting of Harlem in the 1960s and gangster noir introduced me to a new style of historical fiction. I enjoyed learning about all of the various stories from Carney’s life and the strong community aspect of his neighborhood on 125th. I grew more worrisome as the novel progressed as to what types of situations our MC was going to find himself in next. However, the jumping timelines and POVs did make parts of this novel difficult to follow and I had to go back and re-read sections more than once after being dropped into a new setting or POV at random. In the end everything comes together but it was a journey to get there. This was my first Colson Whitehead novel and while the prose is absolutely beautiful, the odd plot and lack of action left me disappointed and underwhelmed. I walked away feeling like this was not the Colson Whitehead I’ve been continuously hearing about.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Different shift from Colson Whitehead's previous books. More humor but the same engaging feel. Painted Harlem in my mind's eye and was hard to put down. Recommended to all public adult collections.

A love letter to Harlem indeed.

Not my favorite Colson Whitehead novel by a mile, but a good book nonetheless. I’m not sure Whitehead is capable of writing a bad novel. Harlem Shuffle features a fantastic cast of complex and highly readable characters. Character development left nothing to be desired, I was blown away by how fluidly and authentically his characters grow and change across the narrative. To that point, the writing is incredible (as usual), though I do remember having to move slowly through a few passages to make sure I wasn’t misinterpreting his meaning (something to keep in mind, but not necessarily unusual for this author). It was usually worth the slog through.

I’m not sure if that’s the case here, though.

It’s disappointing, and maybe it’s just that I’m comparing too much to the other Whitehead novels I’ve read (namely Nickel Boys and Underground Railroad, which are, with good reason, his most popular), but this one just…didn’t deliver. I think the pacing is what suffered here. I couldn’t really sink into Harlem Shuffle, and that made it feel like a much longer novel than it was. It lacked the engaging quality I’ve come to expect and appreciate in his books. I loved the backdrop of 1960s Harlem

It’s unfair, I think, to compare Harlem Shuffle to his more popular titles because it’s just so different from what he’s written. Less historical fiction, more thriller/heist/noir. It was an interesting deviation, but I don’t think it was an effective one. The writing was good, of course, but that just wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of momentum throughout. Caught myself skimming through a lot of parts just searching for something to happen.

Still, even a mediocre Colson Whitehead novel is worth picking up, if for no other reason than his books are very readable just for the wonderful writing.

Thank you very muchly to NetGalley and Doubleday for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to read this one because I changed my kindle email address and forgot to update it on Netgalley, so it never arrived to my device. *facepalm*

I was able to find this one at the library though and it was just as wonderful as I thought it would be. I love Whitehead's writing style and also love that I can share his books with my dad.

Harlem Shuffle
By Colson Whitehead

Harlem Shuffle is a story about the ups and downs of life in the 1960s in NYC’s dynamic Harlem. The story contains many characters, such as Miami Joe, Pepper, Detective Munson, Cheapie Bruce, Miss Laura, Chink Montague, and Linus Van Wyck. The main character, Ray Carney is a strong-willed businessman. He spends his days and nights determined to not only provide well for his family but also strives to continuously improve their living conditions.

The book contains vivid details of the struggles that Ray goes through, with his cousin Freddie- (“Freddie’s common sense tended to fall out of a hole in his pocket-he never carried it long.”), his in-laws, his wife, and himself. Is Ray fooling himself as he straddles the “crooked life” to maintain his place in the community and his place as the dominant provider for his family? Everybody had their hand out for an envelope and Ray seemed to know how to make sure that his business and family will be safe- as long as he pays the piper.

I enjoyed the variety of historical references in the book and learned things about Harlem and the 1960s that I had not previously known. The writing is fluid and impassioned, yet the overall story landed flat for me. I found myself disoriented many times in the story and had to go back and re-read sections. Overall, I felt the book was too long and drawn out and the story could have been told more succinctly. Not sure it’s a book I would recommend.

Excellent mix of crime thriller and social conscience novel from Colson Whitehead who continues to demonstrate why he is one of the greatest contemporary American novelists. Whitehead’s focus on the African American experience allows readers to engage with and see the complexity of the African American experience of life in America which as he depicts is tinged with moments of great joy and pain.

Unfortunately, I felt this book never turned into anything special. It was a slow moving book and the events that should have made this story interesting, seemed too muddled. The last few chapters could have added more zing to the story; but just felt obligatory and hurriedly added to the book.

Colson Whitehead is one of the best writers out there right now. Two Puliter Prizes say I'm not alone in believing this to be true. Which means that expectations are high for any book he writes. This is the third of his books that I've read and I've been wow'd by every one of them.

Is this one a crime thriller? The story of a family? An homage to 1960's Harlem? Yes, yes, and yes. And every one of those elements is marvelous.

"Living taught you,’ Ray believes, ‘that you didn't have to live the way you'd been taught." Sort of, anyway. Ray's father was the kind of criminal that people are still talking about long after his death. Ray is not that man. But Ray also wants a better life for his family - a home that will get his in-laws off his back, room for his children to have space to grow, a view out the windows and no elevated rail outside his building. So if he has to bend a few rules to make that happen, he's ok with that, as long as it's done quietly. You can't help but like Ray. Life's been hard he only wants what every man wants for his family.

“Crooked world, straight world, same rules,” Ray thinks. “Everybody had a hand out for the envelope.”

When he tries to move up in the world in a more above board way, Ray learns a lesson about the morals of the men he thought were the cream of the neighborhood that doesn't sit well with him. Then Freddie, who has been getting Ray into trouble since they were little boys, really brings the heat down on him. Between Ray wanting revenge and trouble Freddie brings to Ray's door, things get really tense and dark.

It was as hard to read as The Underground Railroad or as heartbreaking as The Nickel Boys, but it is, once again, a reminder for white readers that life for black people has always been just that much harder. That the system is set up against black people and poor people. That there is corruption around every corner.

You can take those lessons from this book. Or you can just enjoy is as a crime thriller. Or a book about a family's struggles to rise above poverty and their past. Or one of those rare books where the setting plays as big a role as the characters and the action. I liked it for all of those reason.

Colson Whitehead is a bonafide chameleon. The Pulitzer Prize winning novelist gave us an acclaimed 'End of the World' novel - Year Zero - wherin a pandemic devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead.. Then, he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning, 'The Underground Railroad', an electrifying and imaginative look at slavery in the Antebellum South before, during and long after the American Civil War.

With "Harlem Shuffle', Whitehead sets his sights on Harlem in the 1960s. The book is a rollicking romp filled with double crosses, thefts, shakedowns and gangsters. The book is about race, class, power, and an intimate and intriguing history of Harlem. It's also very funny, engaging, and addictively readable. I read an advance copy of the book courtesy of NetGalley and Random House, in exchange for an objective review.

The book's main character is a furniture salesman. Ray Carney, who desperately wants to balance his family and legitimate business with his “crooked” side of shady deals and criminal connections. This is clearly not an easy task., made more complicated by small-times hoods and the neighborhood low-lifes, dirty politicians, crooked bankers, and double dealing relatives.

Whotehead writes snappy, quick-paced dialog for a bevy of fascinating and believable characters. What I especially enjoyed in 'Harlem Shuffle' is the sense of time and place Whitehead vividly creates for this NY neighborhood undergoing a massive transition.

It is a wonderful book, often painful to read, but always enjoyable.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Most people think Ray Carney is a serious merchant and a good family man selling furniture at affordable prices. His wife Elizabeth is expecting their second child, and they live in a small apartment near the elevated train tracks. Elizabeth is from a well to do family and they are not happy about their living accommodations. With his business not making a lot of money, he does a few illegal things in the background. He sometimes fences jewelry that his cousin Freddie brings him and might sell televisions that came from dubious sources. There is a bit of an inner conflict, but he doesn't think what he is doing is hurting anyone. But when Freddie gets involved in a robbery at the historic Hotel Theresa, Carney is pulled into a gangster life. Navigating this double life becomes more and more dangerous. Will Ray Carney survive as others around him don't? Will he be able to keep his reputation intact?

I loved Underground to Canada and The Nickel Boys, but Harlem Shuffle didn't measure up for me. I read over 50% of this book and couldn't connect. There were several storylines, yet the book was boring to me, if that makes sense. I did finish the book, but I skimmed a lot of the second half of the book. Harlem Shuffle is an atmospheric historical crime fiction with rich writing, but not enough was happening for me. There seemed to more dialogue than anything else. I will say that others have loved this book, so it may be one you would enjoy. If you like a bit of a noir detective story, gang type books and stories about New York in the past, then this might be just what you are looking for.

I read this title for work, and it is outside of my normal preferences (crime fiction). This book was middle of the road for me. I never felt strongly compelled to pick it up, although it wasn't a bad book by any means. I did really enjoy the in-depth look at who held the power in 1950s and 1960s NYC and could appreciate the struggle the main character, Ray Carney, felt between striving for a better life and what kinds of sacrifices that required for a black man in that era (unfortunately much of what Ray encounters is not all that different in 21st century America). Crime fiction isn't a big pull for me, so that's my guess as to why it didn't land better. Well written, although I occasionally had to re-read a sentence or two to make sure I was understanding the author's intent (I think this is just characteristic of his writing style).

I jumped at the chance of reading a preview copy of this book from Netgalley (thank you) as I'm a big fan of the author. However, the story just rambled in my opinion and it was a struggle to finish. I enjoyed the character development of Carney and his family. The intrigue of Harlem in the 60's drew me in as I enjoy historical fiction. You knew that Carney wanted to go straight but family and circumstances kept drawing him in to the criminal element. It is interesting how he captured the illegal portion by educating himself with the jeweler and learning as time went on.