Harlem Shuffle

This is the 2nd book I've read by Pulitzer Prize winner, Colson Whitehead. See my previous post for The Nickey Boys. Once again, this is the choice of my book group. Set in the late 50's and early 60's, it is a reminder of how badly we have treated Black people over the years. Whitehead's writing goes down so easy. He creates rich 3-dimensional characters. Although some reviewers have called this a "love letter" to Harlem, it wouldn't make me want to live there. Still you get an insight into the struggles, successes and failures as people go about trying to live their lives in a hostile white-dominated culture. Protagonist and narrator Ray Carney is a happily married man with one child and another on the way when the book opens in 1959. He owns a furniture store in Harlem which he managed to do with some money he found in his deceased father's old pick up truck. His father was a criminal through and through. Ray is, according the NPR review, a "half-crook you'll wholly love." The reviewer also describes Whitehead's prose as "cinematic" and I agree this would make a great movie, a la "The Usual Suspects." When the story jumps forward to 1964 and the 6 days of riots in Harlem that resulted from a police officer killing an unarmed Black man, the connection to current events is both obvious and dispiriting. How can we still be doing this? I do rely so much on finding a character I can identify or at least empathize with, and that is a bit of a challenge since I am a white female and not a Black male. I wouldn't trade places for anything as Black men in this culture have an incredibly tough road to hoe. Still, this is an easy read to fall into and I value the enriched perspective I have gained as a result. 

There are a multitude of glowing reviews that do this book more justice than I can. The Harvard Review. The Guardian calls it "delicious." The New York Times says it is "warm-hearted." A lengthy review from The Atlantic. Kirkus also loved the book.