Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

41 reviews

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.25

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. The story had potential, but was not compelling in the way that, e.g., Deacon King Kong was, thinking about other literary writers turning to mid-century NYC for a crime caper genre. The stakes didn’t feel as high as I know they were supposed to, and it was hard to get into the characters’ motivations. The book got better generally as it went on—the third part was the best, but still not that good. This was shallow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Police brutality, Addiction, Drug use, Gun violence, and Racism

kjulie's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

In the end I found that I appreciated this. I wasn’t sure if I’d finish it, as the writing style really didn’t work for me (it felt distracted and disjointed), but Colson Whitehead got me to eventually care about the characters! It’s loosely a collection of heist stories, but more directly the story of Ray Carney discovering who he is and what he’s capable of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Homophobia and Drug use

na_no's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Abandonment, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Violence, War, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Racism

chasinash's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Starts slow and really picks up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Racism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

thegr8estangell's review against another edition

This book has so much superfluous language. It was very hard to read. I was not a fan of the writers style. It also uses the hard R N-word slur. A lot. I got 40 pages in and it wasn’t white folks using it derogatorily…. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

skylaturner's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Police brutality

badmom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Whitehead’s writing is rich & engaging, blending historical details about Harlem & civil rights with the plights of his multi-layered fictional players.  Even most of the side characters are vivid and meaningful, if only in helping the reader fully grasp the gravity of poverty + systemic racism in our society. The sparks of humor, sometimes dark and grim, remind us to appreciate the humanity in everyone we encounter. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

klfgasaway's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence

davidrb's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

STRONG, STRONG contender for my favorite book of the year, and certainly for my favorite published this year. Wonderfully paced, dryly funny, and with such a tight grasp on story and plot. I came out of it way more emotional than I banked for. The Count of Monte Cristo references...wow!

Savored every minute.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence

There's a scene midway through the book that veers close to rape and will likely trigger people who are affected by sexual assault.

canadabooks's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism