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lrncfly's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jaslouis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Genuinely maybe the best book I’ve ever read. No words can describe how amazing this is.
casspro's review against another edition
4.0
I don't believe I've read anything quite like Beatty's debut novel. It's irreverent and frustrating, the language teetering on the edge of precocious and genius. I can't tell if the protagonist is a pain in the ass, an idiot savant, or a modern day messiah. I think all of the dichotomies are what makes this novel so intriguing. This should be part of everyone's pre-college required reading.
avalin1's review against another edition
challenging
funny
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
4.0
beerens's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
luvandkiwi's review against another edition
5.0
I give this book to all my sports enthusiast friends who are on the fence in regards to loving to read. It's got great humor and a lot of those particular friends can relate (suburb boys vs street thugs with bows & arrows) you just have to read the dang book to find out what the heck I mean by that.
chillcox15's review against another edition
4.0
I finally have gotten to one of Paul Beatty's other novels, after loving The Sellout when it came out and buying a copy of this and letting it sit on my shelf for a half-decade-plus. Obviously there is much to love in The White Boy Shuffle as there is in The Sellout: outrageous, signifying humor on the place and perceptions of the Black male in American culture, a deeply cynical and jagged postmodern minstrel show that Beatty wields against a hundred dozen worthy targets, all leading to a self-destructive conclusion. There are ways in which White Boy Shuffle is obviously the work of a younger man, a bit more embracing of a youth culture that is lively at points and a bit hard to reimmerse ourselves in, three decades past the 90s now, but as I hope is clear, that isn't a mark against quality in the least.