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krissy0906's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
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
4.5
Such a compelling, hard-to-put-down read! The book is a mix of serious and funny parts, and if you’ve ever worked for a startup, you will laugh out loud in some places
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Drug use
abbie_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Racial slurs
maggz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent, Police brutality, and Cancer
joceraptor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug use, and Torture
icedlavenderlatte's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Black Buck follows a Black salesman named Darren who climbs the ranks of a white led start up company in NYC. I'm not even going to attempt to further summarize because there's soooooo much that happens here, so if you plan to read this be prepared for a wild ride. After hearing the author talk about this book, I was really excited for a satirical novel that tackles topics of racism, start up culture, climbing the ladder, etc. and I'd heard from several that the audiobook was the way to go because it was so well done. So I'm just going to jump right into my issues:
- There's a loooooot of yelling in the audiobook. Yes, the narrator does a great job, but I grew tired of this quickly. This was the first issue I had with the book and I was able to look past it initially.
- Using a character with coprolalia Tourette syndrome,who later is magically cured of this by meditation , as comedic relief, and then later a character with a stutter for the same purpose. I'm just not sure what the intention was here.
- Excessive use of the word "retarded" in the first 25% of the book made me cringe. Again, not sure the purpose of this.
- Very lazy metaphorical language throughout the entire book that by the end of it I was just constantly rolling my eyes. There's an AIDS in Africa joke and just so many other played out phrases I couldn't even keep track
- Dialogue was so extremely juvenile and I think this was exemplified by how trope-y and stereotypical the characters were made to be.
- The plot is such a mess that by the end I forgot thathe had a whole ass mom that died and I couldn't even wrap my head around how Darren got to his position besides two acts of luck .
I loved the idea of the Happy Campers. A network of BIPOC business professionals that infiltrate these white start ups from the inside out. I feel like there was so much potential here if this would have been the main focus. Instead I think the author's idea of satire was just to make the plot as absolutely ridiculous as possible.
- There's a loooooot of yelling in the audiobook. Yes, the narrator does a great job, but I grew tired of this quickly. This was the first issue I had with the book and I was able to look past it initially.
- Using a character with coprolalia Tourette syndrome,
- Excessive use of the word "retarded" in the first 25% of the book made me cringe. Again, not sure the purpose of this.
- Very lazy metaphorical language throughout the entire book that by the end of it I was just constantly rolling my eyes. There's an AIDS in Africa joke and just so many other played out phrases I couldn't even keep track
- Dialogue was so extremely juvenile and I think this was exemplified by how trope-y and stereotypical the characters were made to be.
- The plot is such a mess that by the end I forgot that
I loved the idea of the Happy Campers. A network of BIPOC business professionals that infiltrate these white start ups from the inside out. I feel like there was so much potential here if this would have been the main focus. Instead I think the author's idea of satire was just to make the plot as absolutely ridiculous as possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Ableism, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use and Death of parent
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
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
4.5
Thank you to Libro FM and the publisher for an ALC of this book!
Wow! This book blew me away.
Darren is a natural born salesman, but he's been working at Starbucks for years. After "selling" a drink order to the manager of a successful start up company, he is whisked away into the cult-like business and becomes integral to its success- and ultimate failure.
As the only Black person working for this company, this satirical novel really shows the ridiculous amount of microgressions that any Black person who succeeds in our society faces. I loved how funny and real it was in the face of these.
Then this book took an...unexpected turn. I was seriously blindsided by it, but...I loved it.
A satire about businesses and sales is definitely NOT the type of book I would usually pick up, but I loved every minute of this one, and I'm so glad I did.
The audio was also phenomenal, and if that's your thing, I definitely recommend you pick up a copy!
Wow! This book blew me away.
Darren is a natural born salesman, but he's been working at Starbucks for years. After "selling" a drink order to the manager of a successful start up company, he is whisked away into the cult-like business and becomes integral to its success- and ultimate failure.
As the only Black person working for this company, this satirical novel really shows the ridiculous amount of microgressions that any Black person who succeeds in our society faces. I loved how funny and real it was in the face of these.
Then this book took an...unexpected turn. I was seriously blindsided by it, but...I loved it.
A satire about businesses and sales is definitely NOT the type of book I would usually pick up, but I loved every minute of this one, and I'm so glad I did.
The audio was also phenomenal, and if that's your thing, I definitely recommend you pick up a copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Cancer
books_and_mags's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
paolina's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
tense
fast-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
4.5
The thing about satire is that it exaggerates the truth, to show us how ridiculous the reality is. The success of Black Buck as a satire is due to it not being all that far off from the truth. I found the book to be incredibly engaging, and I couldn't look away when the plot events started to go really south. I look forward to what Askaripour comes out with next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
adoras's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
fast-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
3.5
This book really took me on a wild ride. Every time I felt like I understood where things were going and became used to the current status quo, there would be another twist and something entirely new would be happening, although still connected to the primary themes. I loved the satire and over-the-top nature of the plot and the world, but at the same time there was a disconnect because of that tone, and because of the many changes the protagonist went through over the course of the book. I really enjoyed reading something that felt new and different, and the way racism, particularly how it impacts employment and the workplace environment, was discussed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Violence
carolinebrooks's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Drug use
Minor: Torture