Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Black Buck

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

cavernism's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny tense fast-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

2.5

It felt bizarre to read this book that's published in 2021, because it feels like it was written 5 years ago and so a lot of the details feel out of date - like the start-up company's "crazy" idea is basically BetterHelp/online therapy - not exactly groundbreaking or new. The "amazing" salary Darren is offered is $40,000 a year plus a bonus. I live in the Midwest and 40k is not a big salary...I can't imagine it would cover costs in New York City.

I'm pretty okay with things in satire being exaggerated/over-the-top - that's the point. I'm not okay with setting up promises to the reader - "This character is going to put these other character in situations where they'll have to use sales techniques" and then ignore them - "the characters will actually just panic and run away." This situation happens twice in the space of a few pages.

And then, there's the Supportive Girlfriend. Her characterization is basically being curvaceous and going to nursing school and supporting her boyfriend. I'm over it.

There were things I enjoyed - I definitely wasn't sure where the plot was going to go so that made it at a fast read, but overall it ended up being a frustrating read, and the fact that the marketing compared this book to the movie Sorry to Bother You made this feel even weaker, because Sorry to Bother You is a much more inventive, strange, and memorable story about race and capitalism.

Content Warnings

nashvillebookgirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I need more time to process this book. Not like anything I’ve ever read.

Content Warnings

now_booking's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

This book really takes you on a journey. A journey and a half indeed and in a really short time. This debut is part sales handbook, part self-help treatise, part contemporary exploration of race in Corporate America, part cautionary tale, all sly but astute humor.

The premise is that Darren (known as Buck after his glow up) is a young, unambitious man from Bed-Stuy, NY, who lives at home with his mom and is perfectly happy with his job as a barista and occasionally hooking up with his girlfriend in his childldhood bedroom, despite having been an academic highflyer in high school. One day, he gets the chance of a lifetime to join a prestigious tech start up where he gets a baptism of fire into the harsh world of corporate America as a young, black man and learns some difficult life and professional lessons on the way.

I really enjoyed this book. Quite alright it’s not my usual cup of tea but from the blurb, I was fascinated by a book that simultaneously promised sales skill building, self-help and humorous fiction. I’m far enough in my career now to know that all of us in the workforce, no matter our fields, are selling something even if we’re not technically “in sales.” I had to pick this up and I wasn’t disappointed. This book dragged my emotions from pillar to post here, there and yonder, but it was also filled with a lot of useful tips (about sales and about being a professional in an environment that wasn’t intended “for you” and about succeeding in life) that I think would apply to anyone whatever field they’re in. I’m very impressed with this debut novel and the story that the author tells of success and failure and change and equal opportunity through it. I’ve never read anything quite in this style before. It’s one of those that you read wondering whether it’s truth or fiction and are halfway to googling to find out if it’s a true story. This has some humour to it but it’s definitely more sartorial than laugh out loud, and more than humour, I’d celebrate it for being a fast-paced breezy read with a truly deep, visceral emotional punch. You read this knowing that the author and the character had been through or truly understood the experience of microagressions and outright racism, the push and pull of wanting to be more than your past, wanting to be better than you were raised, but again not wanting to alienate your people and culture and those who “knew you when.” It’s a story about recognizing your humanity and making devastating mistakes, but also making amends and knowing you can always go home.

The feelings that this book stirs as I’ve said, we’re all over the place. I was angry and upset, I was relieved and happy, I was sad, I was judgmental, the twists and turns of Buck’s (Darren’s) experience had me questioning a lot of things about contemporary American society and even Black American society and male friendships and family dynamics. This book made me consider what success really is and how much change and growth in a person is desirable and when does it get toxic- what should we leave behind and move on from as we reach for success and what do we forgive and how far do we go for old family and friends? The ending was a bit of a surprise and I wasn’t in love with it, but I think reading the last page, I can grudgingly admit it fit in well with the book and I’m glad I read this. I highly recommend this- it’s good and would be great for discussion in a book club because there are so many bits of this to discuss and analyze. I think this would be a perfect bridge book for someone who doesn’t read a lot of fiction but likes self-help.

Many thanks to the publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing me with a complimentary copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny informative inspiring reflective 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

4.0

This book is written as a part memoir, part sales manual, and the format really worked for the story. Don’t let it fool you—Darren’s story is fictional, but his voice is so clear and convincing right off the bat, he’ll have you believing he’s a real person. I loved the sales tips interspersed throughout the story, as Darren shares what he’s learned and how sales tactics apply to everyday life. My experience with sales is working at a Barnes and Noble trying to sell books…so nonexistent 😂 Not only was this book a captivating story, but I learned from it too!

Seeing Darren’s transformation from the beginning to middle to end was very compelling. He’s a fully fleshed-out character who makes questionable decisions but you still root for him. There were also some great side characters and though they all didn’t get as much attention as I would’ve liked, they are complex.

I honestly had no idea where the plot was going to go most of the time but it kept me invested. The narration in the audio was literal 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you so much to Libro.fm, the publisher, and the author for my ALC.

Read if you like: talking to strangers, coffee, diversity in the corporate world.

Content Warnings

agradstudentreadsforfun's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

More...