Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

74 reviews

ecn's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.0

It felt like a more real life version of Sorry to Bother You - like almost exactly. It was a good story but because of how similar it was to the movie, I kept thinking or wishing for something big and crazy to happen. A fun read but probably would have been better if you didn’t see the movie.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

annabulkowski's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

chelseakasten's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lmilfort's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny inspiring 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

4.0

a weird but engaging read. you’ll definitely feel 100 emotions reading this (especially anger), but worth it I think. about a young black man who risks everything he loves climbing from being a Starbucks barista to the top of the corporate ladder. eventually learning to lift as he climbs. the ending will piss you off though. the racial undertones are heavy, even more so because it’s partially satire so it doesn’t even attempt to be delicate. maybe I should read more male-written/male-led books? 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

whatcassiedid's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging 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

4.0

Darren was pretty unlikeable for most of the book but I'm glad I stuck with it, I really enjoyed it. Big Sorry To Bother You energy.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

wellreadmegs's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

WOW! I already know this is going to be one of my favorite reads of 2022! 

I read the book & listened along to the audiobook as well & it's also one of the best audiobooks. I loved how the story was told & written. The narrator for the audiobook was so engaging and made you feel like he was your friend. 

This book covers SO many important issues our society faces. Diversity in the workplace, affirmative action, & corporate America. I was captivated all the way to the very end. Every time you thought the story was over the plot just kept on twisting. This book should be required reading & should be in every book club - especially workplace book clubs. 

So much happened in less than 400 pages. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sarcasmpotato's review

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I would never have guessed how this novel would have turned out! The plot and energy of the characters were refreshing, which added to the weight of certain events. Some of the only parts that took me out of the writing were the pop culture metaphors that felt out of the blue.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kaitlinlovesbooks's review

Go to review page

challenging reflective tense medium-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

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

literarylion'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? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Pros:
  • Sharply satirical but not overly didactic 
  • Strong character development
Cons:
  • The first half far outshone the second, in my opinion
  • Pacing seemed uneven -- very fast at some points and much slower at others, without a discernable reason
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mvvelde's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Dear Reader,

Are you interested in a book that pokes at problematic white supremacist and capitalist society, sometimes using satire to do so? If you answered yes, you're in for a treat.

----------------------

Synopsis: Black Buck centers Darren's climb through the white hetero-normative heirarchy of the sales world as it's token Black American. He shares insights on the challenge of working his way to the top--from Starbucks to Sumwun to ?--as he transforms into a Black salesman on a mission.

The way Black Buck is written was brilliant, bouncing from Darren talking to reader/listener, stream of conscious with emotions, and the retelling of his journey. It read like a film! I found myself nodding in agreement at the righteous anger of Darren, cringing at the self-importance and bigoted-ness of Clyde and others. Black Buck's message is a very clear and important roasting and social commentary on the problem of the sales world (and general workforce) in the United States. It reads very close to satire with how blunt, ironic and outright ridiculous some things are, and this definitely adds to the reading experience.

In addition to reading the ARC, I also listened to the audiobook via the Libby app & my local library. I found the audiobook to be especially well-narrated--great emotional infliction and generally nice to listen to. If reading certain things triggers you, you might want to double check before reading this one. Without spoiling, loss is one for me. I found it well-written, but it no doubt affected my reading experience (-0.5 rating).

3.5/5 stars for Black Buck! Thank you to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Mariner Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Keep reading for more on the trigger, but be warned: SPOILER AHEAD)

Somewhere around the mid-way point of the novel, Darren loses his mom. This loss was triggering for me, and ultimately affected my reading experience--reflected partially in my overall rating (overall I'd give it 4/5 stars, but this knocked the book down to 3.5 for me). I think that it also made me detach a bit as a listener/reader, which made me become a bit less interested but still wanted to know where Darren's journey went.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings