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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Outstanding follow-up to Harlem Shuffle with furniture store owner Ray Carney experiencing the 1970s in NYC: the good (the Jackson Five); the bad (arsonists); and the ugly (corrupt politicians). The pacing is terrific, the action is abundant, and everybody's favorite crook Pepper is heavily featured. Bring on book 3!
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hope he keeps writing these Carney books. I’ll keep reading them.
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-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
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
The continuing adventures of Ray Carney Getting Away with It. In many ways this is just more Harlem Shuffle, but that's ok because Harlem Shuffle was great. This is another three episodes of Harlem dodgy dealings and crook shenanigans, this time spread through the 1970s - dark but never harrowing, funny but not jokey, and always showcasing wonderfully written characters. A couple of the review quotes on the cover reference Quentin Tarantino, which is an apt comparison - the character-driven episodic slice of criminal life is certainly reminiscent of something like Pulp Fiction, and it is purely entertaining in much the same way - the prose is skillful and confident enough to keep you hooked through the various capers and petty criminal conversations and disputes.
What elevates it is the black perspective - viewing the world through Carney's eyes gives a searing insight into what it must be like to be black in a world run by white men - but whenever the book might start to sink under the weight of such heavy and potentially depressing themes, it is buoyed up by a life-affirming exuberance, and undercut by razor-sharp gallows humour. A joy from start to finish, and I certainly hope this isn't the last we see of Ray Carney's Harlem.
What elevates it is the black perspective - viewing the world through Carney's eyes gives a searing insight into what it must be like to be black in a world run by white men - but whenever the book might start to sink under the weight of such heavy and potentially depressing themes, it is buoyed up by a life-affirming exuberance, and undercut by razor-sharp gallows humour. A joy from start to finish, and I certainly hope this isn't the last we see of Ray Carney's Harlem.
This is not as good as Harlem Shuffle, let’s be plain. But there are some incredible moments. Opened very strongly — the beginning of Chapter 2 is a mindblowing articulation of apocalyptic New York. Look, Whitehead’s a gifted writer, and he’s on an incredible hot streak — but I can’t help but wonder if this process was rushed into publication a bit. The “Nefertiti T.N.T” section was bold and risky, which I admire, but it dragged at parts. I keenly felt Carney’s absence. In general, Carney seemed to fade into the background in CM in a way he didn’t in HS. There was also a real lack of central tension: HS has such good meditations on Dorvay and the delicate and dangerous balance of his home life with crook life, and I felt that tension had disappeared here. Once we get to the Alexander Oakes bits, I’m roped back in. I still think Whitehead’s in control; he’s a master craftsman who knows what he’s doing, but I wish he’d had more time to revise.
The fact that it’s a book about fire is the right choice. The execution with all things fire is perfect, and it seems like the perfect choice for this excellent, disturbing depiction of 1970s NYC.
“The city has changed. It’s crumbling around us and we have to outrun all the shit raining down.”
“Thursday night was soft and sugary, one of those perfect objects that summer doled out once in a while to torture you with how it could be all the time, if it cared.”
“Crime isn’t a scourge, people are. Crime is just how folks talk to each other sometimes.”
“If the audience is in on it, too, is it rigged or merely the world as it is?”
“It was like he was a kid again, just starting to understand the shape of his sadness. Out of step even then, lost among the tall buildings.”
“All the sorrows he met on the road remained at their stations, waiting for his children to come along. You sing the sad songs first, then you act them out.”
“Today’s messes and cruelties were the latest version of the old ones. Same flaws, different face. All of it passed down.”
“Some white flight ditched out to Long Island, the suburb constellations, and some was up, floor after floor. You can run out of land but not sky.”
“City like this, it behooves you to embrace the fucking contradictions.”
3.7/5
The fact that it’s a book about fire is the right choice. The execution with all things fire is perfect, and it seems like the perfect choice for this excellent, disturbing depiction of 1970s NYC.
“The city has changed. It’s crumbling around us and we have to outrun all the shit raining down.”
“Thursday night was soft and sugary, one of those perfect objects that summer doled out once in a while to torture you with how it could be all the time, if it cared.”
“Crime isn’t a scourge, people are. Crime is just how folks talk to each other sometimes.”
“If the audience is in on it, too, is it rigged or merely the world as it is?”
“It was like he was a kid again, just starting to understand the shape of his sadness. Out of step even then, lost among the tall buildings.”
“All the sorrows he met on the road remained at their stations, waiting for his children to come along. You sing the sad songs first, then you act them out.”
“Today’s messes and cruelties were the latest version of the old ones. Same flaws, different face. All of it passed down.”
“Some white flight ditched out to Long Island, the suburb constellations, and some was up, floor after floor. You can run out of land but not sky.”
“City like this, it behooves you to embrace the fucking contradictions.”
3.7/5
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No