Reviews

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

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katemc's review

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.75

Colson Whitehead’s just one of the best in the game isn’t he. I listened to a podcast on Harlem Shuffle and this trilogy is sort of a pet project for him, and you can tell! He loves these characters, he loves cooking up schemes for them, he loves the historical research he’s done to recreate midcentury New York City. You can tell he just loves it.

The writing is so SO good. My favorite kind of prose - whip smart, precise, wryly funny. He often tells instead of showing, but in the best way - because he can tell it so well and so vividly. His narration is a joy. His dialogue is lived in and real, a true extension of the characters themselves. I love being able to kinda turn my brain off to critique when an author is accomplishing what they set out to do so satisfactorily and almost invisibly.

I just love this trilogy, can’t wait for the next one!

kt_apple's review against another edition

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I assumed this was a continuation of the first novel in the series when it’s actually multiple stories.

christinuding's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.75

taylorbarnes's review

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adventurous funny tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

jodybecca's review

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challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Whitehead’s style is phenomenal. It’s clear a lot of thought went into each & every sentence. Very clever read. However, the 3 vignettes that make up this story felt a bit repetitive & monotonous.