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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Carney is a college educated family man who owns a furniture store in 1960s Harlem. His father was a criminal. Carney grew up with his cousin Freddy who was always getting Carney into trouble. That hasn't changed now that they're adults. It's a crime novel but so much more. Threads of Black history and culture are woven throughout, as are references to the furniture fashions of the time. The best kind of historical fiction and quite a departure from Whitehead's previous books. Narrated by Dion Graham who is wonderful.
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the details of this book, I felt like the author pulled out pieces of Harlem that ought to be remembered and situated the time period really well. It wasn’t a page turner, but the story did captivate me enough so that I needed to finish it to find out what happened. It felt like the message was very c’est la vie, rather than making commentary on wrong vs right.
challenging
tense
slow-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
The narration was great but I didn’t enjoy the plot of the book much, nor the characters.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For me, Whitehead was able to bring a seedier New York City to life-- not the sanitized family-friendly one we have today. It's a glimpse into the irony of the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mantra. Sure, Ray was able to start his furniture store and distance himself from the legacy of his father in the beginning, but what did that get him? A failing business.
Despite being set in the 60s, this book and its themes on race are still very much relevant today. I will definitely be checking out the sequel.
Despite being set in the 60s, this book and its themes on race are still very much relevant today. I will definitely be checking out the sequel.