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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Recreation of Harlem 1960s. Richly detailed with well-developed characters. 3.5 ⭐️ just didn’t pull me in the way UR or NB did.
Overall enjoyed a lot of the aspects of this. Loved the little bits of history, the glimpses of Harlem, and Carney as a character.
Some reviews said Whitehead never makes Carney reckon with his own conceptualization of his crookedness - I understand this to *some* extent but I also think he forces the reader to consider Carney’s criminality (in his own words, “only slightly bent when it came to being crooked”) within the context of 50s/60s Harlem. Almost every character who “makes it” in the novel (maybe with the exception of Carney’s wife Elizabeth) does so while involved in some level of cheating/crookedness - from the fences & thieves, to the ‘talented tenth’-esque members of the Dumas club, to the ultra-rich Van Wyck family. There is something in here that felt to me reminiscent of or connected to Sister Carrie - a level of determinism or naturalism about the environment Carney came from: a racist system that may never allow a truly “honest” man to succeed.
In the end, how much do we really care that Carney never wrestles with his own criminality when it is clear that the real crooks of the story are the Van Wycks of the world - rich, white families who helped create white supremacist systems that universally criminalize Black bodies?
I guess a truly great novel might stick the landing a bit more smoothly: unpack Carney’s feelings more throughly, drive home the deterministic/systemic point, or do both. But honestly I still enjoyed this and found it thought provoking!
Some reviews said Whitehead never makes Carney reckon with his own conceptualization of his crookedness - I understand this to *some* extent but I also think he forces the reader to consider Carney’s criminality (in his own words, “only slightly bent when it came to being crooked”) within the context of 50s/60s Harlem. Almost every character who “makes it” in the novel (maybe with the exception of Carney’s wife Elizabeth) does so while involved in some level of cheating/crookedness - from the fences & thieves, to the ‘talented tenth’-esque members of the Dumas club, to the ultra-rich Van Wyck family. There is something in here that felt to me reminiscent of or connected to Sister Carrie - a level of determinism or naturalism about the environment Carney came from: a racist system that may never allow a truly “honest” man to succeed.
In the end, how much do we really care that Carney never wrestles with his own criminality when it is clear that the real crooks of the story are the Van Wycks of the world - rich, white families who helped create white supremacist systems that universally criminalize Black bodies?
I guess a truly great novel might stick the landing a bit more smoothly: unpack Carney’s feelings more throughly, drive home the deterministic/systemic point, or do both. But honestly I still enjoyed this and found it thought provoking!
dark
mysterious
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
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
an attempt to write "contemporary" fiction, and it was fine? nothing extraordinary, could've been any author & i probably wouldn't have known
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
enjoyed it. nothing groundbreaking but a really enjoyable read.
challenging
dark
tense
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
I don’t get the feeling that this is Colson Whitehead’s best book, so I’m not giving up on this author, but this was just ok for me. It’s a character driven story about a man trying to get ahead in a world where the cards are stacked against him. It has a little crime, a little drama and a little social commentary.
Whitehead is an amazing writer. His use of dialect really draws the reader into a story of an African-American male in Harlem in the 1960s trying to succeed running a furniture business. He soon realized that because of systematic racism and lack of opportunities the only true way to make money is by being crooked.
challenging
informative
inspiring
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
slow-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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes