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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
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
I have mixed feelings about this book. I understand why it has a lot of hype, but honestly, this book was a SLOG. One sentence of plot followed by three sentences of flashback / anecdote / stream of consciousness. I really dislike stream of consciousness writing styles. It was an effective writing technique to help understand the characters better, but it made it nearly impossible for me to get into any kind of groove while reading it.
Had I not been reading this for book club I honestly would have abandoned it 40 pages in. It was just too tedious for me to get invested, and by the time the story finally started to pick up, I just wanted it to be over already.
That being said, I think the perspective of a black man in 1960s Harlem was very well done, and offered me a unique perspective that I had not experienced or considered before. The way he addresses racial and cultural issues is profoundly well done. His storytelling is vivid and eloquently written (if slow moving).
The writing style just didn't work for me.
Had I not been reading this for book club I honestly would have abandoned it 40 pages in. It was just too tedious for me to get invested, and by the time the story finally started to pick up, I just wanted it to be over already.
That being said, I think the perspective of a black man in 1960s Harlem was very well done, and offered me a unique perspective that I had not experienced or considered before. The way he addresses racial and cultural issues is profoundly well done. His storytelling is vivid and eloquently written (if slow moving).
The writing style just didn't work for me.
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
challenging
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
The story of the spectrum of crookedness in Harlem in the 1960s. The main character is a mostly above-board businessman, but with a crook father and a cousin who keeps pulling him into criminal schemes, he has a foot in both worlds.
Wonderful eye to detail; truly brings the changing city alive. There were many mine enough when I wondered how Whitehead was able to conjure such specific detail.
Wonderful eye to detail; truly brings the changing city alive. There were many mine enough when I wondered how Whitehead was able to conjure such specific detail.
adventurous
funny
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:
Complicated
A contemporary masterpiece in crime fiction. Whitehead’s prose and story telling are on full display here and do not disappoint
It took me 75-100 pages to understand the rhythms of this book. Then I was completely pulled in. I want to re read it eventually now that I better understand Whitehead’s writing style. His prose is some of the most evocative I’ve ever read, you could feel the heat wafting off the concrete in some of the scenes. Really amazing and descriptive scene setting. I love the racial parallels he draws and the double standards he calls out. I will definitely read the next book in the trilogy.
dark
reflective
medium-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
Interesting read but it takes a while to get somewhere and I, personally, thought the ending was a bit of a let-down.
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to like this more, but it lacks the tension and tautness of Nickel Boys. It was awesome to see Whitehead illuminate the place I'm going to be inhabiting in NYC, but I found the plot to be oddly paced at time. The jumps between events were also rather abrupt, and I found the final payoff of the book unsatisfying. Whitehead does do a wonderful job transitioning from description to character, and his general character descriptions are good as well.