Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

7 reviews

bel017's review

dark informative sad

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

 In 1960s Harlem, NYC, a black man tries to balance and separate his straight and criminal lives. 

Lots of CW for marginalised people living in desperate, violent, poverty stricken and oppressive situations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Gun violence, Bullying, Homophobia, Addiction, Classism, Child abuse, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Grief, Misogyny, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Suicide, Alcohol, Torture, Sexism, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Antisemitism

jessi_c's review

adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

For me, this story was gripping enough to keep me entertained. However, it’s was mainly due to the cast of minor characters, which enriched the plot moreso than the mc. The prose shined when it dived deep into the heists/jobs, again largely unraveled by the side characters. Wished there was more to talk about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Death

Moderate: Racism and Drug use

Minor: Police brutality and Homophobia

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

This book was really engaging and interesting! It almost felt like it had a couple different stories inside it, but in a way that completely worked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Classism, Racial slurs, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Drug abuse

for_esme_with_love's review

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My favorite kind of crime novel: one with no copaganda to be found! 

Set in 1960s Harlem, this noir thriller follows a furniture salesman wrestling with his commitment to remaining on the straight and narrow, all the while his path is increasingly filled with twists and disreputable turns. The narration is full of shrewd observations about a city that is crooked to its core, introducing us to a cast of deliciously unsavory characters. I loved the subtle humor -- witty repartee between characters and a protagonist who can't help but wax poetic on the value of a good sofa or dining room set, even in the most dire circumstances. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, and Death

Minor: Cursing and Forced institutionalization

The racism and homophobic displayed by some characters are definitely supposed to be bad, not the views of the author

kjulie's review

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

In the end I found that I appreciated this. I wasn’t sure if I’d finish it, as the writing style really didn’t work for me (it felt distracted and disjointed), but Colson Whitehead got me to eventually care about the characters! It’s loosely a collection of heist stories, but more directly the story of Ray Carney discovering who he is and what he’s capable of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Homophobia and Drug use

na_no's review

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Abandonment, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Violence, War, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Racism

davidrb's review

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-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

5.0

STRONG, STRONG contender for my favorite book of the year, and certainly for my favorite published this year. Wonderfully paced, dryly funny, and with such a tight grasp on story and plot. I came out of it way more emotional than I banked for. The Count of Monte Cristo references...wow!

Savored every minute.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence

There's a scene midway through the book that veers close to rape and will likely trigger people who are affected by sexual assault.