Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
funny
reflective
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The audiobook narrator was amazing. The plot can be tricky to follow as it bounces around Harlem’s criminal underworld introducing each new character and backstory. A darkly funny exploration of systemic corruption.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Torture, Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Maybe a 3.5? Some wonderfully crafted sentences here, especially the ones describing 1970s New York and Harlem. Like the first book in this trilogy, there's just no shortage of wild, shady characters here. The sheer number of them and the way they're introduced on the fly and explored in little side stories continued to be a little confounding to me though; felt like I could use a org chart at times.
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
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
Onverdiend zo lang over gedaan, maar terugkijkend is het boek niet gebaat bij kleine stukjes lezen voor het slapen gaan. Uiteindelijk de tweede helft in een week uitgelezen en dan merk je hoe je in de flow van het verhaal moet zijn, met zijn treffende beschrijving van het veranderende Harlem door de jaren heen en de karakter die Whitehead opvoert. Kijk uit naar deel 3 die de trilogie gaat afronden.
adventurous
dark
informative
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved some of Whitehead’s other books but I really struggled with this one. Maybe it’s because I didn’t read Harlem Shuffle first, or maybe I don’t love the genre, but I found it really hard to get into and stay invested. A lot of it went over my head and there were a lot of names to keep track of, and overall I struggled to get to the end. The writing was definitely high quality, I just think this book wasn’t for me.