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bonnieg 's review for:
Crook Manifesto
by Colson Whitehead
It is hard to be the second book in a trilogy. On the one hand, book 2 is the center, the part that holds the story together, on the other hand, it has no beginning or end that is not dependent on another book. Though the first book, Harlem Shuffle, ended on a bit of a cliffhanger it still stood on its own as a complete story. This, IMO does not. That said, it sets us up for what appears to be a rollocking book 3 and I am here for that. We have ridden in the sidecar as Ray has gone from rags to riches to rags to riches in all manner of ways, legal and illegal. I don't think it is a spoiler to say we leave Ray in a moment of transition for him and for the city at large. (Harlem remains the co-lead of the story, as much a character as any human here.) I like where Whitehead took the story (or really stories, there is more than one), but the book just does not stand on its own. Also, most of the side characters in this one were a little less colorful than those in the first book. That volume was for me a high 4, and this is a lower 4, but still a 4 and I am feeling pretty sure that the third book is going to be a barnburner.
One note: While reading this I kept thinking of the Don Winslow Danny Ryan trilogy which is on the same publishing timetable as this one - book 2 of that series, City of Dreams, came out a few months ago. That series starts with a traditional crime family, but in book 2 it turns into something less formal and very close to the loose confederation of conmen who show up in Whitehead's books. Ray Carney and Danny Ryan live in different cities, but in many ways they are similar. Criminals trying to be good men, and good men trying to be criminals. Also, in the second volume in both trilogies there is a subplot where the MCs get involved in making a film. Honestly the books in both series have been some of my favorite reads over the last few years so this is not a complaint, it is just really interesting that these two very different writers are treading on similar ground, though the resulting products are very different. When the final volumes of both come out I will be looking to see if they end up in different places.
One note: While reading this I kept thinking of the Don Winslow Danny Ryan trilogy which is on the same publishing timetable as this one - book 2 of that series, City of Dreams, came out a few months ago. That series starts with a traditional crime family, but in book 2 it turns into something less formal and very close to the loose confederation of conmen who show up in Whitehead's books. Ray Carney and Danny Ryan live in different cities, but in many ways they are similar. Criminals trying to be good men, and good men trying to be criminals. Also, in the second volume in both trilogies there is a subplot where the MCs get involved in making a film. Honestly the books in both series have been some of my favorite reads over the last few years so this is not a complaint, it is just really interesting that these two very different writers are treading on similar ground, though the resulting products are very different. When the final volumes of both come out I will be looking to see if they end up in different places.