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A review by mvvelde
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Dear Reader,
Are you interested in a book that pokes at problematic white supremacist and capitalist society, sometimes using satire to do so? If you answered yes, you're in for a treat.
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Synopsis: Black Buck centers Darren's climb through the white hetero-normative heirarchy of the sales world as it's token Black American. He shares insights on the challenge of working his way to the top--from Starbucks to Sumwun to ?--as he transforms into a Black salesman on a mission.
The way Black Buck is written was brilliant, bouncing from Darren talking to reader/listener, stream of conscious with emotions, and the retelling of his journey. It read like a film! I found myself nodding in agreement at the righteous anger of Darren, cringing at the self-importance and bigoted-ness of Clyde and others. Black Buck's message is a very clear and important roasting and social commentary on the problem of the sales world (and general workforce) in the United States. It reads very close to satire with how blunt, ironic and outright ridiculous some things are, and this definitely adds to the reading experience.
In addition to reading the ARC, I also listened to the audiobook via the Libby app & my local library. I found the audiobook to be especially well-narrated--great emotional infliction and generally nice to listen to. If reading certain things triggers you, you might want to double check before reading this one. Without spoiling, loss is one for me. I found it well-written, but it no doubt affected my reading experience (-0.5 rating).
3.5/5 stars for Black Buck! Thank you to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Mariner Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
(Keep reading for more on the trigger, but be warned: SPOILER AHEAD)
Somewhere around the mid-way point of the novel, Darren loses his mom. This loss was triggering for me, and ultimately affected my reading experience--reflected partially in my overall rating (overall I'd give it 4/5 stars, but this knocked the book down to 3.5 for me). I think that it also made me detach a bit as a listener/reader, which made me become a bit less interested but still wanted to know where Darren's journey went.
Are you interested in a book that pokes at problematic white supremacist and capitalist society, sometimes using satire to do so? If you answered yes, you're in for a treat.
----------------------
Synopsis: Black Buck centers Darren's climb through the white hetero-normative heirarchy of the sales world as it's token Black American. He shares insights on the challenge of working his way to the top--from Starbucks to Sumwun to ?--as he transforms into a Black salesman on a mission.
The way Black Buck is written was brilliant, bouncing from Darren talking to reader/listener, stream of conscious with emotions, and the retelling of his journey. It read like a film! I found myself nodding in agreement at the righteous anger of Darren, cringing at the self-importance and bigoted-ness of Clyde and others. Black Buck's message is a very clear and important roasting and social commentary on the problem of the sales world (and general workforce) in the United States. It reads very close to satire with how blunt, ironic and outright ridiculous some things are, and this definitely adds to the reading experience.
In addition to reading the ARC, I also listened to the audiobook via the Libby app & my local library. I found the audiobook to be especially well-narrated--great emotional infliction and generally nice to listen to. If reading certain things triggers you, you might want to double check before reading this one. Without spoiling, loss is one for me. I found it well-written, but it no doubt affected my reading experience (-0.5 rating).
3.5/5 stars for Black Buck! Thank you to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Mariner Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
(Keep reading for more on the trigger, but be warned: SPOILER AHEAD)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent