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A review by mcloonejack
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
4.0
It’s Colson Whitehead writing about 1960s Harlem, of course it’s amazing.
I haven’t read much Whitehead (the only other one of his book’s I’ve read is Zone One, which I loved) but it’s readily apparent why he’s so beloved, even if this isn’t either of his two more prestigious novels. He writes with such a deft, confident hand. One of his most impressive abilities is making it *feel* hot (though maybe that was just because I was reading this during a heat wave), but not by telling you it’s hot. But not even necessarily by showing you it’s hot, either. It just… exudes being hot. Who am I to try and explain how?
The story itself was engaging, if nothing particular special plot-wise. The characters, however, were really strongly built through anecdotes and asides.
And of course, as an avowed heist movie fan, I’ll love any heist book.
I haven’t read much Whitehead (the only other one of his book’s I’ve read is Zone One, which I loved) but it’s readily apparent why he’s so beloved, even if this isn’t either of his two more prestigious novels. He writes with such a deft, confident hand. One of his most impressive abilities is making it *feel* hot (though maybe that was just because I was reading this during a heat wave), but not by telling you it’s hot. But not even necessarily by showing you it’s hot, either. It just… exudes being hot. Who am I to try and explain how?
The story itself was engaging, if nothing particular special plot-wise. The characters, however, were really strongly built through anecdotes and asides.
And of course, as an avowed heist movie fan, I’ll love any heist book.