Harlem Shuffle is somewhat of a saga, chronicling the life of Ray Carney and his friends and family from 1959 to 1964. Carney owns and operates a legitimate furniture store in Harlem by day, but by night he follows in his criminal father's footsteps, acting as a "fence" and reselling stolen merchandise brought to him by his underworld friends, such as gems and jewellery, to his other shady contacts, for a percentage. Carney is also periodically drawn into capers by his drug-addicted, trouble-prone cousin Freddie, and the reader is given the sense, over the course of the novel, that Carney is descending further and further into crime and that he is having increasing trouble hiding this aspect of his life from his wife and two kids.

Overall I think this was a good book, and it's very well written; the author is clearly very gifted. I loved the characters and the descriptions of Harlem and other areas in New York, and the story was entertaining,

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

In Harlem Shuffle, Whitehead drops the reader into the vibrant 'ghetto' world of 1960s Harlem with it's dialect, heritage and unique rhythms. As a reader you feel immersed in a bygone era as the tale of Ray Carney's involvement in a renowned heist comes to light. and the dramatic repercussions that unfold. Ideas of brotherhood and loyalty are examined as the lines between truth and fiction, legality and illegality and life and death are interwoven against the harsh realities of racial discrimination and police hostilities. Full of warmth and wit, this novel will not disappoint fans of Whitehead's previous work.

DNF at 25%. This was my first Colson Whitehead book, and it didn't grab me. I tried several times to get back into it, but I was moving too slowly for me. I normally don't mind a character-driven book... but there were too many characters being introduced, including sometimes during an action scene, which really took me out of the story. I think this might be more relevant for people familiar with that era and all the brands of furniture mentioned!
I have The Underground Railroad on my shelf, I think I will give that a go instead.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and sorry this was not the right book for me - this is my highly subjective point of view!

I cannot submit my review without giving the book a rating. It is technically well-written.

Underground Railroad was a fascinating book, well written, horrific in parts and completely gripping.
I had high expectations of Harlem Shuffle, sadly I was disappointed and only got a third of the way through. I found the style difficult and the characters unengaging.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the advanced copy.

If you have read anything from Colson Whitehead, welcome back, if not, you are totally missing out. What I mostly loved about this book were the descriptions and how detailed they were, easily transporting you into an ever-changing Harlem,

Whitehead has a way of writing that will get you involved no matter what and will get you to turn page after page. the story itself is centred around Carney and the neighbourhood. I found that the balance between his past and present was a true picture of humanity. Truly enjoyed this book!

When you're reading a novel from a two-time Pulitzer prize winning author, you know you're in safe hands. So, although the plot for Harlem Shuffle, would not be my usual reading material I was keen to get my hands on the latest title from this talented writer.

The novel takes us to Harlem, New York, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. We follow Ray Carney who struggles to reconcile the two sides of himself - the respectable furniture salesman vs. the gently crooked side hustler who doesn't ask too many questions when asked to sell on stolen goods.

The central plot of the book is around the relationship between Carney and his cousin Freddie who is completely immersed in the criminal underworld. One day Freddie gets himself involved in a lucrative heist and pulls Carney and his furniture shop into it without his permission; it's the start of a slippery slope that sees the balance between Carney's "good" and "bad" side slip ever further towards the bad.

What I admired most about Harlem Shuffle was the world building. Whitehead seems to effortlessly give you a feel for the streets of Harlem at the time without it feeling forced. Each time I picked the book back up, within a few sentences I was back in the world.

However, for a book that is ostensibly about a heist which I would expect to have high-octane action throughout, it took me a long time to finish it. I found that it lulled in parts and whenever I felt the plot was building up to a major altercation, we never quite got there. I would read of a death or disappearance that happened off the page leaving the reader to imagine what may have happened. I personally did not mind this but for someone looking for a propulsive read, I imagine it might feel like they never quite get the pay off they were expecting.

What makes Harlem Shuffle different from your average heist story are the themes it weaves into the plot around civil rights, police brutality, corruption, prestige and the draw that fast money has for even the most noble of people and professions. Readers who like literary fiction with a central plot to propel the story forward will really enjoy this work. It's not the most page-turning of reads by any means but the heist element does give the story a sense of pace that traditional literary fiction often lacks. I'm glad I read this book and, for the hours I spent with it, I truly felt I could be walking the streets of 1960s Harlem.

Ray Carney is a man trying to stay (just) on the right side of the law. His cousin Freddie is his shadow self. Freddie is always drawing Ray into a criminal scheme that Ray doesn't have the will to resist. No matter how well his furniture business grows, Ray is never going to be able to succeed in Harlem without a side hustle. We get to know Ray through a series of increasingly dangerous and entertaining capers. I particularly enjoyed Ray's revenge on the man who tries to cheat him in the middle section.

Through the lens of all-round good guy Ray Carney, we're treated to a glimpse of Harlem during the civil rights-era - the racial tensions, the poverty, the aspirations, the payoffs and kickbacks, the mobsters and the families just trying to get by. The characters jump off the page, especially the slightly sketchy underworld ones - hello Pepper and Chink Montague - and it's impossible not to get swept up in Ray's adventures and determination not the follow the footsteps of his father, and instead just remain a little bit bent when it comes to being crooked. A story about the 1950s and 60s, but also a tale of recent times, this is a book not to be missed.

A big thank-you to Colson Whitehead, Little, Brown Book Group UK, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Having read two of Mr Whitehead's novels, this one was on top of my list. What a total surprise it was! A definite and unexpected shift into Harlem in the 1960s, with its bitter humour and portrayal of people and places so well-written that visualising them was not a problem for me. The beginning was rather slow and it took me a little time to get involved mainly due to my lack of knowledge what Harlem was like six decades ago. After some time though I felt more secure in the company of Ray and the company. This novel was the closest I could get to Harlem, I suppose. A reading journey that I will not forget for a long time.

This book is brilliantly written but each page each paragraph is so heavy with information about racism and New York and American history - a positive and a negative for me! It's definitely not a light quick read but is super interesting and informative. It really made me feel for the main character in this book, and he was a nice guy that you liked, which made the situations he was in even more upsetting! The book is entirely unpredictable too with a wry humour that lightens the mood throughout.

‘Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked...'

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K. Fleet for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Harlem Shuffle’ by Colson Whitehead in exchange for an honest review.

This is another outstanding novel from Colson Whitehead. It is a family saga with crime fiction elements set in Harlem between 1959-64.

Ray Carney runs a furniture store on 125th Street. Despite a seemingly upstanding reputation, Carney descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks. With cash tight, Ray has been accepting a few items that have ‘fallen off the back of trucks’. His cousin Freddie also occasionally drops off pieces of jewellery and Ray doesn’t enquire about their provenance. He knows a discreet jeweller downtown who also doesn't ask questions.

When Freddie falls in with a crew planning to rob the Hotel Theresa - the 'Waldorf of Harlem' - he volunteers Ray's services as the fence. When the heist goes wrong, it brings Ray into the orbit of a new clientele, that includes shady cops, minions of the local crime lord, and numerous other Harlem lowlifes.

This novel was a surprise. I had read ‘The Underground Railroad’ and ‘The Nickel Boys’ and experienced both as powerful and disturbing. However, I found ‘Harlem Shuffle’ notably different in tone as it is comparably light-hearted, even though there is still plenty of grittiness and noir. Humour, even of the dry, ironic type, wasn’t a quality I had expected to find in Whitehead’s work.

Clearly the cityscape of Manhattan and New York City is very central to the narrative. I found it cinematic and easy to imagine it translating to a limited series.

Given the recent anniversary there is a small poignant moment in the 1964 section in which Carney visits downtown and sees the blocks of the old commercial district that had been razed to make way for the construction of the World Trade Centre.

Overall, another exceptional work of literary fiction from Colson Whitehead that I felt powerfully evoked the complex and vibrant Harlem community of the early 1960s through the lives of its various inhabitants. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gains him further literary prizes.

Highly recommended.

I thank NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
I read and reviewed Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys (a Pulitzer Prize winner), loved it, and when I heard he had a new book coming out, I had to check it out. Well, it is different, that is true, but I loved it as well.
Most of what any prospective reader might want to know about this novel is well summarised in the last paragraph of the description:
Harlem Shuffle is driven by an ingeniously intricate plot that plays out in a beautifully recreated Harlem of the early 1960s. It's a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem.

Perhaps ‘a hilarious morality play’ is a bit of an exaggeration (the hilarious part, although it depends on one’s sense of humour: I agree there is plenty of humour in the novel, but most of it is on the twisted and dark side of the spectrum), but the rest, pretty accurate.
I am not known for my brief reviews, but I’ll try to offer an overview of the most important aspects, in my opinion, and then add a few comments.
Whitehead writes beautifully and has a great skill in making readers feel as if they were walking the streets of Harlem in the 1960s, boiling with racial tension, social upheaval, corruption at all levels, but beauty and hope as well. He also brings to life a complex and engaging cast of characters who are interconnected in different ways. Family plays an important part in the story, not only the family tradition (the sins of the fathers, in this case), but also the relationship between Carney and his cousin, Freddie, who has a knack for getting into trouble. The overall novel is divided up into three crime-related episodes or novellas, several years apart, which illustrate the changes in the characters’ lives, in the society of the time, and also in New York and Harlem. In some ways, the two cousins seem to have taken two completely opposite paths: while Carney’s life is on the up, getting more successful with his business (and his ever-so-slightly crooked activities) as we progressed through the novel, Freddie’s lifestyle is deteriorating, and he is falling down a slippery slope. Or at least that’s how things appear to be on the surface, to those who aren’t in the know. The ending is fitting, and although some readers felt disappointed because they expected something different; based on its own merits, this is an excellent book. As one of the reviewers put it, this is perhaps not a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, but one can’t blame the author for wanting to write a different kind of book and succeeding.
I’ve said I wanted to add a few comments, and here they come.
The novel is written in the third person, mostly from Carney’s point of view, but also from some of the other characters, and that works well, as we get access to other perspectives and see Carney from outside, as others see him. There is a fair amount of telling in the story, because a lot of things happen to some of the characters who are not centre stage, and it is not unusual for the story to take detours and provide us with some background information that might appear surplus to the story at the time (but it rarely is). This is not a mystery, though, so it does not follow the standard format of the novels in that genre, and it is much more focused on other issues, like the location, the dynamics of the neighbourhood, the local politics, the social unrest, the race riots, the local politics, the corruption... It brought to my mind a fabulous scene from the movie Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens) —which I fervently recommend to anybody interested in heist movies or good movies in general— where an experienced con-man is teaching his apprentice the lay of the land. They are talking about tricksters, con-men, and crime, and the more experienced con-man tells the other that crime and tricksters are all around; one only needs to know where to look, and the camera picks up an incredible variety of crimes taking place around them. It is mind-boggling. And, indeed, although the action of the novel takes place in Harlem in the early 1960s, the events and the underlying politics could easily be transplanted to many present day locations. (It definitely made me think of fairly recent incidents in the city where I live).
I have mentioned the reviews. Apart from the issue of unmet expectations (and reading some other reviews it is quite evident that the author has been writing for quite a while and loves to try different genres, so this novel seems to fit in his overall oeuvre), some readers did not feel they cared much for the central character. Carney is neither totally sympathetic, nor the opposite. He protests too much at times, and although he has a strong sense of family, tries to protect his cousin (which costs him at times, but it is not all bad either), and loves his wife and children; he is no model citizen either. He does not fight the system as much as adapt to it and always makes sure he is in the best position to take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves. He is not a conventional hero, for sure, and there are secondary characters which readers like much more than him (Pepper, a totally uncharacteristic criminal type, is a favourite, and yes, I like him as well), but if we read the novel as a morality play, as suggested, then this is not surprising but totally understandable. Other points many reviewers make are the meandering nature of the stories, how often we get sidetracked, and also the fact that there is a fair amount of telling. That is true, but I didn’t mind at all. I was happy to follow the characters and the stories wherever they took me, but if readers are expecting a standard mystery or crime novel, where every little detail propels the story forwards and the prose is bare and streamlined, this is not their book.
If I had to find fault, or complain, I would say that I would have liked to hear more from and about the female characters in the story. Carney’s wife sounds interesting, and her job at a travel agency catering for African-American travellers made me think of Green Book, but we never see things from her perspective, and the same is true of Freddie’s mother, who brought him up almost single-handedly and also played a big part in Carney’s life, despite holding a job as a nurse at the same time. There are other women in the story, but none take centre stage, or only fleetingly.
Whitehead writes beautifully, and his words flow with ease and flair, no matter if he’s describing a place, immersing us in the internal thoughts of a character, sharing a bit of witty dialogue, or providing us an insight into the historical and social reality of a place and an era. I highlighted much of the book, and I must admit that his first lines are joining my list of favourites, and this book’s opening proves it again.
‘Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked...'

As usual, I recommend people thinking of buying the book to check a sample first, if they aren’t sure it would be a good fit, but I couldn’t resist sharing some bits of it. Please, remember that I read an ARC copy, so there might be some changes to the final version of the novel.

“Newspapers talking about ‘looting,’” Buford continued. “Should ask the Indians about looting. This whole country’s founded on taking other people’s shit.”

These days he didn’t know where everybody’d gone. Jail, the graveyard, sure, but besides that. There were no pension plans for retired safecrackers, for heisters and hustlers.

Pepper faced the man, with the resignation of a man discovering his toilet is still busted after the plumber had left.

So, if you are looking for a novel by one of the most interesting novelists around, one who isn’t afraid to challenge and/or disappoint expectations, love unusual takes on recent historical fiction, enjoy books that don’t stick to a genre, want to learn more about Harlem in the 1960s, and love fantastic writing, this is for you. It is neither The Underground Railroad nor The Nickel Boys, but it is well-worth a read.

Reading this book is like moving into a neighbourhood I almost theme London Bedding in Hackney in the 1970's . Thr author creates fantastic characters, in a edu that it's almost like reading a film. Thr images flow with the words. I think that his novels are modern classics with political and social depth that should be studied for A level and beyond, and enjoys my anyone who takes time to enter the world and the narrative.

Colston Whitehead is an amazing writer.. yet it’s taken me ages to write this review as I’m not sure how to put into words what I feel about his recent novel, Harlem Shuffle. Did I like it? Yes, mostly. Did I struggle to keep reading at times? Yes also. My review is a bit mixed but here goes.

Ray Carney owns a furniture store in 1960s Harlem. The son of a crook, Ray tries his best to keep on the straight and narrow, however if that means doing some underhand work to pay the bills and keep his family afloat, well so be it. That is until one day, his cousin Freddie ropes him into the robbery of the Hotel Teresa, the famous Harlem hangout at that time. Ray then enters back into a world he has been trying his best to stay out of and subsequently discovers that the Harlem he once new is changing.

Whitehead describes Harlem so thoroughly that you can imagine yourself being there. He builds a world of shady wheeling and dealing, of poverty and struggles and yet throws in funny moments that you laugh at. Yet I found myself getting a little lost with it all. I had to reread passages to understand what was going on. There was a lot of ‘gangster’ speak if that’s how you’d describe it. Phrases and innuendos I needed to stop and think about. Also the predominantly male set of macho characters were hard for me to gel with. In saying that I could picture them and I found as the novel went on I enjoyed it more. I found the pace was a bit slow at times but it did build and the ending was good.

Harlem Shuffle lacked a little something for me. I read it and ultimately did enjoy it but I’m not sure if I’d be rushing to pick it up again. It is a love letter to Harlem as the writer describes it, but unfortunately it wasn’t quite for me. One for the die hard fans maybe.

Kind thanks to Little Brown and netgalley for the arc.

Ray Carney is a furniture salesman and also acts as a fence for heists. Through Carney and the people around him, Whitehead transports us to Harlem in the 60s. Through his prose and Carney's eyes, we see the area develop and change, while Carney himself changes: at first he's just a fence, intent on not becoming his father; eventually his character develops into more of a boss character.

We can all agree that Whitehead has little to prove. He can write, and he's shown it multiple times in this and his previous books. However, for me the pacing for this book was a bit off. I struggled at times to keep reading. The heists were mixed with long descriptions of Harlem and the things that were going on, and I ended up speeding through those descriptions to get to the action of the book. As a heist book, it was slow and, for me, it dragged, and hence my 3-star rating. Having said that, I think it's a book that Whitehead fans will enjoy, and the feel of the 60s was very well done (as one would expect from such an author).

This is an honest review of an eARC. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy of the book.

Apparently after Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead had wanted to write in a less gruelling genre and planned a crime thriller, paying homage to greats like Walter Moseley and Chester Himes. However black people kept getting shot, and so he wrote Nickel Boys instead. Now we finally have Harlem Shuffle, providing an even greater contrast to the two novels than precede it. This is Whitehead in cruise mode, showing us how well he can play with and subvert our expectations of the crime novel, while providing the genre thrills we expect along the way.

Ray Carney is a furniture dealer in late fifties Harlem who as well as running a straightforward business handles radios and settees of questionable origin, while also providing connections between thieves and fences for some side hustle income. Around Ray are his feckless cousin Freddie, often the source of dubious merchandise, and a collection of businessmen, hustlers and crooks.

Ray’s hard-earned lifestyle is challenged by the three heists that make up the plot: in the first a hotel strongbox theft goes wrong; in the second Ray takes revenge on a Harlem grandee who fails to deliver an entree into legitimate business; and in the final one Freddie returns with an enormous jewel stolen from the very top of New York society. After the set-up of the first, these heist capers are set against the real events transforming New York: the Harlem Riots of 1964, and the rebuilding of Manhattan in the late sixties and early seventies

All of these are intricately plotted and end in immaculately conceived set-ups, stickups and shootouts in abandoned buildings.We view them all through Ray’s eyes, and all in their different ways return him to the same questions. How can a black man ever get ahead in a world where the rules are set by the whites and the cards are always stacked? Is Ray’s ‘slightly crooked’ way the best way to get on? There are two metaphors that Ray returns to time and again to try and find the answers - that New York (vividly brought to life here) is two cities, overlaid one on top of the other in a racially defined version of Ui Quoma and Bezel; and that both cities work through an endless cycling of envelopes (real or symbolic) that define obligation, contribution and relationship. Characters who forget which city they are in, or don’t receive and transmit their envelopes properly, put themselves and others in jeopardy.

If this is Whitehead in a more relaxed vein, the questions remain as real and urgent. A pleasure to read from start to finish, and Ray’s journey will stay with you long after the last bullet has been fired.

The book centres on Ray Carney small-time crook in 1960s Harlem who discovers a fortune in cash in his dead fathers car and uses it to open a furniture store. He combines life during shop hours selling three-piece suites with one at night moving on stolen goods for local villains. It is a Harlem noir novel with echoes of Chester Himes' Harlem Cycle books and combines social drama with humour.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more by Colson Whitehead in the future.

Read this book!
Now that I've suggested what you should do, let's talk about 'Harlem Shuffle' by Colson Whitehead. This is the latest novel from the multiaward winning author and Whitehead's returns to his beloved New York City, in particular to Harlem between 1959 and 1961. The tale revolves around Ray Carney, a man Whitehead refers to as being ".. only slightly bent, when it comes to being crooked". Ray is driven to look after his pregnant wife and young daughter. He is a respected furniture salesman, but he wish to provide for his family, leads him to accept some stolen goods from his cousin Freddie - and eventually to become involved in a dangerous heist. This is where life takes a dramatic turn as Ray strives to survive and keep his family safe.
The vivid descriptions of Harlem, help the reader to visualise the locations for the story and to imagine themselves as part of the setting. In some ways, the city becomes an integral part of the story and I cannot imagine the story of Ray set anywhere else.
Despite the fact that many of Ray's actions are illegal (or border line), he is not an anti-hero but the true hero of the novel as he battles his own morality throughout the story. There are many amusing and equally heartwarming moments in this book that elevate it above other talks 9f morality and family.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.

<i>"Living taught you that you didn't have to live the way you'd been taught to live"

"He used to say that you wee going to be a doctor, you were so smart, but that you were smart enough to know you make more money being crooked" </i>

Ray Carney, the slightly bent, furniture salesman/fence for heists of Harlem is a memorable character. He loves his family and values friends. When for no fault of his (and all of his cousin Freddie) he becomes the fence for one of the big heists of Harlem, he gets re-introduced to Pepper and his gang. We have three meticulously planned heists/jobs with Carney growing in the black community as an outstanding citizen. The fact that his family/staff do not have a clue as to his two lives is a fun exaggeration.

Set in the 1950-60s Harlem, the book is a departure from the sober material of Whitehead and even infuses wit and humour to his characters. Though we do get references to the black movement in the background, we do not get into history but rather the impact of the event on the characters (A KKK procession is mentioned in passing).

There is a subtext of race without being so overt. Sample this: Carney's wife runs a travel agency called Black Tours where she has a map for her black clientele to travel safely and not run into trouble with the whites. I enjoyed the fact that by choosing a neighborhood - he keeps most characters heroes, villains and everything in-between, black and hence it is not a clash.

Though this was much more fun than the Underground Railroad, I found it still very "put-downable"(?). Maybe it was the second plot of revenge that was especially dragging and petty for a book of this sort. Or the narrative that jumps around like a movie script from multiple POVs which was a bit jarring. Whatever be the factor, I'd still read this book for the retro-feel.

Note: Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book publishing house for providing the ARC of this book for review.

This book totally transports you to 1960’s Harlem, it’s a brilliant combination of family drama, crime thriller and historical fiction, full of colourful characters.

Ray Carney ‘is only slightly bent when it comes to being crooked’. To some he is an upstanding, hard working furniture shop owner, but he keeps getting drawn into the seedy underworld of his past, mostly thanks to his troubled cousin Frankie.