Harlem Shuffle
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- Create Date：2022-09-05 09:52:49
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Colson Whitehead
- ISBN：0525567275
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Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys， this gloriously entertaining novel is "fast-paced， keen-eyed and very funny 。。。 about race， power and the history of Harlem all disguised as a thrill-ride crime novel （San Francisco Chronicle）。
Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked。。。 To his customers and neighbors on 125th street， Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture， making a decent life for himself and his family。 He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child， and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks， it's still home。
Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks， and that his fa�ade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it。 Cracks that are getting bigger all the time。
Cash is tight， especially with all those installment-plan sofas， so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace， Ray doesn't ask where it comes from。 He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn't ask questions， either。
Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa--the Waldorf of Harlem--and volunteers Ray's services as the fence。 The heist doesn't go as planned; they rarely do。 Now Ray has a new clientele， one made up of shady cops， vicious local gangsters， two-bit pornographers， and other assorted Harlem lowlifes。
Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook。 As Ray navigates this double life， he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem。 Can Ray avoid getting killed， save his cousin， and grab his share of the big score， all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs？
Harlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City 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。
But mostly， it's a joy to read， another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead。
Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked。。。 To his customers and neighbors on 125th street， Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture， making a decent life for himself and his family。 He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child， and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks， it's still home。
Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks， and that his fa�ade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it。 Cracks that are getting bigger all the time。
Cash is tight， especially with all those installment-plan sofas， so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace， Ray doesn't ask where it comes from。 He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn't ask questions， either。
Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa--the Waldorf of Harlem--and volunteers Ray's services as the fence。 The heist doesn't go as planned; they rarely do。 Now Ray has a new clientele， one made up of shady cops， vicious local gangsters， two-bit pornographers， and other assorted Harlem lowlifes。
Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook。 As Ray navigates this double life， he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem。 Can Ray avoid getting killed， save his cousin， and grab his share of the big score， all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs？
Harlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City 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。
But mostly， it's a joy to read， another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead。
Reviews
Anthony Belnomi
，
This book very vibrantly transports you to mid-20th century Harlem and the ‘concrete jungle’ it often is purported to be。 You take a step into the dueling forces that probably enrapture a lot of people living in a big City of movers and shakers; quick， lucrative illicit gain and straight and arrow， above board work。 The protagonist has not only the perils of being black in a still heavily racist city to contend with， but the most checkered history of his Father。 At the core， you know he’s a man This book very vibrantly transports you to mid-20th century Harlem and the ‘concrete jungle’ it often is purported to be。 You take a step into the dueling forces that probably enrapture a lot of people living in a big City of movers and shakers; quick， lucrative illicit gain and straight and arrow， above board work。 The protagonist has not only the perils of being black in a still heavily racist city to contend with， but the most checkered history of his Father。 At the core， you know he’s a man with a moral compass to which he wishes not to stray。 But the repressive forces of the City seemingly make it too easy to rationalize a little bit of ‘fencing’ on the side。 As he tries to keep his nose out of the heavy handed criminal element by serving only as a middle man of stolen goods， he finds it’s near impossible to keep your personal life and psyche cleanly divided between ‘good’ and ‘bad’。 The author does an effective job of setting many individual， ruminative scenes。 However， there is nothing Earth-shattering in surprise about the plot。 An enjoyable read nonetheless to live in the mind of someone who may not be all too relatable for many。 Or maybe heavily relatable for some。 。。。more
Claire
，
DNF
Juliet Brambrink
，
Rounded up from 3。5。 Beautiful language， but the pacing and plot were slow for my taste。
John
，
I have having to say it， but on my first read-through of this book， I just felt that it wasn't for me。 It seemed that Whitehead did a fantastic job of building out an extended study of his characters and their setting， but without a strong plotline to tie it together。 There was plenty of action， but the book focuses very little on the action itself and dials in instead to how it affects the characters。 As a result， it was hard for me to follow what was happening。 I went with the audiobook， which I have having to say it， but on my first read-through of this book， I just felt that it wasn't for me。 It seemed that Whitehead did a fantastic job of building out an extended study of his characters and their setting， but without a strong plotline to tie it together。 There was plenty of action， but the book focuses very little on the action itself and dials in instead to how it affects the characters。 As a result， it was hard for me to follow what was happening。 I went with the audiobook， which honestly may have been my mistake。 Maybe I'll give this book another shot in the future with the print book; I think I may enjoy it more if I can give it more of my attention。 。。。more
Christoffer Von
，
Språket är fantastiskt， men hade svårt att få den att engagera mig
Annette Guitoneau
，
Verhaal was wel oké maar steeds maar verzanden in details waardoor je de draad van het verhaal niet goed kon volgen vond ik。 Jammer want het tijdsbeeld was zeker goed。 Ik vond het te slecht te volgen en dus maar 2，5 ster wat mij betreft
Dixie Dylla
，
First disclaimer， let me say I’m a big fan of Colson Whitehead’s writing。 His stories are rich with characters you come to like， and sometimes love。 Harlem Shuffle did not disappoint。 I like the way he broke down the story into blocks of years。 We get to follow Ray Carney as he weaves his way through “capers” he becomes involved in。 Interesting & believable， if you enjoy a good read about a time and place filled with history and a bit of the darker side of human nature， you will enjoy this read。 First disclaimer， let me say I’m a big fan of Colson Whitehead’s writing。 His stories are rich with characters you come to like， and sometimes love。 Harlem Shuffle did not disappoint。 I like the way he broke down the story into blocks of years。 We get to follow Ray Carney as he weaves his way through “capers” he becomes involved in。 Interesting & believable， if you enjoy a good read about a time and place filled with history and a bit of the darker side of human nature， you will enjoy this read。Thanks to Goodreads giveaway， I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it other readers！ 。。。more
John Reilly
，
3。5
Amy Voelker
，
Not sure if it was the audiobook narrator or the writing itself but I had trouble following this one。 I found it hard to listen and easy to tune out at times。 There were some very entertaining parts that kept me interested but it was a challenging listen。
Treva
，
Takes place in the 50's and 60's。 A young black man from Harlem tries to live a life of respectability as the owner of a furniture store。 He is moderately successful but has friends and relatives from his past that get him involved in fencing stolen merchandise。Shows how some things may change but too many attitudes of people don't change。This isn't nearly as good as the Nickel Boys or the Underground Railroad。 Takes place in the 50's and 60's。 A young black man from Harlem tries to live a life of respectability as the owner of a furniture store。 He is moderately successful but has friends and relatives from his past that get him involved in fencing stolen merchandise。Shows how some things may change but too many attitudes of people don't change。This isn't nearly as good as the Nickel Boys or the Underground Railroad。 。。。more
Stephanie Pope
，
I loved this book and can't understand any negative reviews。 Harlem Shuffle was a pure delight from start to finish， especially in the superb Dion Graham-narrated audiobook。 Maybe it's not Important enough for some people？ But the prose is witty， the characters are well-drawn， and the plot is fun。 Most of all， I was completely transported to Whitehead's gorgeous and crackling mid-century Harlem。 I loved this book and can't understand any negative reviews。 Harlem Shuffle was a pure delight from start to finish， especially in the superb Dion Graham-narrated audiobook。 Maybe it's not Important enough for some people？ But the prose is witty， the characters are well-drawn， and the plot is fun。 Most of all， I was completely transported to Whitehead's gorgeous and crackling mid-century Harlem。 。。。more
Darlene Bouck
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3 1/2 stars
Sydney S
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I'll start by saying that this was a book for a book club I'm in， and I was excited to read it because I've read and loved a different book by Whitehead， The Intuitionist。 Unfortunately， this one didn't work near as well for me， but he wrote the hell out of this novel。 Put this book on the syllabus for high school or college English classes。 I loved reading about Freddie and Pepper， and I think I would've enjoyed this book a lot more if we had followed one of them more closely instead of Carney。 I'll start by saying that this was a book for a book club I'm in， and I was excited to read it because I've read and loved a different book by Whitehead， The Intuitionist。 Unfortunately， this one didn't work near as well for me， but he wrote the hell out of this novel。 Put this book on the syllabus for high school or college English classes。 I loved reading about Freddie and Pepper， and I think I would've enjoyed this book a lot more if we had followed one of them more closely instead of Carney。 I also think most of the good stuff was all shoved in at the end。 I loved the end， I just wish the majority of the book had been more focused on plot and had a little more forward motion。 So， I'll say that any historical fiction after 1900 is a hard sell for me。 It doesn't help that this definitely felt like something I'd be required to read in school。 Extremely descriptive， slow， and introspective。 I've avoided things like this since I graduated college because the vast majority of my life was spent reading these books。 For that reason， this was a bit of a slog for me。 It doesn't feel like modern literary fiction， and I don't just mean the time period。 It literally feels like it was written in the 50s or 60s， like it's something we would've read in class and sifted through with a fine tooth comb。 I can appreciate it for that， and I think that means there should be more "classics" by marginalized authors taught to students， but it's not a book I read with joy or excitement。 It's not an entertaining read that I wanted to pick up whenever I had free time。 I can absolutely see how this is the author's love letter to Harlem。 I just think it was a bit dull too often to hold my attention。 Very detailed descriptions of absolutely everything。 Not everything needs that much detail when you aren't reading for critical thinking in school。 When you give every little person， place， and thing a detailed face， it makes everything seem important at first， and then as the book goes on and you see that that carpet or those stairs or that conversation wasn't actually important to the story at all， it makes everything seem less important， because why would I keep the vivid image of a specific sofa in my head when it has no relevance to even the character who told the story？ It becomes hard to sift through things and decide which ones to fully absorb， and eventually I had to admit that most of it wasn't meant to be absorbed that way。 This is a book for people who love detailed writing styles， lyrical prose， modern classics， more modern historical fiction， and slice of life snapshots with a touch of crime。 I don't usually reach for any of those things。 It's strange because I know if I'd read this in college for a class， I would've loved it。 I loved everything I read in college， because of the environment， I guess。 It makes me wonder if I really would've given Whitehead's other book 5 stars if I hadn't read it for a college class。 Who knows。 I'm more harsh when it comes to rating books nowadays in general。 Anyway。 This book is objectively 5 stars， but for me it's more like 3 stars。 。。。more
Tori
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I enjoyed this book a lot—after reading “The Underground Railroad” a few years ago， I wanted to keep an eye on new books from the author and this was a lot more fun， despite not being the “better” of the two books in my opinion。
Marzia_Nicole
，
I tried and tried， but this book was just so boring。
Brenna
，
3。5 stars。 Listened to the audiobook and had a hard time getting into it but enjoyed it。 I didn’t feel very strongly about any of the characters in particular。 Carney seemed a bit flat just as a person， but it kind of worked that the more explosive people moved around him。
Becky Osmon
，
Beautiful writing but dragged a bit for me。 Would love to see as a movie
Karen
，
The more things change， the more they stay the same。Raymond Carney owns a mildly successful furniture store in Harlem in the 60's。 He and his wife， a travel planner for a company that caters to Black people， are doing OK， but it's sometimes hard to make ends meet。 Carney has no intention of being like his low-life father， but now and then someone brings him an item that "fell off the truck" to sell。 Occasionally he finds ways to turn jewelry brought to him into cash。 He does not consider himself The more things change， the more they stay the same。Raymond Carney owns a mildly successful furniture store in Harlem in the 60's。 He and his wife， a travel planner for a company that caters to Black people， are doing OK， but it's sometimes hard to make ends meet。 Carney has no intention of being like his low-life father， but now and then someone brings him an item that "fell off the truck" to sell。 Occasionally he finds ways to turn jewelry brought to him into cash。 He does not consider himself to be a fence， just doing favors for friends， but there is always a slippery slope to this life。Carney's cousin， Freddie， is a minor criminal who Carney watches out for and worries about。 When Freddie gets Carney involved in a more serious situation with higher stakes， he sees no way to avoid it and slides down that slope。Such is the life of an ordinary Black man trying to better himself in 60s New York。 Harlem Shuffle follows Carney's ups and downs。 The story was good and well told， as well as being well narrated。 The flavor of Harlem in the 60s presents a rich background。 Throughout， one can't help but root for Carney。 。。。more
Dawn Todhunter
，
I just wanted it to be over。 I know Colson Whitehead is supposed to be one of the greatest writers of our time， but I just don't get the hype。 I just wanted it to be over。 I know Colson Whitehead is supposed to be one of the greatest writers of our time， but I just don't get the hype。 。。。more
Cook Memorial Public Library
，
A 2021 staff favorite recommended by Jo， Andrea， Jenn and Marianne。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 A 2021 staff favorite recommended by Jo， Andrea， Jenn and Marianne。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 。。。more
Anne Michal
，
I really enjoyed Underground Railroad but I thought this book fell flat。 I didn’t enjoy the dialogue and so much of the writing felt unnecessary and confusing。
Lauren Hall
，
I have Whitehead’s other works so much， but I did not feel as such about this one。 I just didn’t feel as invested in the characters。 Whitehead is one of my favorite authors， but this was my least favorite of his books so far。
Jeanne
，
3。5⭐️
Herb
，
This is the 3rd book I've read by the author and they just keep getting better。 While the "hero" of the novel is somewhat shady， you can't help but pull for him as he negotiates family concerns， Harlem life， racial unrest and the wrong side of the law。 Funny and very good。 This is the 3rd book I've read by the author and they just keep getting better。 While the "hero" of the novel is somewhat shady， you can't help but pull for him as he negotiates family concerns， Harlem life， racial unrest and the wrong side of the law。 Funny and very good。 。。。more
Jeff
，
I am in awe of the author， Colson Whitehead。 I am in awe of the book he gave us， Harlem Shuffle。 The setting was the main character， and it was portrayed as a vibrant， beautiful and chilling reality。 I highly recommend this book。
Haley Redford
，
2022 POPSUGAR reading challenge- Two books set in twin towns， aka "sister cities" （1）For my first sister city I chose New York because it has lots of sister cities connected to it。The book was pretty boring for a book about heists。 2022 POPSUGAR reading challenge- Two books set in twin towns， aka "sister cities" （1）For my first sister city I chose New York because it has lots of sister cities connected to it。The book was pretty boring for a book about heists。 。。。more
Sally Vogel
，
This novel is one of my favorites that I have read in 2022。 Reminiscent of reading an Ellroy novel， Harlem Shuffle takes its reader into the undercover world of Harlem through the eyes of someone not quite committed to a criminal lifestyle。 Much of the novel had a theme of nature versus nurture， manifesting in the differences between the main characters Ray and Freddie。 The plot line was enticing and had a start-stop flow that I found to be unique。 Another overarching theme was how optimism pres This novel is one of my favorites that I have read in 2022。 Reminiscent of reading an Ellroy novel， Harlem Shuffle takes its reader into the undercover world of Harlem through the eyes of someone not quite committed to a criminal lifestyle。 Much of the novel had a theme of nature versus nurture， manifesting in the differences between the main characters Ray and Freddie。 The plot line was enticing and had a start-stop flow that I found to be unique。 Another overarching theme was how optimism presents itself despite environments not conducive to this outlook （i。e。 how Striver's Row was initially oppressive towards Ray and， unlike the plot of Freddie's books， the "good guy" Ray might move in， whereas the "bad guys" Leland and Alma had to leave）。 The struggle of Ray's duality was a beautiful backdrop for the novel， and all of these facets easily earn this book a five-star rating。Triggers I noticed: some descriptions of murder and racial slurs present throughout the book 。。。more
Kacee
，
I really tried。 A rare DNF。
Lonnie
，
I didn't like this as much as the other 2 Whitehead books I've read 。。。 The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys。 Still enjoy Whitehead's style and prose， but the plot and characters simply didn't grab me like the other 2。 I didn't like this as much as the other 2 Whitehead books I've read 。。。 The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys。 Still enjoy Whitehead's style and prose， but the plot and characters simply didn't grab me like the other 2。 。。。more
John
，
Colson Whitehead is one of my favorite authors， hands down。 I’ve read “The Nickel Boys” and “The Underground Railroad” and was absolutely captivated by both。 Harlem Shuffle does not disappoint。 Although not as dark or heavy as those other ones （hard to get darker than Underground Railroad）， the characters are compelling and alive。 It provides a wonderful experience of Harlem in the sixties。 Whitehead’s charming and insightful prose makes this one of the most enjoyable novels I have ever read。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Harlem Shuffle
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Harlem Shuffle&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Harlem Shuffle&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0