Harlem Shuffle by Colson WhiteheadMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ray Carney is the owner of an up-and-coming furniture store in Harlem, married to Elizabeth, with their second child on the way. His in-laws live on Strivers Row in Harlem where he aspires to live, and his father-in-law is a member of the Dumas Club, a club he would like to join. His life vacillates between running his furniture store and fencing the stolen goods that his cousin and friends bring to him.
Whitehead’s writing gives the reader a true sense of place – the Harlem neighborhood of 125th Street in 1959-1964 – by including real places such as the Apollo Theater and Morningside Park, and real events such as the riots. There is an overall theme of race, class structure, and how the law can be applied.
I’m anxious to read the second in the series, Crook Manifesto, which covers the 1970’s, and the third and final book in the series, Cool Machine, which covers the 1980’s.
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