Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead; Doubleday, 2021. 318 pages; $28.95 (hardcover); reading level: adult.
Through fast-moving scenes that careen from humorous to tenderhearted Whitehead deftly juggles a host of themes here: racism (both inside and outside the black community), family ties, getting ahead in a hostile environment, and change—both particular (the forced uprooting of black communities) and general (progress and the passing of time). Our hero is used-furniture-store-owner Ray Carney (very black-skinned, ambitious, not crooked but “slightly bent”) and the setting is Harlem at three key points in time: 1959, 1961, and 1964. Civil rights riots are a background obstacle to be surmounted as Ray—striving to move his wife and two children into a better apartment—becomes enmeshed in the dangerous schemes of his cousin Freddie, negotiates the “movement of envelopes [bribes] that keeps the city running,” and employs his gift for assessing and selling used furniture (some ill-gotten, some not). Readers along for the ride begin to wonder whether the dead body that lands in Ray’s showroom, the framing of a man “who took an envelope and didn’t do his job,” and the bloody rescue of his cousin from a swanky Park Avenue high rise are any more alarming than the more genteel crimes to which Ray is subjected on a daily basis. The conclusion is as positive as the plot will allow. Ray has survived, moved up in life, and walks almost blithely into a future filled with circumstances that are as daunting as ever. Colson has achieved a rare feat here: He has crafted an engaging and meticulously-researched tale that offers a sympathetic glimpse into what will be, for many readers, completely foreign moral territory.
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Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge, Author
Biography | View
- Just Fine They Way They Are (Calkins Creek, March 1, 2011)
- The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton (Clarion Books, 2010)
- Thank You Very Much, Captain Ericsson! (Holiday House, 2005; Berndtsdotter Books, 2012)
- When Esther Morris Headed West (Holiday House, 2001)
- The Legend of Strap Buckner (Holiday House, 2001)
- Wicked Jack (Holiday House, 1995)
Speaker / Presenter
Connie is an experienced speaker and presenter who enjoys sharing her passion for writing and her experience as a writer with readers and writers of all ages. She has presented to students, community, civic and professional organizations, writing groups, library audiences, and seniors – wherever book lovers gather!
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