His previous novel, The Underground Railroad, delved deep -- metaphorically and literally -- into its subject, with its central proposition: what if the "Underground Railroad" were actually a railroad that ran under the ground? Here, with Harlem Shuffle, Whitehead returns to a less surrealistic conceit, that of a man -- Ray Carney -- whose central conundrum is whether to listen to his better or worser angels -- and the worser ones are by far the most talkative. In some ways, it's a classic heist novel, following the usual array of 'best-laid schemes' up to the point of their execution, and of (of course) nothing quite going as expected. All this is set within a lovingly-crafted portrait of Harlem in the 1960's a time when its former glories, in the swing time of the Harlem Renaissance and the club scene, are long behind it, and its eventual gentrification -- underway as we speak -- was unforeseen and unforeseeable.
The Greeks had a word for this kind of battle within and for the soul -- a psychomachia, a war within one's head -- and Ray's is a lively and convoluted one. On the one hand, he's a used furniture dealer with an eye for a good bargain, a family to feed, a business to keep up (and keep the appearance of up) -- on the other hand, he's a low-key "fence" for stolen goods, one of those "businesses on the side" that sometimes usurp the one in the center.
So follow his story, enjoy its twists and turns. Is there a moral to it? Not likely, but that doesn't mean it's not a heck of a lot of fun.
I love the Harlem shuffle so far. I love the way that I connects to the past. It lets us peek into how it might have been like to run a business in Harlem, New York back in the days. I love how Carney opened his business on a place where there had been businesses of the same type but failed. He said that it was like a benefit for him and he saw it as a blessing. He said that he took this as a “fertilizer that helped his own ambitions prosper, the same way a fallen oak in its decomposition nourishes the acorn.” He took the previous tenants’ busted schemes and failed dreams and used them to empower himself and try out his business. I love that he did not give up even though the past of the place of his business was not that great.
ReplyDelete-Victor H Valenzuela
I think that the portrayal of Harlem in the story seems interesting, and I also think that Ray is a nice character.
ReplyDelete-Ethan Opoku
This has to be my favorite book we’ve read thus far. Literally every time you turned a corner it was just something else. I thought the part with Duke and Laura was crazy. This book is filled with scandal and betrayal and lots of deaths. Surprisingly it's always difficult watching / reading characters in a book die. You feel such an attachment to them. Although at the end it seems everything worked out, not really because Ray’s life is in shambles. Everyone around him, his friends, and his cousin died. Seeing a little more of the aftermath could have been nice but then again there probably isn’t much else to see.
ReplyDeleteLoved that he is encouraging people not to give up on a dream even though, failure was present many times, gives a good example for the upcoming generation that might enjoy reading this book, also enjoyed reading this book because of the comparison to how it was back in the day, very different from today's world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on how this book compares how it kind of was in New York around the time this book was written. It showed how modern things were starting to take over industries, one of them being the radio industry. Even though there was failure all the time it seemed the main character was always striving to survive.
Delete-Victor H Valenzuela
I can agree with everybody that it was cool to see what it was like to run a business in Harlem back in the day. I feel like the idea of running your own business comes with lots of income and reputation but doesn't highlight the struggles that it will come with as much as it should.
ReplyDeleteThe main character Ray wants to be successful and provide for his family. Ray wants to be different from who his father was, so he is a salesman. I think that this can be related to real-life in such ways. I can think of people who have been brought up in a rough background and members of their family have been convicted of crimes, similar to Ray's father, and want to be the change in their family and do things the right way so their name is not completely tarnished. There is a lot of oppression in this book and you can see that racism plays a factor. I learn about such in my education classes where African Americans are disadvantaged due to the color of their skin and it is similar to how Ray wants his children to have lighter skin like his wife.
ReplyDeleteThis was a true story of a hard working man, Ray did not want to be like his father so he choose to work hard to provide for his family. Even when things did not go his way and the odds were stacked against him he continued to work. Even after he figures everything out and life is going his way he has no loved ones around him because they have all passed away.
ReplyDeletetest comment
ReplyDeleteI thought The Harlem Shuffle was definitely an interesting story of sorts that kept me on my toes, guessing what would happen next on each page. I especially felt closest to the edge of my seat when it was quickly revealed how in danger Ray was if his life and livelihood were to be exposed to anybody who wasn't his brother.
ReplyDeleteThroughout reading, it was obvious that Ray was a hard working man, who wanted the best for his family. There were a lot of things that were unexpected and was definitely an interesting story to read. And with everything he went through, he always tried to be better, and not like his father. Overall, this was a pretty interesting book and I enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteGianna Carbone^
ReplyDeleteI love reading books that take place in the past as its shows how different things were back then. I give respect to Ray as he works hard to provide for his family. I Also respect the fact that he didn't want to become like his father. Just because you were brought up a certain way doesn't mean you have to keep that pattern going.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an amazing story and the author does a great job of putting you there on the scene. I love how no matter how hard Ray tried to be an honest man, Freddy kept pulling him further into some criminal activity. Although Ray was a willing to make a few bucks off of some stolen goods, I never got the impression he was looking to be a hardened criminal. You can see that family and their security was top priority for him. It's hard to believe with all the details this was a work of fiction.
ReplyDeleteI thought this book was interesting. The author is very descriptive, and we can get a good sense of what is going on. We get to know Ray who is constantly facing one trouble after the other. He is hardworking and didn’t want to be like his father. He is a furniture salesman and also has a side income fencing stolen items, where he sees it as being a middleman. I get that he is working hard for his family which is great but, there must be something other than selling stolen items. Although Ray is trying to live honestly, he still gets involved with criminal activity with his cousin Freddie. It is really sad how by the end of the book Ray is left with no one. After going through so many obstacles while trying to support his family, his loved ones die.
ReplyDelete-Tiffany Bouley
I really enjoyed reading this book and how much detail was accounted for making the story much more drawing. I thought it was very interesting to see how Ray's self-delusion was portrayed throughout the story and even how living under a burden as big as his sort of made him practice it. This book was a very enjoyable read.
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