The release date for the English version of 'Harlem Shuffle' by
Colson Whitehead is Aug 2022. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - This wonderfully 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), written by the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys.
"Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..." Carney is regarded by his neighbors and clients on 125th street as a respectable furniture seller who provides a good living for his family. Even if her parents on Striver's Row disapprove of him or their little flat across from the underground lines, he and his wife Elizabeth will still call it home. They are expecting their second child.
Few people are aware that his façade of normality has more than a few flaws in it, and that he comes from a line of uptown gangsters and crooks. cracks that are constantly growing in size.
Ray doesn't inquire about the source of his cousin Freddie's periodic gift of a ring or necklace, since money is tight due to all those installment-plan couches. He also knows a low-key jeweler downtown who never bothers to ask questions.
Freddie then joins a group that intends to steal the Hotel Theresa, often known as the "Waldorf of Harlem," and offers Ray's assistance in acting as the barrier. The theft doesn't go as expected; they seldom do. Ray's new clientele now consists of two-bit pornographers, nasty local gangsters, shadowy police officers, and other miscellaneous Harlem lowlifes.
This marks the start of Ray the striver and Ray the crook's internal battle. Ray starts to realize who is really in charge in Harlem as he makes his way through this double existence. Can Ray stay alive, rescue his cousin, and take home his fair portion of the large score—all the while preserving his standing as the person to call for any and all high-quality furniture requirements in your house?
The clever narrative of Harlem Shuffle takes place in a gorgeously rendered version of early 1960s New York City. In the end, it's a love letter to Harlem wrapped up in a family drama that passes for a crime thriller, a humorous morality play, and a social novel about race and power.
Overall however, it's a delightful read—another brilliant book by Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Colson Whitehead.