Beyond Harlem, Crime, Even Race
A review of Colson Whitehead’s new novel: ‘Harlem Shuffle’
I’ve been a fan of Colson Whitehead’s work since I read his first novel, The Intuitionist. His take on social reality often goes far beyond obvious tropes and predictability. Besides the eclectic subject matter of his novels (from zombie apocalypse to sci-fi slave escape thriller), his strengths as a writer are often his observational talents, his attention to quotidian detail, and his straightforward writing style that tends to hint at so much more than the stark realities he depicts.
Harlem Shuffle does not skimp on social intrigue or attention to detail and history.
Part of this story feels, in the beginning at least, like a channelling of a Walter Moseley approach to crime-oriented fiction. Moseley often impresses me with his depictions of post-war Los Angeles. Whitehead’s full-on story is about Harlem in the early 1960s as it is about Ray Carney’s troubles with petty crime.
Whitehead has done his homework. There’s no question you could put this book on the historical fiction shelf. The level of detail is sumptuous and fascinating — from driving the streets during the day, to eating in numerous restaurants and dives, to the basic workaday life for many characters (particularly Carney, the main character). But…
