HARLEM SHUFFLE. A Novel
by Whitehead, Colson
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- A fine copy in a fine dust jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0385545134
- ISBN 13
- 9780385545136
- Seller
-
Bainbridge Island, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Doubleday, 2021. First edition. hardcover. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, this gloriously 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). "Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..." To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it's still home. Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time. Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn't ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn't ask questions, either. Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresaâthe "Waldorf of Harlem"âand volunteers Ray's services as the fence. The heist doesn't go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes. Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs? Harlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It's a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Ed Smith Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 15214
- Title
- HARLEM SHUFFLE. A Novel
- Author
- Whitehead, Colson
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - A fine copy in a fine dust jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- ISBN 10
- 0385545134
- ISBN 13
- 9780385545136
- Publisher
- Doubleday
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2021
- Keywords
- Modern Literature, Harlem, crime novel, New York City, 1960s
Terms of Sale
Ed Smith Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Ed Smith Books
Biblio member since 2009
Bainbridge Island, Washington
About Ed Smith Books
Ed Smith Books specializes in better condition modern literary first editions, signed books, photographic monographs, screen and theater related material and pop culture. We offer appraisals for books and photographs. We are located a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle, WA on Bainbridge Island. Since 1985 (ABAA since 1995). Two authors we specialize in are Charles Bukowski and Hunter S Thompson. Open by appointment.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.