Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning Colson Whitehead continues his Harlem saga in a powerful and hugely-entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory.
It’s 1971. Trash piles up on the streets, crime is at an all-time high, the city is careening towards bankruptcy, and a shooting war has broken out between the NYPD and the Black Liberation Army. Amidst this collective nervous breakdown furniture store owner and ex-fence Ray Carney tries to keep his head down and his business thriving. His days moving stolen goods around the city are over. It’s strictly the straight-and-narrow for him — until he needs Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter May and he decides to hit up his old police contact Munson, fixer extraordinaire. But Munson has his own favors to ask of Carney and staying out of the game gets a lot more complicated – and deadly.
1973: The counter-culture …
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning Colson Whitehead continues his Harlem saga in a powerful and hugely-entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory.
It’s 1971. Trash piles up on the streets, crime is at an all-time high, the city is careening towards bankruptcy, and a shooting war has broken out between the NYPD and the Black Liberation Army. Amidst this collective nervous breakdown furniture store owner and ex-fence Ray Carney tries to keep his head down and his business thriving. His days moving stolen goods around the city are over. It’s strictly the straight-and-narrow for him — until he needs Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter May and he decides to hit up his old police contact Munson, fixer extraordinaire. But Munson has his own favors to ask of Carney and staying out of the game gets a lot more complicated – and deadly.
1973: The counter-culture has created a new generation, the old ways are being overthrown, but there is one constant, Pepper, Carney’s endearingly violent partner in crime. It’s getting harder to put together a reliable crew for hijackings, heists, and assorted felonies, so Pepper takes on a side gig doing security on a Blaxploitation shoot in Harlem. He finds himself in a freaky world of Hollywood stars, up-and-coming comedians, and celebrity drug dealers, in addition to the usual cast of hustlers, mobsters, and hit men. These adversaries underestimate the seasoned crook – to their regret.
1976: Harlem is burning, block by block, while the whole county is gearing up for Bicentennial celebrations. Carney is trying to come up with a July 4th ad he can live with. ("Two Hundred Years of Getting Away with It!"), while his wife Elizabeth is campaigning for her childhood friend, the former assistant D.A and rising politician Alexander Oakes. When a fire severely injures one of Carney’s tenants, he enlists Pepper to look into who may be behind it. Our crooked duo have to battle their way through a crumbling metropolis run by the shady, the violent, and the utterly corrupted.
CROOK MANIFESTO is a darkly funny tale of a city under siege, but also a sneakily searching portrait of the meaning of family. Colson Whitehead’s kaleidoscopic portrait of Harlem is sure to stand as one of the all-time great evocations of a place and a time.
I didn’t realize til after I finished that this follows Harlem Shuffle (on my list but yet unread!) - this didn’t hinder my pleasure at the rich descriptions of New York City, fondness for the layered characters, or delight in learning new factoids woven into the story and different ways of thinking about politics, crime, and racism. Such intelligent writing - I look forward to catching up with the rest of the trilogy.
(Read in 2023) I thoroughly enjoyed reading this; it was great to spend time with Carney and Pepper again. Lots of wisdom and memorable observations about life, families, work, etc. weaved into the excellent storytelling. For example, on the 5 train when Carney changes how he's interacting with Robert, after thinking back on how his own father used to get on his case for being too quiet ... as someone who's been hassled many times over the years for being quiet, I really appreciated that scene. Also, important insights about racism, crime, and corruption, plus ... a bit of a geology lesson! In between reading Harlem Shuffle and Crook Manifesto, we took a trip to NYC and spent a day walking around Harlem to see the Hotel Theresa, Morningside Park, and other aspects of the neighborhood. I recommend that to anyone who loves these books.
Pleased to learn this is the 2nd volume of a planned trilogy. The 70s in Harlem from the eyes of Ray Carney, including a Jackson 5 concert as experienced by an accompanying dad.
This installment focuses on the 70s (Harlem Shuffle focused on the 60s), and the writing is great. There's a lot of New York specific detail about neighborhoods and streets that is lost on me, but it's necessary for a series that is so intent on using NYC much the way The Wire used Baltimore. My favorite moment is probably when the Magnavox Odyssey (the "brown box") makes a cameo. The research behind this book is pretty awesome.
Whitehead continues the story of Ray Carney from Harlem Shuffle, while also showing us more about engaging characters like Pepper and a certain arsonist-turned-filmmaker. Very enjoyable and sets up well for what will be the final volume in the trilogy.
The first Whitehead novel I read was The Underground Railroad, and I have eagerly awaited his new novels ever since. Crook Manifesto does not disappoint. It is a follow-up to Harlem Shuffle, which you don't need to have read in order to understand this book (although you should read it anyway because it is fantastic). Whitehead has an incredible gift for language, and the snappy prose in Crook Manifesto makes the book impossible to put down. At the same time, Whitehead has a sharp eye for detail, and his language also exposes the brutal reality of race relations in the 1970s. A fabulous book from a remarkably talented writer.
Follow on from Harlem Shuffle. Evolution of survival over several years. The skill employed by the developing characters and that fine line between legit and illegality ; against the backdrop of community/environmental erosion and gentrification. We feel it.
