Program Description
Event Details
Love to read? Looking for a social outlet for readers? Interested in discovering books?
A Book Club for adults is now meeting* at the Plainfield Public Library! Come join us to discuss the book of the month, The Harlem Shuffle, by Coulson Whitehead (Blurb from the publisher)
Need a copy of the book? Stop by the reference desk at the library to get one.
Review of The Harlem Shuffle from Booklist:
"Ray Carney owns a furniture store in Harlem. When the novel begins in 1959, he's selling mostly used furniture, struggling to escape the legacy of his criminal father. ‘Living taught you,’ Ray believes, ‘that you didn't have to live the way you'd been taught.’ Almost. Ray's ne'erdo-well cousin, Freddie, who's been luring Ray into hot water since childhood (‘I didn't mean to get you in trouble,’ is Freddie's constant refrain) regularly brings Ray the odd piece of jewelry, provenance unknown, which Ray peddles to a dealer downtown, building a stake to invest in his business. ‘There was a natural flow of goods in and out and through people's lives . . . a churn of property, and Ray facilitated that churn.’ It works until Freddie suggests Ray as a fence for a jewel heist at the Hotel Theresa (‘the Waldorf of Harlem’), and suddenly the churn produces a potentially disastrous backwash. Following Ray as his business grows and he delicately balances the crooked and straight sides of his life, Whitehead delivers a portrait of Harlem in the early ’60s, culminating with the Harlem Riot of 1964, that is brushed with lovingly etched detail and features a wonderful panoply of characters who spring to full-bodied life, blending joy, humor, and tragedy. A triumph on every level."
A list of the possible future titles and the general principles of the book club is attached to this post.