Episode · The Book Review · 2023-07-21
Colson Whitehead on The Book Review: books mentioned (Jul 2023)
Colson Whitehead and His Crime Novel Sequel
Gilbert Cruz recommended Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead and The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead, and discussed The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, and The hot rock by Donald E. Westlake. Colson Whitehead discussed Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, The intuitionist by Colson Whitehead, and Serpico by Peter Maas.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Crook Manifesto
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead is a gritty, atmospheric crime novel and a direct sequel to Harlem Shuffle, following its protagonist through the turbulent criminal underworld of 1970s New York.
Recommended“he's back with crooked Manifesto a sequel to his novel Harlem Shuffle”
Where to get it
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Harlem Shuffle
Harlem Shuffle is a 2021 novel by Colson Whitehead that follows Ray Carney, a furniture salesman in 1960s Harlem navigating a double life involving low-level crime and heists.
Discussed“he's a divided nature and over the course of first book Harlem Shuffle and then this book crook Manifesto”
Where to get it
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The Nickel Boys
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel depicting the brutal abuses suffered by teenage boys at a reform school in the Jim Crow-era American South.
Discussed“you had written these two beautiful books the Underground Railroad and the nickel boys they were claimed but they were heavy and then you followed that up by zagging into this colorful funny Lively thrilling Heist novel”
Where to get it
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The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historical fiction novel that reimagines the antebellum South by turning the secret network of abolitionist routes into a literal subterranean railway system utilized by an enslaved woman named Cora seeking freedom.
Discussed“you had written these two beautiful books the Underground Railroad and the nickel boys they were claimed but they were heavy and then you followed that up by zagging into this colorful funny Lively thrilling Heist novel”
Where to get it
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The intuitionist
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead is a distinctive debut novel that blends municipal politics, architectural intrigue, and magical realism around the life of a pioneering elevator inspector.
Discussed“I am generally sick of whatever I just finished my first book The intuitionist has a main character Lila May Watson who's very controlled and very repressed the plot is very linear it takes after detective novels”
Where to get it
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The hot rock
Discussed“have you ever seen the movie The Hot Rock I saw it as a kid and then last summer finally saw it as a grown-up and I started the book but couldn't get through the book so it's a movie starring Robert Redford it's directed by Peter Yates who directed bullet bullet and George seagull is in it I was”
Where to get it
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Serpico
Discussed“so going to the non-fiction book that Sero was based on by Peter Moss going to The Nap commission report which is basically a map to corruption”
Where to get it
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The Colossus of New York
The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead is a lyrical, evocative collection of essays that captures the pulsating rhythm, complexity, and emotional resonance of New York City.
Recommended“so this was a piece that was published a month after the Attacks of September 11th at the New York Times magazine and was later collected in a book of yours the Colossus of New York”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“white heads pulitzers were for the historical novels the Underground Railroad and the nickel boys”
“white heads pulitzers were for the historical novels the Underground Railroad and the nickel boys”
“he's back with crooked Manifesto a sequel to his novel Harlem Shuffle”