Sunday, August 13, 2023

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023--San Antonio

Crook Manifesto is the fourth novel I have read by Colson Whitehead, and it may be the last.  I seldom read multiple novels by the same author. Of the 3 previous novels, I gave 5 stars out of 5 to two of them (The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad) and 4 stars out of 5 to the other (Harlem Shuffle).  Although this book got great reviews, it was not nearly as enjoyable to read as those 3.  Most of the book is a detailed description of the history of crime in Harlem given at a rat-a-tat pace with lots of details.  I had to keep pushing myself to pick the book up again.  It didn't read to me like a novel until the final 10%.  The research that must have gone into that first 90% had to be extensive and impressive, but it didn't payoff as enjoyable reading to me.  I only gave this book a rating of 3 stars out of 5. 

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