Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto follows up his 2021 effort Harlem Shuffle, and it should be noted that having read that before tucking into this sequel will place the reader at an advantage. We follow furniture store owner and family man Ray Carney – previously found trying to stay on the straight and narrow during an era of rioting and protest for civil rights – into 1970s Harlem, with his business having – legitimately! – expanded. New York is heading towards bankruptcy, with uncollected rubbish on the streets, crime at an all-time high and a somewhat reduced NYPD at war with the Black Liberation Army.
Seeking Jackson 5 tickets for his daughter, Carney hooks up with Munson, a dubious police contact from his past. Munson has stolen some jewels from the BLA, which they’d previously ‘liberated’ themselves; he wants Carney to fence the stolen merchandise in exchange for the tickets, as it becomes apparent that Munson is being investigated for police corruption into the bargain. Crook Manifesto also reprises a Harlem Shuffle favourite, ruthless hardman Pepper: when suspected arson hits home, Carney gets Pepper to find out who lit the match.
Colson’s prose is dialogue-rich and vibrant, intensely humorous and never dull, entwined with a cultural backdrop that effortlessly drops the reader into decade and location. In fact, Crook Manifesto is very much a true-to-life love letter to Harlem, one which paves the way nicely for what will be the final instalment of this astonishing trilogy.
Crook Manifesto, Colson Whitehead (Fleet)
Price: £20/£29.99 audiobook. Info: here
words DAVID NOBAKHT