Book discussion of Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead The Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series continued on Saturday July 23 rd in person at the Wilson Branch Library. Ten of us met and discussed Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. I opened the discussion by asking a question from Readinggroupguides.com: Carney is described as being “only slightly bent when it came to being crooked, in practice and ambition” (page 31) --- suggesting a more nuanced understanding of seemingly criminal activity. How does his placement on the crooked spectrum change throughout the course of the novel? How does his crookedness compare to others he does business with? I watched the video of Colson Whitehead being interviewed at the MLK Jr. Library in Washington DC. In our downtown library we have microfilm readers, people can read old newspapers on these machines. Colson Whitehead actually said that when he was doing the research for the history, he too, went to old newspapers. While he
The Urban Life Experience Book Discussion Series meets approximately once every six weeks at the Courtland S. Wilson Branch of the New Haven Free Public Library in New Haven, CT.