'A dazzling treatise . . . gleefully detonates its satire upon this world while getting to the heart of the place and its people' NEW YORK TIMES

Nicks Review

From acclaimed novelist Colson Whitehead, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, comes the highly praised follow-up to Harlem Shuffle. (Note: For first time readers of Colson Whithead - Crook Manifesto can also be enjoyed independently of Harlem Shuffle.)

Ray Carney is the respectable local businessman of down town Harlem in Colson Whitehead's new book..... "Carney outfitted newlyweds for their expedition and upgraded living rooms to suit improved circumstances, coached retirees through the array of modern recliner options. It was a grave responsibility. Just last week one of his customers told him that their father had passed away in his sleep "with a smile on his face" while cradled in a Sterling Dreamer purchased at Carney's Furniture."..... His final earthly feeling had been the luxurious caress of that polyurethane core. Carney was glad the man went out satisfied - how tragic for your last thought to be, "I should have gone with the Naughahyde".

Whitehead's detailed and subtle exploration of Carney's world demonstrates the lengths to which people will go to survive in a corrupt and criminal world. With his effortless storytelling, Whitehead leads the reader to question their own morality as he leads you down Carney's slippery slope.....Highly recommended.

Other Reviews

'A masterpiece' PEOPLE MAGAZINE

'Whether in high literary form or entertaining, page-turner mode, the man is simply incapable of writing a bad book' IAN WILLIAMS, GUARDIAN

'Crook Manifesto gave me something I had missed in recent reading: joy' TELEGRAPH

'When he moves into a new genre, he keeps the bones but does his own decorating' WASHINGTON POST

Biographical Note on Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead is a multi-award winning and bestselling author whose works include The Nickel Boys, The Underground Railroad, The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt and a collection of essays, The Colossus of New York. He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice and is a recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships.

For The Underground Railroad, Whitehead won the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Fiction, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence and was longlisted for the Booker Prize.

He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for a second time for The Nickel Boys, which also won the George Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and The Kirkus Prize.

The Underground Railroad has been adapted as an Amazon Prime TV series, produced and directed by the Academy Award winning director Barry Jenkins, and was broadcast in 2021. He lives with his family in New York City.