"Crook Manifesto" by Colson Whitehead
I love Naomi Klein and most of what she stands for, but I want my time back. What she does here is shoehorn a paradigm into every facet of life, as a way to explain every ill in society today. Yes, she was mistaken for Naomi Wolf, and that's interesting, but do we have to take that to Trump and everything else? I mean why not just write a book about the insane society we now live in?
But man does she have a crack publicity team. Klein has been everywhere. Hyping a book with a title most people can't pronounce, never mind understand. Proving that hype can bring people to the river, but it cannot make them partake.
Klein is personable and eloquent live, but her book too often reads like an academic tome. And it should have been cut down by at least half. It's endless. It gets good when she talks about her child, her family, when she makes it personal, but too often she's quoting academics and if it were assigned in a college course, you'd be pissed you have to read it. And if you're just a layperson... You may be motivated to buy "Doppelganger," but if ten percent of the purchasers actually finish it, I'd be stunned.
"Doppelganger" consumed two flights, to Toronto and back from L.A., and hours at home to ultimately consume. I could have quit, I know, but I stopped doing that. Let me change that, if I've read in excess of a quarter of your book, I'm going to finish it, I'm invested, I'm waiting for the payoff.
Which is the case with Colson Whitehead's "Crook Manifesto." I stayed with it and then it actually got good. But that was over halfway through. And not only is the first half boring, it's at times indecipherable, Whitehead writes in this choppy way that oftentimes confounds you, has you trying to understand what is going on.
But both of these books got terrific reviews, hosannas.
I was down on Whitehead, because the very first book I purchased for my Kindle was "Sag Harbor," which got a great review in the "Times," and it was disappointing. I stayed away from Whitehead for years because of this. However, my mother purchased "The Underground Railroad" and long after it came out I dove in and it's really good. So then I read "Nickel Boys," which is not quite as good, but is very good. But "Crook Manifesto"?
Everything sells, is consumed, based on word of mouth these days. Reviews, press will gain you attention, but if the product doesn't deliver not only will you not move any units, there will be a backlash. I wouldn't have warned you off "Doppelganger" if I hadn't seen it and its author everywhere. And then there were the stellar reviews of "Crook Manifesto"...
So I'm warning you off both of these. Also proving that not everything I consume do I give a thumbs-up to. And then there's all that I watch and read and listen to that I don't even bother to write about, like "Women at War," the French series on Netflix. The ratings were good, and it stars Audrey Fleurot, who blew me away in "A French Village" and more. But while watching I wondered if I would have stuck with the series if it was an American show. Images great, story thin.
All this to say that when I find something that is truly great I want to tell everybody about it. I want you to have the same experience I had, to feel alive.
But I also don't want to have you waste your time. Stay away from these two books.
Your mileage may vary, but I doubt it.
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