An African-American Ziggy Stardust. That clever and that hilarious too. So much fun to read! ( )

The White Boy Shuffle certainly had a very intriguing premise. The first few chapters were great. After that, the trouble began. In the first few chapters, there were small elements of fantasy that caught the reader off-guard. However, after that, Beatty went totally overboard with the fantasy element of the story. It turned from a charming story about a young black man's struggles while growing up into a combination Tom Robbins novel-sermon about what is wrong with society. The last few chapters were almost unreadable. Beatty seems to have lost his focus while writing this book, and it shows. ( )

This was Paul Beatty's first novel and was written in 1996. I had previously read his Booker Prize winning novel " The Sellout" which was terrific. This first novel really shows Beatty's narrative, satirical, and comic talent. But much like a great rookie NBA player who becomes an all star, this book is not on the level of "The Sellout". However it was a fun book. The lead character is Gunnar Kaufman a young black man who can trace his lineage back to the late 18th century. Beatty does a good job of setting up the back story of Gunnar in the present time. He is a young black man growing up in very white Santa Monica, Ca. As he grows up he is a cool black dude. Beatty deflates stereotypes on both black and white sides. Eventually, his mother see him being too white and they move to inner city L.A. From there we follow Gunnar as he gets older and becomes part of the "hood". The book is basically comic with the underlying reality of being black in white America always there. The book does get a little too absurd towards the end which hurts it a bit, but it was a worthwhile read, but only after you have read "The Sellout". ( )

Fabulous exciting writing. Reminds me of Ellison with his jazz influenced use of language. ( )

Heady satirical narrative that upends racial stereotypes. ( )