Cool Machine, by Colson Whitehead: Yuppies and Gangsters vs. Ray Carney

Bold move by Mr. Whitehead to title this last novel in the Harlem Trilogy after HIMSELF. 😎

I kid, of course. “Cool machine” is a reference to Ray Carney, Whitehead’s protagonist through these three Harlem novels spanning three decades. 

But man, Colson Whitehead really is cool. The dedication for this novel, is “for New York Fuckin’ City” and there is no Acknowledgements section (conspicuous by its absence), as if Whitehead is saying, “You all should be thanking ME.” 😂

And thank him, I do. This third novel takes places in the 1980s in a city infested with two problems of differing weight, depending on who you ask: Yuppies and criminals.

New York is changing rapidly. At the top, money is flowing and new buildings are going up faster than a New York minute. At the bottom, drugs are everywhere, crime is rampant, and all the mayor seems worried about is a new "pooper scooper law" that requires dog owners to pick up after their pets. 

Ray Carney, furniture salesman and sometimes fence, and his associate Pepper, bodyguard and crook, get up to their usual schemes, but this time with a decidedly 1980s flavor. Shady art dealers, the mafia, a reemergent thief who once faked his own death, and even Jesse Owens's gold medal all figure prominently in Cool Machine. 

What you notice about this novel is not just the power of Whitehead’s storytelling, but also the meticulousness of his detail. From ads on the subway to headlines in the newspaper to real-life crooked politicians like Donald Manes, we slide so easily into 1980s NYC. What a time to be alive!

One note on Cool Machine: This is very much the third novel in a trilogy, and therefore, it is really helpful to have more than a fleeting memory of the first two novels. You'll be fine to understand what's happening plot-wise here, but Whitehead often references past events and characters. So the reading is richer the more you remember about the first two books. (Thank you, reading journal!) 

Cool Machine, like the first two novels, is essentially a triptych of three novellas. The first two here are breakneck pace, and then Whitehead slows down with the last one -- lingers and reminisces a little. But they're all great, and on the whole, this is my favorite of the Harlem Trilogy. Man, what'll this guy do next?