Day 2,419, Quasi-Quarantine: Familiar Characters, Recognizable Exploits Wrap Up Harlem Trilogy In "Cool Machine"

“‘We could see the world,’ she said another time.

“That sounded nice. But he knew what the world looked like–it was blood and concrete, people and the buildings they heaped up to the sky and the tunnels they dug below. Hard to imagine there was much more to it.”

With his latest work, Colson Whitehead has finished his Harlem trilogy, completing a series that feels like an extended love letter to New York City. In that sense -- and all others -- "Cool Machine" is a worthy sibling to "Harlem Shuffle" and "Crook Manifesto." 

“A disco ball hung in the center of the room, spinning dejectedly, its missing mirror squares like the gaps in the smile of a luckless middleweight.”

The author offers up another trio of vignettes featuring furniture dealer Ray Carney, his friend and enforcer Pepper, and a rotating cast of downtown characters. The highlight is "Here Comes Sue Simmons," which explores Pepper's internal machinations more than we've seen before.

“What would a good man do in his situation? He wasn’t sure he’d met one, and if he had, he had not been paying attention.”

While some observers may view the Harlem trilogy as a diversion from Whitehead's more serious work, it's clear that the author is having a helluva good time in these stories. I will say that the handful of typos and grammatical errors in this one didn't help in the effort to take the subject matter more seriously.

“Nothing stays put. It has to become something else, go somewhere else, be on its way, whether it’s a diamond necklace or an envelope full of cash, or the corner of 125th and Lenox, or the nameless schlub walking home after a long day’s work. Keep moving, keep changing, get knocked down and pull yourself up.”

Whitehead's stories are propelled by dramatic intensity, memorable descriptions, and recognizable characters, making "Cool Machine" a fun if unchallenging read. The passion for the city and a lost way of life is palpable in every word, and if we've seen the end of the Carneys and Pepper, this is a more-than-fitting capstone for these old-school criminals and their unforgettable subculture.

“A New Yorker was kidnapper and hostage in one, setting the impossible ransom for their own deliverance.”

“Escape from New York. The question remained: Where do you go? There was no place else. It was like going on the lam from yourself.

“He had been suckered before and fallen for the scam. Swindled himself when he let vanity or pride get the best of him. Same as anyone. But he’d never been so foolish as to fall for that long con, the biggest con of all, that there were other places besides New York City.”