Colson Whitehead on His Harlem Trilogy

Colson Whitehead is one the few novelists, and the only still alive, to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction—for “The Underground Railroad” and “The Nickel Boys.” Whitehead’s protagonist in the Harlem trilogy is Ray Carney, a small-time crook who fences stolen goods while working as a furniture salesman. Ray first appeared in “Harlem Shuffle,” and the final book of the trilogy, “Cool Machine,” will be published in July. David Remnick and Whitehead discuss the trilogy’s second book, “Crook Manifesto,” and how David Bowie inspired Whitehead’s genre-hopping approach to fiction.

This segment originally aired on July 21, 2023.

Further reading and listening: 

• “The Theresa Job,” by Colson Whitehead
• “Colson Whitehead on Historical Heists,” by Deborah Treisman
• “The Match,” by Colson Whitehead

 

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