The White Boy Shuffle

By: Paul Beatty

Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

Paul Beatty's hilarious and scathing debut novel, The White Boy Shuffle, is about Gunnar Kaufman, an awkward, black surfer bum who is moved by his mother from Santa Monica to urban West Los Angeles. There, he begins to undergo a startling transformation from neighborhood outcast to basketball superstar, and eventually to reluctant messiah of a "divided, downtrodden people".

©1996 Paul Beatty (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Good writing but disappointing storyline.

This is my first book by Paul Beatty; he really writes extremely well, but the story is more like a collection of one-act plays than a coherent whole. While I enjoyed each act, the story itself progressed little. The protagonist, Gunnar Kaufman, is apparently a genius at whatever he attempts; he is a published poet, a basketball star, a well-read philosopher. So handsome as to attract women yet remaining chaste. He is a wellspring of contradictions, with a philosophy that, in the end, is depraved. I realize that this is satire, but it is often over the top. This sort of humor works better if it is more subtle. This was more like slapstick. Yet the prose is unique and at time marvelous.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Awesomely Eclectic!

I read this book over 15 years ago. As I listened again, I was totally enthralled in it. I was constantly bookmarking it to discuss in our bookclub. The performance was amazing. The storyline was unexpected throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the vocabulary and voice. I could visualize EVERYTHING without feeling like, “this is too much detail.”

good book

finished it in 2 days. was hooked by chapter 4. I would recommend this book to a friend.

So beautiful

Wow... so far I’ve read Tuff, the Sell Out, and this. Paul Beatty’s writing and story telling abilities are mind blowing. I’m so grateful to have had the privilege of listening to his books. Prentice Onayemi is captivating and such a delight to listen to. I highly recommend anything by Paul Beatty, he’s shifted my perspectives from schooled me on race in America. I’ll be listening to anything else I can get my hands on by Paul Beatty, and listen to any book read by Prentice Onayemi.

The main character is a terrible person

maybe I didn't understand the deeper meaning but I really really really could not enjoy the story.

Too abusive

Hardship after Hardship gets very old without any grounded base for the main character. A book full of one-upsmanship loses direction and leaves the listener just wanting to get the book over with.

Amazing.

The story was performed so well, and I was able to get a minority point of view toward society.

Funny, do I know the character?

Startling story about an adolescent African American male's growth and development from a white suburb to a poor inner city neighborhood. Includes historical time and event references, enough to make a reader old enough to recognize them wonder if this story is about a real person. The narrator makes the story! His verbal characterizations of all the characters are right on point. Hilarious at times and also painful. The irony of story, often evident when Gunnar, the main character, is speaking reveals brilliance of Beatty. Gunnar is a terribly interesting young man. So talented that he navigates successfully a life of challenges, obstacles, deceptions, facades of many forms. This story has to be listened AND read because there are so many layers to uncover. An initial reading is just entertaining. A second and third read is educational as it describes the society of the time period and how low income families of various backgrounds survived. There is also another aspect to be studied and it related to how women are portrayed in the novel. This is a fascinating piece of work. I also recommend it for book studies and literature courses.