“Black Buck” started as one book, detoured into another book, and then ended as a wholly different, less enjoyable, book. The first twenty-five to forty percent of the book is about Buck being discovered and given an opportunity. There is a lot of white shaming, which the author justified by having the white characters act in overtly racist, demeaning ways toward Buck, the “for the metrics” Black employee. I cringed every time Buck had to keep his composure and grin through these moments. This part of the book was good. I was hooked and rooting for Buck.
After this strong, powerful start, I was Buck’s number one fan, eager to watch him transform himself into the skilled salesman the book description promises the reader.
The next segment of the book flirts with a “Wolf of Wall Street” and “Boiler Room” vibe. Buck’s ready to learn and I, the eager reader, was ready to experience training scene after training scene. But none of that happened. Instead, the author mentions a role play or two, has the characters abuse Buck some more, and then turns Buck into an inexplicably loyal Stan for these racist, privileged, egotistical salesman. The connection wasn’t there. Buck’s character was immediately presented to the reader as strong, independent and brilliant, so the 180 wasn’t believable without a few more scenes to explain Buck’s undying willingness to become what he’s becoming. It’s not enough for the character to use his family as his source of stamina if he’s only going to concurrently mistreat them.
The last segment is outlandish and ridiculous. I started skimming.
I wanted to love this one, and I know I’ll be in the minority for not being crazy about this book, but it was just too many disjointed stories in one book.
After this strong, powerful start, I was Buck’s number one fan, eager to watch him transform himself into the skilled salesman the book description promises the reader.
The next segment of the book flirts with a “Wolf of Wall Street” and “Boiler Room” vibe. Buck’s ready to learn and I, the eager reader, was ready to experience training scene after training scene. But none of that happened. Instead, the author mentions a role play or two, has the characters abuse Buck some more, and then turns Buck into an inexplicably loyal Stan for these racist, privileged, egotistical salesman. The connection wasn’t there. Buck’s character was immediately presented to the reader as strong, independent and brilliant, so the 180 wasn’t believable without a few more scenes to explain Buck’s undying willingness to become what he’s becoming. It’s not enough for the character to use his family as his source of stamina if he’s only going to concurrently mistreat them.
The last segment is outlandish and ridiculous. I started skimming.
I wanted to love this one, and I know I’ll be in the minority for not being crazy about this book, but it was just too many disjointed stories in one book.