Black Buck
By Mateo Askaripour
This novel follows the rise and fall of Darren Vender. At the beginning of the novel, Darren, who
graduated valedictorian from one of New York's most prestigious high schools, is a manager at a Starbucks. Though he is told frequently by those around him -- his mother, girlfriend, friends, neighborhood personalities -- to "make something of himself" he is content to bide his time until an "opportunity" presents itself. And then one day it does. On a whim, Darren makes a sales pitch to a startup executive/coffee shop regular, which leads to a job offer at Sumwum.
Given the environment at Sumwum and what it does to Darren, it is unclear whether the new job represents a rise or a fall. Darren is given a new name, Buck, a nod to his previous employer, and, after passing hell week, embraces the culture of the company whole-heartedly. One by one, his ties to his past are severed. And then his mother dies of cancer that she hid from him for months. In a rock-bottom moment, Buck kicks out a long-time tenant for keeping the details of his mothers' illness a secret.
And then Buck climbs back up. He begins mentoring other young people of color in the ways of sales as a way to better their lives. Soon it is a movement -- Happy Campers. In the book, all around the world, people of color help each other find and fit into sales jobs. Buck's friends come back. And then figures seeking revenge bring Buck down again. Or do they? He is set up to take the fall for a drug sale and winds up in prison. But he claims to be freer than ever before.
This book was certainly engrossing, but grating at the same time. I appreciated the author's voice, particularly those moments when he interrupted the narrative to speak directly to the reader, as in, "Reader: Hell hath no fury like a white man scorned. Especially in the world of business. If you're going to do something to piss them off, be prepared for them to strike back sooner or later." But the ups and downs of the book were so predictable, it was like watching a slow-motion car crash. You knew trouble was only a page away. It made me anxious to read. I know it was satire, but it was also pretty fantastical. Satire only really works when it is grounded in reality, and I think this book veered a bit too far from it to be real.
