REVIEW:

Satire = The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Keep that definition in mind, or this novel will be weighed down by its ridiculousness. The main character, Buck (so nicknamed because he worked at Starbucks), actually tells the reader repeatedly that his story is unbelievable. His story being that of a young black man who is plucked from his job making mochaccinos and thrust into the world of high-stakes sales at a New York tech startup.

The entire book is written from Buck’s first person perspective, including the Author’s Note at the beginning. There he writes, “I am a black salesman on a mission. And the point of this book - which I am writing from my penthouse overlooking Central Park - is to help other black men and women on a mission to sell their visions all the way to the top.” He’s not lying - the book is even written like a sales manual with specific tips on selling highlighted in bold for his readers.

And what if you’re not black, like this particular reader? He writes, “If you’re not black but have this book in your hands, I want you to think of yourself as an honorary black person.” If you can do that, and continue to bear in mind this is SATIRE, Black Buck is a heck of a fun read. Otherwise the plot and characters will seem too over the top and unrealistic. You need to set aside your “why’s” and “how’s” entirely. You’ll also need to excuse a lot of cringe-worthy analogies like, “colder than Jeffrey Dahmer’s freezer,” “drier than a nun’s vagina,” and “sharper than Michael Jackson’s nose.” (Groan.)

All things considered, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this debut was the January 2021 Read With Jenna book club selection. Devotees of her recommendations are in for a little something different, and I hope they’ll keep their minds open to the lessons Buck is trying to sell.

My thanks to Mateo Askaripour and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to review an advance copy via NetGalley.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

For fans of Sorry to Bother You and The Wolf of Wall Street—a crackling, satirical debut novel about a young man given a shot at stardom as the lone Black salesman at a mysterious, cult-like, and wildly successful startup where nothing is as it seems.

There’s nothing like a Black salesman on a mission.

An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother’s home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC’s hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.

After enduring a “hell week” of training, Darren, the only Black person in the company, reimagines himself as “Buck,” a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he’s hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game.

Black Buck is a hilarious, razor-sharp skewering of America’s workforce; it is a propulsive, crackling debut that explores ambition and race, and makes way for a necessary new vision of the American dream.