Part sales manual, part faux memoir, Black Buck pushes many boundaries, both literary and societal.  In Buck’s own words, “The turns in this story are half absurd, half jaw-dropping, and a whole heaping of crazy.”  And the absurdity mixed with that heaping of crazy gave the author a platform to not only entertain but, more importantly, to touch on a variety of societal issues.  This is a multilayered, relevant book that pushed me out of my comfort zone.

When we meet Darren, we see that he is a young, immensely likeable guy, with incredible potential, but he’s missing ambition. Much prodding from family and friends paired with a fateful meeting with a CEO of a prosperous, new tech startup transforms Darren from Starbucks shift leader to sales prodigy.  

Somewhere along the way, Darren ceases to exist and Buck takes his place.  Is this a good transformation? It’s hard to decide.  Buck certainly is dealt a heaping portion of racism amongst the already high pressure tension of this tech startup.  Under that additional pressure, I’d imagine any 22 year old could easily falter.  (Heck…even out from under that pressure, many 22 year olds falter!)  

At one point in the story, I came to dislike Buck.  But upon reflection, what was more heinous…Buck’s response to the high pressure environment entrenched in racism or the high powered racism itself?  The answer, of course, is obvious.

And while I, as a white person, found nothing satirical in Buck’s story- in fact it was difficult and horrifying to read at times- I understand how the author created Buck as a way for people of color to laugh amongst the tragedy of racism.  This in and of itself may be the most compelling reason for all people, especially white, to read this book in my opinion.  

Surprisingly, the manual portion of this novel gives sound, quality advice to salespersons and laymen alike.  Like many stay-at-home moms, I found myself in the world of direct sales at one point.  The sales aspects of this book took me back in time to network calls and yearly sales conferences. Like me, you may reminisce or you may actually find something valuable to implement.    

This book is Buck’s journey to learn about himself.  But in the end, learning who he IS isn’t nearly as important as learning who he is NOT.  And if that isn’t the most fitting piece of advice for all of us, no matter skin color, I don’t know what is.  

Many thanks to Mateo Askaripour, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.