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Dec 16, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
"Supremely original" says the publisher's blurb. Maybe if you've never read a book or seen a movie about teens in the summer. I have a bias against contemporary, hyped, middle class, white, New York-living, youngish writers, so I thought I'd try Whitehead, who is all the above, but African-American. His novel-a bland coming of age story set on Long Island in the 80s-has all the weaknesses of his peers (Shteyngart, Lethem, Foer): lazy plotting, cleverness, a lack of depth or nuance. More like "Snooze Harbor" or "Suck Harbor."