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  • The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty book cover
  • The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty book cover
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The White Boy Shuffle

by Paul Beatty

A coming-of-age story shaped by a changing role

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A coming-of-age story shaped by a changing role

Gunnar Kaufman’s move from Santa Monica to urban West Los Angeles marks the starting point for a story about shifting identity and public expectation. Initially an awkward outsider, he becomes a basketball star and is later cast as a reluctant figure of spiritual and political significance to a divided community. The novel’s premise brings together personal transformation, sport, race, and the burdens placed on someone who becomes a symbol to others. Its focus on Gunnar’s changing position gives the story a way to examine both individual belonging and collective struggle.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in coming-of-age fiction centered on identity and belonging
  • Readers seeking fiction that engages with race, community, and social division
  • Readers interested in stories where basketball and public responsibility intersect

Themes

Coming of ageIdentity and belongingRace and communityBasketballSocial division

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The first novel from National Book Critics Circle Award and Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sellout

"A bombastic coming-of-age novel....The White Boy Shuffle has the uncanny ability to make readers want to laugh and cry at the same time."--Los Angeles Times

Paul Beatty's hilarious and scathing debut novel is about Gunnar Kaufman, an awkward, black surfer bum who is moved by his mother from Santa Monica to urban West Los Angeles. There, he begins to undergo a startling transformation from neighborhood outcast to basketball superstar, and eventually to reluctant messiah of a "divided, downtrodden people."

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