Black Buck

Selling. Mateo Askaripour’s debut novel titled, Black Buck, skewers startups, racism, the sales process, and workplace life. The novel is structured as a sales manual and offers pretty good advice about selling. I expect that Black readers will guffaw at the multiple scenes in which protagonist Darren as the only Black employee at Sumwun gets told regularly that he resembles some Black celebrity, a different one every time. Askaripour speeds us through Darren’s transformation into a highly successful salesman, and the changes to his character as this happens. We never get the chance to relax while reading this novel, as we shift from a dramatic scene to a selling takeaway. A section that begins with tranquility ends with violence. Kindness turns to cruelty. White supremacy exercises power as a dish best served cold. I loved every page of this roller coaster of a book. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Black Buck from amazon.com.