Ellis Bagoly’s Reviews > Cool Machine > Status Update

I think I’m starting to get what Whitehead is doing, and I think I’d understand more if I’d read the two previous books in the series (it figures). I feel like Whitehead’s New York is changing faster than his characters are, and it feels like the world in which Carney and Pepper became themselves no longer exists. The medal and the mask that anchor their respective parts are highly resonant symbols.

I’m enjoying this second part of the novel more than the first. I do feel that certain passages, like the background of a minor character named Derek in Part 2, Chapter 3, seem unnecessary. However, I still don’t have a grasp on what the larger themes of the novel are, so it’s difficult to say what should or shouldn’t be included. Is the novel juxtaposing its aging characters with the city’s changes?

Love love love Whitehead’s prose style. Funny, oblique, witty. It makes my grasp on the plot slippery but I’m enjoying the ride. Reminds me of Ishmael Reed or Edward P. Jones. Or maybe Ralph Ellison meets Thomas Pynchon/Don DeLillo. I’ve been thirsty for this kind of writing!!

This book will be a challenge for me: the way it’s printed will take some getting used to, and it might be difficult to get adjusted to the novel’s world bc it’s the third in a series. I’m under the impression that it’s still intended to function as a standalone piece, but Whitehead isn’t going out of his way to catch me up. This is my first Whitehead novel and his style stands out, I’m excited!