Black Buck: A Read With Jenna Pick

Buck has no redeeming qualities, let me start by saying. Perhaps at the beginning of the book, but as the story continues on we soon realize that he is a hypocrite. Easily offended, he has no backbone, especially when it comes to Rhett, and is simply pathetic. I have never read a fictional character who progressively becomes unlikable and annoying. Dorian Gray from 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is the only other fictional character that comes to mind. Buck does everything willingly, even if he tries to convince himself and us that he is forced to do so. His antics are so pathetic that they are laughable. In some ways, this is the purpose of the book. This is a satire, so everything is intended to be extreme. Most of the characters in Sumwun are just deranged, including Buck. They all need professional counselling, which is ironic since the company is so against therapy and looks down on it constantly. There are also some running jokes that can easily become annoying and drawn out to the point where they lose their original grit and sense of humour. One example is the joke where every white person thinks Buck looks like a different famous black figure. I also don't understand why this book tries to give Buck a redemption arc, like the damage has already been done. I did, however, feel a tad less negative toward him towards the end. Trying to make amends with the people he hurt was a bit cringe-worthy, and I didn't feel anything for him. His idea and construction of The 'Happy Campers', as well as the fact that he is helping POC, does not strike me as heroic. I do not think 'Happy Campers' is as revolutionary as Buck thinks. Members will probably eventually go through the same circle as Buck and will be subject to the same white supremacy common in business. Don't get me wrong, the idea and what Buck is doing is fantastic, but they will have to contend with white supremacy at their workplaces. A black-owned start-up company would have been a better option.In spite of all these things, I have to admit that this book is very entertaining. There's no doubt that some of the characters are nuts, but they are intriguing, no doubt. It was enjoyable to read the entire book, especially the plot twist at the end. Every chapter added to the story in some way. This is a difficult book to review or even rate. Despite the book's satirical nature, it still manages to grind your gears, rather than making you laugh along with it. The book held my attention and was surprisingly entertaining (much more so than other books I've read this year), resulting in a rating of 4/5. I highly recommend this book, regardless of my feelings about Buck and the other characters, or the effectiveness of the satire. The book captured my attention the entire way through. It contained some highly relevant talking points regarding the struggle of holding on to one's blackness in a workplace infused with white supremacy. The talking points and entertaining nature of the book make it so worthwhile.

The satirical story of a Black man named Darren working his way up through the sales department of a tech start up, where he becomes known as Buck due to his previous job at Starbucks. The startup has a bit of a cult-like atmosphere, and it separates him from his community and family. Darren also faces numerous microaggressions, being the only Black employee and the ways they try to use him to show their diversity. The book is quite a journey for Darren as he tries to figure out where he belongs and who he is. There were parts I loved, like the early days of him working at the startup and later in the end as he tries to help others. But there were also parts that were just a bit far-fetched. The unevenness made it a 3 star read for me, though there were parts that were 5 stars. I also have to give props to the audiobook narrator who was great, it definitely added something nice to the story.