Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

SOUND THE ALARM~WE ARE BACK

Oh #bookstagram we have missed you so much recently. It’s Chaya here, I have started a new job in the last two weeks and Sophie is working on the most exciting project which has meant we have been utterly distracted. And that’s ok. Books should never be a pressure, only a way to escape and explore.

Ad:PR Throughout the recent tumult I participated in the @tandemcollectiveuk#blackbuckreadalong which was my first experience of reading concurrently with a large group of people. I have to say I truly enjoyed the experience, it was brilliant to see so many reactions. 

Darren is Buck, a young black man who is whisked away from a job at Starbucks to a tech start up with a toxic environment where he encounters (jaw dropping) racism. 

@askmateo has created characters that feel so real you will be raging at them which is testament to the writing. Buck addresses the reader with advice you can apply to a myriad of life situations which I initially found disconcerting but fit the book well upon reflection. A New York Times bestseller which is out now, Black Buck will get you thinking about entitlement, expectation, privilege and wealth. The silence of his colleagues provoked me no end but I actually didn’t like the main protagonist much at all which I think was purposefully done – these are complex and layered personalities. 

This book will surprise and enrage you, Mateo in an event said he drew upon real anecdotes which saddens me deeply. In the UK a lot of what happens in the book would be considered a hate crime so the barrister in me was NOT happy. Thank you to @johnmurrays and Eli at @tandemcollectiveuk for including us!