What people are saying.
“Askaripour eviscerates corporate culture in his funny, touching debut . . . A winning and layered bildungsroman.”
— Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Askaripour has created a skillfully written, biting, witty, and absurdist novel that sheds light on racism, start-up culture, corporate morality, media bias, gentrification, and many other timely, important themes. Askaripour is an author to watch.”
— Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Black Buck is an ambitious book. While being an intellectual and captivating work of satire, it also serves as an instruction manual for Black and brown people working in white-dominated spaces…There is great risk in such ambition, but Askaripour is a fine writer and superbly executes his vision.”
— BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“A first novel satirically lays out the wretched excesses of turn-of-the-21st-century capitalism as it both enriches and disfigures a bright young Black man’s coming-of-age . . . jazzily discursive and rhythmically propulsive . . . with punchy, go- for-broke mother-wit.”
“Black Buck, which marks the launch of an effervescent new career, is alternately sly and sweet, a work of cultural criticism that laments and celebrates the power of money.”
“Not one element feels disproportionate to another, and, throughout the entire piece, Askaripour maintains an energetic voice that, despite detailing a cruel and prejudiced world, promises hope for those like Buck—willing to try, willing to fight, and willing to stand up for what is right.”
“[Askaripour’s] gaze is unflinching, his prose is “blink and you’ll miss it” sharp, and his observations will be familiar to some but, I’ll wager, horrifying to others, particularly when it comes to his handling of race relations.”
“Rhapsodic and incisive, Black Buck is a journey into a post-racial dystopia born of tech-fueled greed and racial ignorance. In other words: It’s a doozy.”
— WIRED
