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The Whites Paperback – February 9, 2016

3.9 out of 5 stars 3,789 ratings

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By the co-writer of the HBO miniseries The Night Of

“A masterpiece, to stand with such earlier Price classics as
Clockers and Lush Life . . . [The Whites has] a compelling plot, yet the real joy of the book lies page by page, line by line, in its brilliant characterizations, rich detail, endless surprises, crackling dialogue, [and] absurdist humor.” ―The Washington Post

Back in the 1990s, when Billy Graves worked in the South Bronx as part of an anti-crime unit known as the Wild Geese, he made headlines by accidentally shooting a ten-year-old boy while stopping an angel-dusted berserker in the street. Branded as a cowboy, Billy spent years in one dead-end posting after another. Now in his early forties, he is a sergeant in Manhattan Night Watch, a team of detectives that responds to all felonies from Wall Street to Harlem between one a.m. and eight a.m.

Billy’s work is mostly routine, but when Night Watch is called to the four a.m. fatal slashing of a man in Penn Station, his investigation moves beyond the usual handoff to the day shift. And when he discovers that the victim was once a suspect in an unsolved murder―a brutal case with connections to the former members of the Wild Geese―the bad old days are back in Billy’s life with a vengeance.

"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“As unstoppable as a train coming through a tunnel… [Price] manages to give the story a fierce momentum, one that makes putting this book aside to sleep or eat or do anything else very difficult… This book literally interrupted my professional and personal life. Once in, I had to stay in and stick with it to the end.” ―Michael Connelly, The New York Times Book Review, cover review

“Riveting… [Price] has a knack for using…detective work the way John le Carré has used spy stories and tradecraft, as a framework on which to build complex investigations into the human soul... No one these days writes with more kinetic energy or more hard-boiled verve… A gripping police procedural and an affecting study in character and fate.” ―
Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“A maze of a novel that alternates between scenes of intense introspection and scenes driven by dialogue… It is not, finally, a novel of clearly delineated solutions but a novel of conscience, fraught with ambivalence and ambiguity.” ―
Joyce Carol Oates, New Yorker

“A masterpiece, to stand with such earlier Price classics as Clockers and Lush Life... [The Whites has] a compelling plot, yet the real joy of the book lies page by page, line by line, in its brilliant characterizations, rich detail, endless surprises, crackling dialogue, absurdist humor and panoramic portrait of endless crime breaking over the city like a tsunami.” ―
The Washington Post

“Swift and exciting... The Whites is written by the much-praised novelist Richard Price, under the name Harry Brandt. Mr. Brandt, it is good to discover, is just as fine a writer as Mr. Price.” ―
The Wall Street Journal

“A bravura move.... The poet of the proletariat...paint[s] an unparalleled portrait of modern urban life, with detail as rich as Dickens, and a heart as deep as Dostoyevsky. In a less refracted, distracted age, [Price] would be recognized as perhaps
the major novelist of our times.” ―San Francisco Chronicle

“Terrific... Here's the real magic trick: The Whites is a serious book, with serious points to make, and at times it's almost unbearably sad. But it's also, often, very funny and deeply satisfying.” ―
The Seattle Times

“Richard Price is indeed a master...
The Whites is full of the rich characters, spot-on dialogue, grim humor and distinctive insights that animate his other novels, including Clockers and Lush Life.... Price is a New York writer to the core; the raw power of this great city seeps into the lives of his characters as they struggle with grief, betrayal and shame.” ―The Houston Chronicle

“Price enriches this story of a half-feral band of cops bonded by vengeance with depth, melancholy, and those famously keen eyes and ears.” ―
New York Magazine

“Extraordinary... A riveting crime tale thoroughly steeped in gritty cop irony, cop slang, cop attitudes and cop justice....
The Whites is especially good at capturing New York City's peculiar brand of violent crime.” ―Newsday

“Seven years is too long for New Yorkers to wait for the next book from Richard Price but he's finally here again with a stunning NYPD novel…
The Whites is grippingly immersive, its characters and the world they move through, indelible.” ―New York Daily News

“A gripping, gritty, Greek tragedy of cops, killers, and the sometimes-blurry line between them… Price is one whale of a storyteller by any name… The author skillfully manipulates [his] multiple story lines for peak suspense, as his arresting characters careen toward a devastating final reckoning.” ―
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This is going to be a strong contender for best crime novel of 2015…. With one-of-a-kind characters and settings so real you can smell them, Brandt plunges us into the chaos of domestic life, the true agony of a parent's grief, the cost of secrets kept and revealed. He does it all with indelible phrasing that captures both the black humor of the on-the-job cop and the give-and-take of longtime married couples. While the finely tuned story engine accelerates, it's supercharged with complications…In the end,
The Whites isn't about cops and killers so much as it is about the damage we all carry [and] the sins we've all committed.” ―Booklist (starred review)

“Fasten your seat belt… Old tragedies combine with fresh ones in Brandt's steely-jawed, carefully constructed procedural. Few crime novelists are as good at taut storytelling as Richard Price … In the wake of rage and sorrow, ordinary people respond by going crazy and screwing up. In this far-from-ordinary novel, Price/Brandt explores the hows and whys.” ―
Kirkus Reviews

The Whites is the crime novel of the year--grim, gutsy, and impossible to put down. I had to read the final 100 pages in a single sitting. I began being fascinated, and ended being deeply moved. Call him Price or Brandt, he knows everything about police life, and plenty about friendship: what your friends do for you…and what they sometimes do to you.” ―Stephen King

“Whether you call it a crime novel or a mystery novel or a giraffe with polka dots is largely irrelevant--
The Whites is, simply put, a great American novel.” ―Dennis Lehane

“This is high-octane literature, with the best of Richard Price and his souped-up pseudonym Harry Brandt. Price/Brandt gets to the heart of those stories that everyone else refuses to tell.
The Whites manages to patrol New York and deepen our sense of the city and all its dark corners.” ―Colum McCann

“Richard Price isn't fooling anybody with this Harry Brandt business; only he could have written
The Whites. It has everything that makes his novels so wonderful--the dark humor, the intricate interleaving of character and plot, the deep research into the science of the streets, the moral gravity and the flawless, magical dialogue. Indeed the only credible thing to be said about Harry Brandt is that he has written one of Richard Price's best books yet.” ―Michael Chabon

About the Author

Richard Price is the author of several novels―including Lazarus Man, Clockers,and Lush Life―all of which have won universal praise for their vividly etched portrayals of urban America. He has written for television dramas, including The Night Of, The Deuce, and The Wire, as well as numerous screenplays, including Sea of Love, Ransom, and The Color of Money,directed by Martin Scorsese,for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, the novelist Lorraine Adams.

Harry Brandt is the pen name of acclaimed novelist Richard Price, whose eight previous novels―including Clockers and Lush Life―have won universal praise for their vividly etched portrayals of urban America. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, the novelist Lorraine Adams.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0312621302
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 9, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780312621308
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312621308
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 0.79 x 8.18 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 3,789 ratings

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3,789 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a compelling and fast-paced read with multiple plots densely interwoven. The writing is praised for its realistic dialogue that reads like real speech, and customers appreciate its gritty realism and fascinating psychological study of human relationships. The book receives positive feedback for its character development, with one review noting how the author varies the point of view among several characters, and its mystery content, particularly for fans of police procedurals.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

235 customers mention "Readability"184 positive51 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as an intense and entertaining read that is well worth the time.

"The book is very well written. The prose is rich and engaging. It is also morally ambiguous, which is something I can usually appreciate...." Read more

"...His language is street, tough, yet poetic, pushing at the boundaries that confine language...." Read more

"...THE WHITES is a great summer read and a very notable read if the reader likes police drama with a more in-depth and humanizing peek at what makes..." Read more

"...Clever plot and interesting characters. It was a good read for sure...." Read more

214 customers mention "Plot"161 positive53 negative

Customers praise the novel's multiple plots that are densely interwoven throughout the narrative.

"After what seemed like a slow start, this book rockets to a smash ending that almost knocks you down...." Read more

"...are a fan of the crime genre or a good mystery with lots of violence, action, and realism, this is your book. Just don't forget your notepad." Read more

"...through their world - sardonic dialogue which builds to a very exciting ending. I cannot wait to read CLOCKERS next...." Read more

"...I stopped short of the full 5-er because some plot elements were just a *little* confusing, but I do highly recommend the book to readers who are..." Read more

182 customers mention "Writing quality"146 positive36 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, particularly noting the realistic dialogue that reads like real speech and the author's effective use of language.

"The book is very well written. The prose is rich and engaging. It is also morally ambiguous, which is something I can usually appreciate...." Read more

"...Billy, the main protagonist, is one of the good guys. Here is a great study in how to make the good-guys as interesting as the bad guys...." Read more

"...#34;whites." Price has a rich capacity and talent for capturing rhythm with realistic dialogue - especially his socially "inept"..." Read more

"...34;Lush Life" was a big, bold, beautiful novel and this finds a way to top that...." Read more

131 customers mention "Character development"94 positive37 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in this crime novel, with its multiple plot lines and compelling characters. One customer notes that the author varies the point of view among several characters, while another highlights how the characters are portrayed as real people with real flaws.

"...The slow start, though, is a building of Richard Price's wonderful characters, so that when you get to the end, the payoff is extraordinary because..." Read more

"...The author varies the POV among several characters that enriches the story and makes you want to hang in there with a notepad at your side...." Read more

"...The plot and characters are excellent, the story is well paced. And the prose....Let me give you just one example - let me set the scene...." Read more

"...There is a bewildering array of protagonists to keep track of which made me think I should have taken a few notes. But it all sorts out by the end...." Read more

65 customers mention "Realism"63 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the book's gritty realism and great detail, with one review highlighting its vivid characterization and authentic portrayal of life "on the job."

"...lessons is sociology, psychology and a few more disciplines, delivered with style, punch and memorable metaphors...." Read more

"...the crime genre or a good mystery with lots of violence, action, and realism, this is your book. Just don't forget your notepad." Read more

"...lurid noir tale, but what you get is something more sophisticated, more nuanced, and more complicated, giving us not archetypes but people, not..." Read more

"A real page turner. Hardboiled and fast paced...." Read more

57 customers mention "Violence level"50 positive7 negative

Customers appreciate the book's portrayal of violence, describing it as a fascinating psychological study that explores human relationships.

"...There is moral conflict abounding, something that in many of our novels today is missing and reducing them to new levels of mediocrity...." Read more

"...If you are a fan of the crime genre or a good mystery with lots of violence, action, and realism, this is your book. Just don't forget your notepad." Read more

"...read if the reader likes police drama with a more in-depth and humanizing peek at what makes the human officer and the human "perps" tick -..." Read more

"...This novel is very well done. It is structurally sound. It carefully builds tension...." Read more

51 customers mention "Pacing"44 positive7 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, describing it as gritty and hardboiled, with a quality that closely mirrors real life.

"...His language is street, tough, yet poetic, pushing at the boundaries that confine language...." Read more

"A real page turner. Hardboiled and fast paced...." Read more

"...Gritty, with a very New York feel to it on every page. It's Price's ninth book; the first was published in 1974...." Read more

"...This novel is very well done. It is structurally sound. It carefully builds tension...." Read more

46 customers mention "Mystery content"34 positive12 negative

Customers enjoy the mystery content of the book, describing it as an interesting take on cop mysteries that pulls readers through the story, making it perfect for fans of police procedurals.

"...entirely Price's style, and while The Whites gives us a good mystery to hang onto and some tightly paced thrills, Price keeps turning the novel into..." Read more

"...It is structurally sound. It carefully builds tension. It keeps you guessing -- about a lot of things -- and gives you the satisfaction of..." Read more

"...It's clear that Price has his street cred and knows cops pretty good but the overall story just seemed to meander without much tension building and..." Read more

"...certainly not a great American novel and it is only a mediocre police procedural/ mystery...." Read more

An Emotional Dilemma Plays Out
4 out of 5 stars
An Emotional Dilemma Plays Out
Richard Price's stories always begin with a ray of optimism, which is gradually snuffed out as the story unfolds, so that by the ending, your faith in goodness is pretty much withered away. If you like his books, this one is excellent. I liked it, although the ending was somewhat contrived. I am a person whose loved ones may not always be right, but they are never wrong. When it comes to a decision whether to bend the rules or compromise my moral compass to support a loved one who may have done wrong, there is no conflict at all. I support my people.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2016
    The book is very well written. The prose is rich and engaging. It is also morally ambiguous, which is something I can usually appreciate. Here it left me feeling disappointed. The book would, no doubt, have been a dressed-up cheap dime store paperback had the main character taken a more conventional high road, but the author misses some opportunities to solidify his position. The fact that he failed to do so suggests that he either hopes the book reviews will do that for him or he tacitly endorses an indefensible position.

    For me, the most compelling theme of the novel is the phenomena of being a victim. Victim status is a coveted position in modern America, both in popular culture and the courtroom. The need to be a victim, and the need to advocate for the victim, can dehumanize the actor -the subject of the prosecution- and the victim. The desire for revenge, closure, and belonging are all heavily explored in the novel, some instances of this phenomenon more skillfully sketched out than others. When figures close to the main character begin to exhibit these symptoms, we can watch his sympathies rise and fall predictably with the changing context. By the end, however, Billy loses his center, consumed and eaten away just as decisively as those objectively in the wrong. The plot poses a seemingly valuable ambiguity: who carries the right to be a victim and what authority or power does that status rightfully confer? For the seeming majority of Americans in this country, the question is well worth asking. Given the present state of popular opinion, I simply wish the novel took a position rather than leaving the main character utterly in my contempt.

    I highly recommend the book, assuming as I must that we are called upon to skeptically challenge the character's conclusions.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2015
    After what seemed like a slow start, this book rockets to a smash ending that almost knocks you down. The slow start, though, is a building of Richard Price's wonderful characters, so that when you get to the end, the payoff is extraordinary because of how well you know them. Slow here does not translate as boring by any means. If you're used to the normal thriller, the slam-bang opening, the action that is clearly more important than the characters, this book may feel daunting at first. Billy, the main protagonist, is one of the good guys. Here is a great study in how to make the good-guys as interesting as the bad guys. There is moral conflict abounding, something that in many of our novels today is missing and reducing them to new levels of mediocrity. I don't think Richard Price is physically, mentally or morally capable of short-shrifting his readers that way. His action is always another level of understanding his characters, their motivations, the way they love, the way they hate, they way they work, what they are morally capable or incapable of doing. Richard Price's work as a novelist has been outstanding from the beginning. He is a voice that will be heard generations down the line; no one gives a better portrait of life in these United States at this time than Mr. Price. His books are lessons is sociology, psychology and a few more disciplines, delivered with style, punch and memorable metaphors. His language is street, tough, yet poetic, pushing at the boundaries that confine language. No plot details from me; I leave that to other reviewers. The plot is quite wonderful, but read Richard Price for it all. He is a truly great American novelist, and he has written not just one Great American Novel but several. READ HIM.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2015
    The numerous complex characters in this tale and their overlapping time frames make it hard to follow the story line--not as bad as "Game of Thrones", but definitely requires keeping track of a set of former colleagues, current colleagues, former "whites"--bad guys who got away--current miscreants, and various minor characters who are family members. And they all have issues. There are past dangers with implications for the present, present dangers that create the narrative tension at work and at home. The author varies the POV among several characters that enriches the story and makes you want to hang in there with a notepad at your side. It is a gripping story once you get a fix on all the characters. If you are a fan of the crime genre or a good mystery with lots of violence, action, and realism, this is your book. Just don't forget your notepad.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2016
    Price designs a fast-paced novel. Nevertheless, with all the crime shows,this could have been a plot from one of those multitudes - however, the thing that Price does that could not be duplicated in crime shows is developing a thought provoking back story about the police officers (and relatives) and their "whites." Price has a rich capacity and talent for capturing rhythm with realistic dialogue - especially his socially "inept" Milton Ramos - Price brings him and Billy to life by allowing us to hear them as we travel vicariously through their world - sardonic dialogue which builds to a very exciting ending. I cannot wait to read CLOCKERS next. THE WHITES is a great summer read and a very notable read if the reader likes police drama with a more in-depth and humanizing peek at what makes the human officer and the human "perps" tick - which I assume will be the basis for CLOCKERS.
    Fast and exciting read that this reader recommends.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • N. C. mcmullen
    4.0 out of 5 stars Gritty and compassionate realism
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2015
    Read this on holiday expecting something similar to Michael Connellly. Not in that league or really comparable but I found it eventually gripping and no way worthy of the very negative reviews some have given it. The setting and characters are realistic and engaging if not heroic and the writing quality if not to everyone's taste. Don't expect Connelly's right and fast plotting but worth a read if you have a broad appreciation of crime fiction.
  • James Craft
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Whites, by Richard Price
    Reviewed in Germany on December 21, 2015
    Das Thema ist sehr glaubhaft und unterhaltsam aufgebaut. Es geht eigentlich um Schuld und wie man damit umgeht. Zum Schluss versagen dann eigentlich alle, und bleiben trotzdem gute Menschen. Oder Menschen diie glauben dass sie so gut sind, dass sie ueber andere urteilen und richten koennen. Also, Menschen wie Du und ich. Ich moechte auf jeden Fall mehr Buecher von Richard Price lesen.
    Report
  • Tbar1000
    4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth it.
    Reviewed in Canada on September 17, 2016
    Great as usual. Topical, visceral and exhilarating.
  • Jane Simpson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on February 4, 2016
    Good fast paced read
  • Tsvqld
    5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding writer
    Reviewed in Australia on December 8, 2015
    An extraordinary book that provides a rewarding and satisfying reading experience. The plot is highly complex, but it is worth persevering because it becomes clear in the end and Price (Brandt) does provide reminders throughout the novel. If you like Ian Rankin I think you will like this, but it is not for everybody as some of the reviews here indicate. The use of language, the atmosphere evoked, and the descriptions of the characters are brilliant. I will certainly be reading more of Prices' work.