Review of Crabs in a Barrel (Paperback)

Byron Harmon's latest release, Crabs in a Barrel, was a big hit for me.When the King's Dream, a luxury charter yacht, part of a small fleet headed to a weekend birthday and gambling party at the Atlantic Resort in the Bahamas, shipwrecks all hell breaks loose.With the exception of the Caucasian captain, the castaway passengers are all African Americans. The similarities end there.In addition to surviving with limited food and water supplies, sub-par shelter, and yesterdays clothing, the gang is also struggling to cope with each other.Their social backgrounds, education, income, zip codes, political and religious affiliations are as diverse as the Rainbow Coalition.The motley squad include Sahara, aformer college beauty queen and aspiring medical student/part time waitress; Fame, a StepInFetch up-and-coming inner city comedian;Rachel and Valerie, cousins and "I ain't saying they're gold diggers...but";Muhammad, a married Muslim and his Christian mistress, Shon;Samuel aka Sammy a Clarence Thomas wannabee whose dossier includes a career as a successful corporate lawyer and a blonde haired/blue eyed white girlfriend; Wolf,amenacing and evil Brooklyn thug/drug dealer; and, Jean Paul Baptiste, heir of a prominent New Orleans family with serious cold feet who is two weeks away from an `arranged' marriage.Will this group be able to tolerate each other and work together until they are rescued or will they be like crabs in a barrel and allow their differences to interfere with their mission and cause a few casualties along the way?

Crabs in a Barrel is an entertaining and enjoyable page-turner.It was a delectable treat that I stopped my world for so that I could give it my undivided attention and read uninterrupted until the last page. Crabs in the Barrel made me laugh, scream, sad, become angry and reflective.For those who are unfamiliar with the term `crabs in a barrel', Harmon enlightens in an informative and easy to follow manner.One of the few shortcomings of the novel is that the female voices were not strong and the characters not as distinctive or memorable as the male characters.But it is a weakness that I believe Harmon will quickly overcome as he continues to hone his writing style. I am glad that I did not allow my bias regarding the cover or the author's last two books to taint my decision as I would have missed out on a really good book.Reading Crabs in a Barrel was like watching a movie unfold.Fans of castaway series such as Gilligan Islands, Lost and Survivors will enjoy the storyline.Readers looking for tight writing, a strong storyline with colorful characters, vivid imagery and poignant social messages will appreciate the fresh voice.

Reviewed by Yasmin Coleman
APOOO BookClub
www.apooo.org


Product Description

"Harmon's witty writing style is engaging"-Zane

"A rising literary talent."-Carl Weber

In the tradition of Jill Nelson's Sexual Healing, Crabs in a Barrel is a frank, no-holds-barred comedy with a sharp satirical edge.

When a yachtful of party-goers headed for the Bahamas are shipwrecked and wash up on a remote island, the diverse group-most but not all African-Americans, from a wide range of different backgrounds-are left with the usual survivor struggles: to find food, shelter themselves, and try to figure out how to get back to civilization. But in their case, they also have to try not to kill each other in the effort. The isolation and extreme circumstances combine to aggravate the social differences that already separate the group, and tensions rise and flare immediately. Before long, the different castaways-including a beautiful waitress/med student, a wealthy lawyer, a Brooklyn thug, a Black Muslim, and two gold-digging cousins-square off and start firing about their differences, their grievances, and their opinions in exchanges that are as funny as they are explosive.

Author Byron Harmon, already acclaimed for his two earlier novels, uses this Gilligan's Island meets Survivor set-up to create a story that airs out the truth about how black people feel about themselves, each other, and most everyone else in this breakout novel sure to bring him even greater commercial and critical success.

Byron Harmon is the author of two earlier novels, All The Women I've Loved (Pocket, 2002) and Mistakes Men Make (Pocket, 2005). He is the executive producer for the WCBS TV Early Morning News in New York City.

About the Author
Byron Harmon is the executive producer for the WCBS Early Morning News in New York. He is the author of two earlier novels, All The Women I've Loved (Pocket, 2002) and Mistakes Men Make (Pocket, 2005).

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