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Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

Literary fiction

Black Buck

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Mateo Askaripour, on your first book!

by Mateo Askaripour

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Quick Take

Tired of binging The Office? Here's your new workplace satire starring a salesman trying to beat the corporate system.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, 400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Social_Issues

    Social issues

  • Illustrated icon, LOL

    LOL

  • Illustrated icon, Snarky

    Snarky

Synopsis

An unambitious 22 year old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother’s home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC’s hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.

After enduring a “hell week” of training, Darren, the only Black person in the company, reimagines himself as “Buck,” a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he’s hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game.

Why I love it

Black Buck is my favorite type of book: a surprise, a fresh gift. It is one that upon reading the summary on the back, I thought, a storyline centering around a sales startup in New York City? This is not for me. But as I began reading (the brilliant!!) Mateo Askaripour’s debut novel, I found myself obsessed with the page-turner.

Written in a fresh and unique literary voice, the book is a satirical “how-to” for becoming a salesman that tells the story of 22-year-old Bed-Stuy resident Darren. Plucked from his happy life as a Starbucks manager after an encounter with a tech executive, Darren finds himself the only Black salesman at an eccentric (READ: bizarre!) tech start-up. Soon, Darren takes on a new persona as a ferocious salesman under his company-given nickname, “Buck.” When tragedy strikes at home, Darren develops a new plan to help young people of color break down the barriers of the sales world.

Black Buck is raw and intimate—and a title I knew our book club readers needed to read as we begin this new year with a fresh start. Alternating moments of satirical humor with heartbreaking realities, this is a book that will have readers both laughing and crying. Askaripour’s compelling debut novel is thoroughly entertaining while addressing relevant themes: of race, ambition, and family. Let’s kick off this new year together rallying around Mateo Askaripour and his thrilling story that is strikingly vibrant and refreshing—leaving the reader wanting more!

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Startup
The Dark Lake
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The Philosopher's Flight
The Oracle Year
Sweet Little Lies
Goodbye, Paris
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Enchantée
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Opposite of Always
Beyond the Point
Wicked Saints
We Hunt the Flame
Again, But Better
Free Food for Millionaires
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The Chestnut Man
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
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My Friend Anna
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The Girl in the Mirror
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Five-Star Stranger
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Debut authors
View all
Weyward
The Stone Witch of Florence
Shark Heart
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Dinner for Vampires
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Lunar Love
Banyan Moon
The Collected Regrets of Clover
Afterparties
The Days I Loved You Most
The Wives
The Ministry of Time
The Astonishing Color of After
Did I Ever Tell You?
Middletide
Northwoods
A Flicker in the Dark
A Short Walk Through a Wide World
The Storm We Made
How to End a Love Story
Made for You
Here After
Adelaide
Spitting Gold
The Friend Zone
The Stars Too Fondly
The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye
The Other Valley
Maame
The Other Black Girl
Queenie
The Lost Apothecary
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Paper Names
We Are the Brennans
People Like Her
Firekeeper's Daughter
The Writing Retreat
Olga Dies Dreaming
She Started It
Somebody's Daughter
Dearest
In the Weeds
Kaikeyi
Love & Other Disasters
The Fortunes of Jaded Women
Damnation Spring
A Little Hope
Camp Zero
The Last Story of Mina Lee
Ariadne
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
My Body
Sisters in Arms
Honey Girl
Vladimir
Big Friendship
Black Buck
White Ivy
Luster
Miracle Creek
Three Women
White Horse
Someday, Maybe
Peach Blossom Spring
Maid
The Woman in the Window
What She Knew
Shrill
Church of Marvels
Lacy Eye
Home is Burning
Dear Mr. You
The Sound of Gravel
The Night Charter
Before the Fall
Rich and Pretty
Girls in the Moon
The Possessions
The Impossible Fortress
One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter
Startup
The Dark Lake
The City of Brass
The Philosopher's Flight
The Oracle Year
Sweet Little Lies
Goodbye, Paris
The Age of Light
The Winter Sister
Enchantée
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Opposite of Always
Beyond the Point
Wicked Saints
We Hunt the Flame
Again, But Better
Free Food for Millionaires
On The Clock
Mind Games
The Chestnut Man
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
When the Stars Lead to You
My Friend Anna
Red, White & Royal Blue
Dangerous Alliance
The Sound of Stars
All the Stars and Teeth
Star Daughter
The Girl in the Mirror
The Kindest Lie
My Dark Vanessa
Five-Star Stranger
The Singer Sisters