Cool Machine and the Nostalgia of New York

Colson Whitehead, in his nonfiction work The Colossus of New York, advises readers to cherish their past apartments and take a moment when passing them. He suggests that these spaces act as caretakers of our transformations. In Whitehead’s trilogy of Harlem crime novels, including the final book Cool Machine, the protagonist Ray Carney often looks up at apartments, pondering the lives within.

Ray Carney is a furniture salesman in Harlem. His store, with the motto “Nice furniture for nice people,” has a long-standing presence. Ray imagines whether his furniture pieces, perhaps a deluxe lounger or a dinette set, are part of the lives in those upper-floor homes. Despite being a soft-hearted family man, Ray has a complex relationship with the shadow economy.

Whitehead captures the essence of New York, where long-time residents often find themselves on nostalgia trips. Cool Machine also conveys this feeling, not through subdued prose, but through the realization that this is the readers’ last journey with Ray Carney and his unique companions.