Black Buck

In this crackling, satirical debut novel that’s perfect for fans of Sorry to Bother You and The Wolf of Wall Street, Mateo Askaripour introduces readers to Darren, a young Black man given a shot at stardom as the lone Black salesman at a mysterious, cult-like, and wildly successful startup where nothing is as it seems.

Darren, a twenty-two-year-old valedictorian of Bronx Science, is content with his unambitious life, working at a Starbucks in Midtown, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and enjoying his mother’s home-cooked meals in their Bed-Stuy brownstone. However, a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the charismatic CEO of Sumwun, NYC’s hottest tech startup, leads to an exclusive invitation to join the company’s elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.

After surviving a grueling “hell week” of training, Darren, now the only Black person at Sumwun, transforms himself into “Buck,” a ruthless salesman his friends and family barely recognize. But when tragedy strikes at home and Buck hits rock bottom, he devises a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force, unleashing a chain of events that will forever change the game.

“Black Buck” is a hilarious and razor-sharp skewering of America’s workforce, exploring themes of ambition, race, and the pursuit of the American dream. Askaripour’s propulsive and crackling debut novel offers a fresh and necessary perspective on what it means to make it in modern America. Through Darren’s journey, readers are forced to confront the realities of navigating race and class in a world where the rules are often stacked against those who don’t fit the mold. “Black Buck” is a must-read for anyone seeking a bold, satirical take on the American workplace and a new vision of success in the 21st century.