The Walls of Jericho

by Rudolph Fisher

The first novel by one of the legends of the Harlem Renaissance

Genres: Fiction, African American, Classics, Black Literature, American

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Born in Washington, DC in the late nineteenth century, Fisher grew up in Providence, Rhode Island graduating from Classical High School and attending Brown University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Brown in 1919, where he delivered the valedictory address, and received a Master of Arts a year later.[citation needed] He went on to attend Howard University Medical School and graduated in 1924.

Fisher came to New York City in 1925 to take up a fellowship at College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, during which time he published two scientific articles of his research on treating bacteriophage viruses with ultraviolet light. Fisher married Jane Ryder in 1925, and they had one son, Hugh, who was born in 1926.

After his fellowship ended, Fisher had a private practice on Long Island. In 1930, he became superintendent of International Hospital, a black-owned private hospital on Seventh Avenue in Harlem, but the hospital went bankrupt in October 1931.

Fisher died after unsuccessful abdominal surgery in 1934 at the age of 37.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Keeten · Rating 5 out of 5]

”’How do I find Negroes? I like them very much. Ever so much better than white people.’

‘Oh Mr. Merrit! Really?’

‘You see, they have so much more color.’

‘Yes. I can see that.’ She gazed upon the mob. ‘How primitive these people are,’ she murmured. ‘So primeval. So unspoiled by civilization.’

‘Beautiful savages,’ suggested Merrit.”



Ralph Merrit buys a house on Court Street in an exclusive white neighborhood bordering Harlem. He looks white. He sounds white, but he ain’t white. Ms. Agatha Cramp, who has no idea that Merrit is playing with her in the conversation above, also lives on Court Street. She is so happy to have this successful lawyer moving into her neighborhood, until someone clues her in to the undeniable fact that he is... colored.

Ralph’s white complexion is so deceiving that he really needs to wear a sign or something warning racist old ladies that beneath that pale exterior is the red blooded, beating heart of a primordial, black man.

Linda Young first works for Ms. Cramp, and it is through her encouragement that Agatha shows an interest in devoting time and money to a Black organization, which leads to the unfortunate conversation with Mr. Merrit. To make matters worse, Merrit offers more money to Linda to come work for him. What audacity this uppity dickty is showing even before the paint is dry on his remodeling. This is simply intolerable. He’s not showing deference as he should, but actually acting like he’s one of them!

Joshua ‘Shine’ Jones has taken a shine to Linda. Just because he is a handsome specimen of a man with enticing, brooding qualities doesn’t mean diddly squat to Linda. She has big expectations for her life, and unless his plans dovetail with hers, she’s going to go her own way. Shine’s friend, Bubber, is about to tell you how good lookin’ she is. ”’Man--oh--man! A honey with high yaller laigs! And did you see that walk? That gal walks on ball-bearin’s, she do--ev’ything moves at once.’” I like the way Shine describes her better. ”And Lindy was sure good to gaze on. Skin like honey--honey with red cherries in it. Clear like thin wax with light behind it. You could almost see through it--you could see through it--you could see red flowers behind it; and when she got excited over anything it seemed that somebody waved the flowers back and forth.”

Now that Merrit has been outed as black, not that he was hiding it, but then he wasn’t advertising it either, what will the insecure white folks of Court Street do? Maybe they will set aside their natural racist tendencies and bring him a plate of cookies, slap him on the back, and invite him to the next neighborhood barbecue.

That would be a negatory.

Just as important, will Shine win his ambitious honey red cherry girl?


Rudolph Fisher

I was reminded of Rudolph Fisher while reading one of Langston Hughes’s autobiographies. Fisher was one of the bright stars in the Harlem Renaissance. Langston said he was one of the wittiest, smartest men he’d ever met, and though his books were good, they didn’t fully capture just how amazing a conversationalist he was in real life. Given the fact that Langston was a bright man in his own right, this is high praise indeed. The vernacular Fisher used in this book made me feel like I was fully immersed in Harlem just as it is blossoming into an oasis for Blacks. I was watching Bubber’s antics as he described this high yaller gal strolling down the street as if she was gliding. I was listening to the conversations between Shine and his work buddies as he hauled a piano up to a third story window. The prose flows so easily that I read most of the book during the course of one afternoon.

When I talk about things such as vernacular it scares some people, but don’t let that hold you back from reading this classic. A glossary of terms is included with the book for those who may find a slang word or two difficult to define.

This book came out in 1928. His next book was The Conjure-Man Dies, which came out in 1932 and is considered the first mystery novel written by a black man. Now isn’t that intriguing?

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[MJ Nicholls · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satirical slice-of-strife from the Harlem Renaissance, The Walls of Jericho is a stylish novel flitting between tales of feuding friends, rival lovers, and the folly of a black man buying a house in a white neighbourhood in 1920s New York. Fisher’s portrait of a “compassionate” spinster whose interest in civil rights stops short at having to interact with black people excepting her attractive domestic help is one of the funniest storylines in a novel that is prone to moments of distracting prolixity.

[tortoise dreams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Walls of Jericho is light on plot but rich in character, atmosphere, and color. In Harlem, a lawyer moves into a white neighborhood as a furniture mover looks for love. This is the first novel by Rudolph Fisher (1897-1934), a member of the Harlem Renaissance, who provides an energetic and insightful view of the black mecca of America. The lengthy centerpiece of the novel is the Annual Costume Ball, which all Harlem, high and low (literally), attends. As well as showing the caste system in Harlem, Fisher presents the good guys and bad guys of black society and the mostly clueless white visitors. The protagonist hates white people and the white people want to help black folks in the worst way. Climate change and 1619 get mentioned along the way -- everything old is new again. Comic relief and subplot in The Walls of Jericho is provided by BFFs Bubber and Jinx, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in different clothes. The characters reappeared as suspects in Fisher's later mystery novel, The Conjure-Man Dies (1932), and in a short story, "One Month's Wages" (2008), generously included as a bonus in this volume by the British branch of HarperCollins. The story is enjoyable, and includes a version of a scene in Conjure-Man. In addition to a Preface and Introduction, this volume also contains "An Introduction to Contemporary Harlemese, Expurgated and Abridged," which includes such words as "belly-rub," "dickty," "K.M.," "salty dog," and "tight." Curious whether Fisher aimed more at a black or white audience, I found The Walls of Jericho to be quick, entertaining, and educational all at the same time. [4★]

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact of race…

Harlem is in a state of flux. The small enclave of Negroes is gradually expanding into the streets around and the Nordic folks don’t like it. Fred Merritt is a dickty (swell) lawyer and he’s just bought a house in one of the most exclusive white streets bordering Black Harlem. Everyone’s expecting trouble, and there’s much debate down at Patmore’s Pool Hall whether they should fight if the white folk try to drive Merritt out, as they have done with other black people who’ve had the temerity to invade white spaces. Merritt knows he won’t be made welcome, so he offers a bonus to get the toughest furniture removal team around to move him in – Jinx Jenkins and Bubber Brown, and their foreman Joshua Jones, known as Shine. Initially it all goes better than expected – in fact, Merritt meets one of his new neighbours, Miss Agatha Cramp, and she seems pleased at the thought of this well-mannered professional man calling on her. But that’s because Merritt is so pale-skinned she thinks he’s white…

This was Rudolph Fisher’s first novel – sadly he only wrote two before his tragically early death. The other one, The Conjure-Man Dies, shows Harlem from an entirely black perspective – there are no white characters at all. This one is focused on the interactions between the races, and also on the class system within both black and white societies. There is a lot of humour in it, but there are occasional flashes of anger too at the treatment of black people, although Fisher widens it out to show that, to the WASP element of the USA, there’s not much to choose between Blacks, Irish, Poles, etc. As was the case at that time, Fisher refers to the black people as Negroes and as other terms (not the n-word, though) that would definitely be considered unacceptable today, at least for white people to use. He makes the point, way back in 1928, that rappers are still making today – that black people choose to “own” these terms, but that doesn’t give permission to non-black people to use them.

Most of the dialogue is in pretty strong dialect, but I didn’t find it hard to understand. There’s a glossary at the back of the book, though I found that after the first few pages I got into the swing of the language and felt the meanings were easy to pick up from the context, despite many words being used that I haven’t heard before. I found it interesting too that some phrases that Fisher gives as Harlem slang of that era are things I’ve heard in other contexts, suggesting that gradually the slang spread out into general use. For example “What do you say?” as a form of “How do you do?” or “What’s up?” is a phrase used by Jimmy Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces, made some ten years later than the date of this book.

The plot is light: partly it’s about Merritt moving into the white neighbourhood and how that turns out, and partly it’s a love story about Shine and Linda, “A honey with high yaller laigs!” as Bubber describes her. Linda works as a maid for Miss Agatha Cramp, but she has ambitions to go to typing school and make a better life for herself. She also has a lovely vein of concealed sarcasm, which she deploys at Miss Cramp’s expense, leading to some very funny exchanges…

‘What I was getting at was – do your churches make any effort to improve conditions, to render any real service to your people?’
‘Oh, yes. We have an employment agency. They sent me to the one that sent me to you.’
‘No, no, Linda.’ So stupid a reply restored Miss Cramp’s self-assurance. ‘That is not what I mean, my dear. I mean the people that are mentally ill, the criminals, the dope-fiends, the fallen women. Do your churches try to help them?’
‘I don't think so – not unless they’re members.’
‘There must be some organization to do such work among your people,’ Miss Cramp insisted.
‘Well,’ Linda suggested brightly, ‘maybe the same organization does it that does it among your people.’

Poor Miss Cramp is the stand-in for all the ignorance, well-meaning condescension and terror of the white people for their black neighbours. Fisher puts into her mouth all the stupidities and generalisations that every black person must have been subjected to at some point, and sadly a lot of it is still quite recognisable as similar to today’s stereotyping. But Fisher uses humour rather than rage to get his point across and I must say I find that far more effective. His satirical, ironic, sarcastic tone and his own clear intelligence answer the superiority/inferiority question far more than any anger-filled rant could do, however justified. Mostly he just lets us listen in and see for ourselves how prejudice works, but occasionally he gives a brief, thoughtful digression, and what I like about these is that he’s willing, despite the massive social imbalance, to try for even-handedness…

Between members of opposed races, however, the subject of race is difficult, almost indeed delicate. Neither party quite wholly sacrifices his illusions about his own people nor admits his ignorance about the other. The conversation, therefore, becomes a series of unwitting affronts, mutual mistrusts and suppressed indignations increasingly harder to bear, till at last it futilely breaks off with both parties ready to burst – each inwardly smouldering at the other’s unforgivable ignorance and tactlessness. Here is the hedonistic paradox if anywhere, that one best learns the facts of a race by ignoring the fact of race. If Nordic and Negro wish truly to know each other, let them discuss not Negroes and Nordics; let them discuss Greek lyric poets of the fourth century B.C.

There’s so much I haven’t even begun to discuss, like the insight he gives into the class structure within the black community, the gender issues he raises, the question of male violence, and more. The only solution is for you to read it yourself, and I really hope you do – apart from all the thoughtful stuff, it’s also highly entertaining. Last word to my favourite characters, Bubber and Jinx, on hearing that a Mrs Fuller will be living in Fred Merritt’s new house...

‘Soon as a old crow gets up in the world, he got to grab hisself some other guy’s wife.’
Bubber regarded him with pity. ‘How you figure that out?’
‘His name ain't Fuller, is it?’
‘No. And yo’ name ain't Sherlock. Don't you know what a housekeeper is? And ain't you never heard of such a thing as a widow?’
‘Aw man, what you talkin’ ’bout?’
‘You ought to be a policeman, brother.’
‘How come?’
‘’Cause you very suspicious and very, very dumb.’

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a pity that Rudolph Fisher died so young! His mystery, The Conjure-Man Dies, turned the genre on its head by including only Black characters. This novel has some of the same characters (Bubber and Jinx), but it mainly concerns the way a Black man, Joshua Jones, builds walls around his own better qualities and through true love learns to let them out. (Hence the title.)

It also features a Dickensian white woman, a Lady Bountiful type, Mrs. Cramp, who wants to do good for people far away as long as they don't come to live in her neighborhood; a rich Black man (Merrit) passing for white and trying to integrate a tony New York avenue; and a scheming bar owner, Patmore, who is out for vengeance. The way Fisher uses high and low registers of speech to show the class and personality of all his characters is deft and amusing.

I really wish there were more books of his to read! I may have to go for his short stories, even though I usually find full-length novels more satisfying.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good since it dives deep into the discrimination of African-Americans. Even though it was a bit difficult to understand, I really enjoyed it.

[tove · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first time reading Rudolph Fisher, and I was immediately captivated. The walls of Jericho is so beautifully written- vibrant, cleverly humorous, and rich with character. A legendary social satire on the racial and class divides of America. 10/10 would recommend that every person able to read should read this book.

[Camille Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

conflicting feelings not sure what to make of it but i did really enjoy it

[Two Envelopes And A Phone · Rating 5 out of 5]

The closest thing I've read to something like this, before tackling this, was - I suppose - Pinktoes by Chester Himes, from the early 1960s. Since I only gave that book 3 stars, and am giving the full starshine to The Walls of Jericho, I guess I've learned something about myself: I do prefer more Crime & Mystery plot - or more plot of some sort, maybe - and less raunchiness in a Black Harlem social satire. Fisher's other novel, The Conjure-Man Dies, is a true whodunit, while Walls of Jericho has a Crimey Wimey-ish angle...but you don't read it for that. You read it for Mr. Merrit bumping up against Mrs. Cramp. You read it for the night of the dance, at the Casino. You read it to find out which street someone lives on, and what that means about their place in this world. This book had me laughing out loud several times, but this book also makes you think about stuff that is not funny. Still, to not get too serious on these topics is to perhaps take some of the fist out of the message, but to keep the charm. And I liked the charm.

Bubber and Jinx are great recurring characters for Fisher to play with here once again; they are featured, mainly as comic relief, in the novel itself, plus in the short story included in my edition called 'One Month's Wages'. I loved this duo resorting to 'the dozens' - slipping in the dozens - a tradition of musical taunting and insult that I first learned of when getting into Speckled Red, blues singer, and his most famous song 'The Dirty Dozens'. Anyway, the short story 'One Month's Wages' is a delight - nothing deep, or bitingly satirical to say after the novel does its job - just pure comedy, the quick version of something like Abbot & Costello Meet The Killer once the scene shifts to a mortuary in the middle of the night. Glad this quick tale got included, so I could watch Jinx and Bubber have one more amusing adventure.

[J. Rubino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlem Renaissance writer, Rudolph Fisher's first novel (published in 1928) is a sharp social satire on the state of race relations, not only between blacks and whites, but also within the social/economic strata of Harlem's black community. When Fred Merritt, a black lawyer, purchases a home in a white neighborhood bordering on Harlem, his decision has a ripple effect upon several members of the community: the proprietor of the local pool hall who has a grudge against Merrit; the piano mover, Shine and his assistant movers, Jinx and Bubber (Fisher's recurrent characters;) Linda Young, a maid who has professional ambitions, and Linda's employer, Miss Cramp, a bigot who sees herself as socially enlightened.
Kudos to HarperCollins for retuning Fisher's works to print. There is the obligatory caution about language and stereotypes that may be offensive by contemporary standards and a glossary of "Harlemese", the Harlem slang of the 1920s.
The volume includes the short story, "One Month's Wages" that has Jinx and Bubber attempting to earn their rent money at the card tables and a mortuary respectively, with comic results.
Fisher also wrote a number of short stories and "The Conjure Man Dies," the first detective novel featuring black sleuths, Doctor John Archer and Detective Perry Dart. At the time of his death at age 37, Fisher had planned to publish two more detective novels featuring characters from "The Conjure Man Dies."

[Heronimo Gieronymus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A piano is a malicious thing, it loves to slip out of your grip and snap at your toes, with an evil chuckle inside. Push up its lip and see it sneer; touch it and hear it rumble or whine. Ponderous, spiteful, treacherous live thing—a single spirit in a thousand bodies, one of which will crush you soon or late.

...

If this bird wasn’t a dickty
he’d be o.k.
But there never was a dickty
worth a damn.

How could you wound a fellow who simply laughed?

Neither party
quite wholly sacrifices his illusions.

...

The place had been gutted, heart and bowels. Its vitals, whatever things had given it substance, circulation and life, all had been hopelessly battered and crushed till they'd shrunken out of sight. One could stand on the sidewalk and see the sunset through and beyond the rear wall—a hard broad grin of a sunset, which transilluminated the flame-sacked dwelling, mocking its emptiness without pity, deriding its devastation. When eventually the sun's grin faded out, it was as if a contemptuous, amused observer had at last turned aside and gone off on more important business.

...

Walls—haw! Damn right, walls—look at 'em fall—let 'em raise hell when they fall—like that Goddamn piano—

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

cw: racism, misogyny, sexual harrassment, attempted sexual assault, ethnic slurs, arson, objectification, assault, racial slurs

An amusing and insightful under-known classic.

The comic partners of Jinx and Bubber are reminiscent of Shakespeare's fools and it's nice that we follow them into Fisher's other stories.

The book shows racism in it's tokenising, intolerant and fetishising forms. How it's insidious and beneficial to the oppressors. And how white people are self-congratulatory and, deliberately, uneducated on the matter.

Additionally, I like how smart and sarcastic Linda is. That the narrator and the reader knows this whilst almost everyone around her doesn't catch on because she's black, a woman, and a maid - deemed inferior, dim.

Plus, the theme of dismantling toxic masculinity is fun and unexpected.

I didn't appreciate how Linda escapes the clutches of one sexual harasser, falls into another and then that becomes the romance of the story! As well as, how every single woman is objectified, by hero and villain alike, and it goes unchallenged.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

First written in 1928, this is a good read with a nice little plot involving the highest and the lowest of Harlem Black society (and it is plenty aware of class distinctions, fascinatingly so), plenty of social commentary incidental to the story which is just how I like it, and some great dialogue. I really loved the tongue in cheek glossary at the back, I'd start with boogy.

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not too great at dissecting literature and this isn't the genre I usually read, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Overall I thought that the book was okay, I was told that it was an ironic take on society during the Harlem Renaissance but it didn't feel like that much irony was there. It was a decent drama piece though. The conflict got more interesting as the book progresses, however the conflict wasn't tied up neatly at the end. It felt like there should have been more to the story but there just wasn't.
I didn't find the characters to be that engaging, they get better over the book but they still aren't that great by the end. Another thing I want to include was that the book switches between Shakespearean English and African American slang in the 1920's constantly. This makes it incredibly difficult to get through. Overall I didn't hate it but I wouldn't reread it and probably will forget about it in a month.

[Amanda Syversen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Walls of Jericho was written in a very captivating and interesting manner. The imagery, descriptions, and metaphors embedded in the text are beautiful. The personification of Manhattan brings the Harlem setting to life.
It was disappointing that the author used such creativity and described such an interesting world, but failed to connect it to a greater message or theme. I found that the irony and satire in the story were not very apparent and the message of the book was sometimes unclear. The author only seems to explore deep issues on the surface level, at times using overly descriptive language to disguise a lack of significance. However, there is a lot of interesting ideas about racism and self improvement if you are willing to read it.
Overall, it was an interesting read and I would recommend.

[Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book showcases serious topics such as racism, it was extremely dense to the point where I couldn’t comprehend a single page unless I read it multiple times. I did have many discussions surrounding this book but everyone I have spoken to about this novel has said the same thing; no one can understand this book. Yes, books should be challenging BUT no to the point where our heads start to hurt. I think that this book was quite an experience, but no, I would never read this again. Never. Not even against my own will.

[Clayton Roach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of vibrant dialogues, full of “Harlemese” slang and authentic soul, makes it amusing to read yet challenging to follow along. I don’t think I would naturally gravitate towards the setting of this book, but Fisher creates a light in the heart of Harlem that makes me feel like a moth around a street lamp. To stack on to that, he beautifully illuminates one of the characters, Shine, in a gradual way as Shine is placed in situations that prod him to surpass his own “walls of Jericho.” His writing style is unique and unlike anything I’ve read. Put this book on your list.

[jimmyjams · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars I thought that this book was quite shallow in terms of storyline but incredibly rich in character development with shine being the person that this book heavily focused on after the second half of the book.

I did think the first half was incredibly confusing to read which ultimately impacted the interactions between everyone, however I feel that reading this again would provide more joy in that department.

Overall it was a quite a telling read in terms of the conflicts between classes as well as class identity and is an important piece of literature.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would rate this steaming pile of garbage disguised as a book ZERO stars if I could. I mean honestly, I had to reread each page like five times and then give up because I still could not for the life of me understand anything going on. What is the point of writing a book in English if the dialect is completely incomprehensible??? I don't get it. I've also never seen a book where literally nothing happens in the novel. It's just words on a page.

[SARAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where do I start...? This book has to be one of the most time-consuming, wordy and dragged-out pieces that I have ever read. I feel like the author got lost in his words and completely forgot about what he was writing. However, despite the fact that this book was a very dull read, I enjoyed the satirical references the author made to injustices and problems in society.
Overall, it was a 4 out of 10...

[Edona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe The Walls of Jericho is a very detailed and in-depth book. The book has a lot of lessons and themes embedded with it and can be challenging to read or understand sometimes. I believe this book is a good read, but you have to pay attention and focus on the plot and the characters to understand the book's true meaning fully.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not the worst, but reading it felt more like a chore and not something I could look forward too. Reading one page took an incredibly long time. The first few chapters were too tedious and could have definitely been shortened. Overall a boring book but it did have good lessons throughout.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent entry point into the fiction of the Harlem Renaissance: Immensely entertaining, and not in the least politically correct. Many of the black creators of that time - Zora Neale Hurston, Oscar Micheaux, and others - were not in the least self-conscious about writing honestly, in that it might feed negative white attitudes or whatever. I don’t think they gave a flip. I love their high spirits.

[Sophie Mulligan-Fenichel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the Walls of Jericho is a unique book that expanded my knowledge on the historical time period, I didn't find it to be engaging. The dialogue as well as the dialect was incredibly confusing making it extremely difficult to comprehend the story. This made it difficult to enjoy.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is entirely impossible to read. I like the literary choices, but it is hard to understand. The values and morals- sarcastic or humorous outlooks on serious situations made it somewhat worth it. Reading this was not an enjoyable experience.

[mon g · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It explores themes of racism and self-growth using interesting and funny characters. Though the language is a bit hard to understand at first, it is a worthwhile read if you sit down and take the time to genuinely read the book.

[Naima · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this book for english and I didn’t like it at all. I get the point of reading a challenging book for class, but this book was beyond the point of challenging where it just wasn’t even comprehensible. I wouldn’t wish for someone to read this book.

[Yasmin Molina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was alright and did portray some social satire; however, it was quite hard to understand. When reading the book, I had to set aside time in order to understand the book. I would not read this book ever again.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed it but also it didn't end up being the story I was expecting (about either Jinx + Bubber or Merrit) and that was fine. (Back cover copy is misleading.) Instead the story ends up centering around Shine and these other elements create the frame around that.

[Gianna Ledesma · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully written