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All God's Chillun Got Pride
Best known for his hardboiled Harlem Detective series, Chester Himes was also a superb literary writer, beginning his creative life by writing short stories in the 1930s while serving jail time for armed robbery. Selected here are some of his best stories – from a satirical tale about a student bet that purportedly disproves the existence of racism in Los Angeles to a chilling drama in which a snake invades a family home.
160 pages, Paperback
Published April 17, 2025
About the author
Chester Himes
130 books505 followersChester Bomar Himes began writing in the early 1930s while serving a prison sentence for armed robbery. From there, he produced short stories for periodicals such as Esquire and Abbott's Monthly. When released, he focussed on semi-autobiographical protest novels.
In 1953, Himes emigrated to France, where he was approached by Marcel Duhamel of Gallimard to write a detective series for Série Noire, which had published works from the likes of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson. Himes would be the first black author included in the series. The resulting Harlem Cycle gained him celebrity when he won France's Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for La Reine des Pommes (now known in English as A Rage in Harlem) in 1958. Three of these novels have been adapted into movies: Cotton Comes to Harlem, directed by Ossie Davis in 1970; Come Back, Charleston Blue (based on The Heat's On) in 1972; and A Rage in Harlem, starring Gregory Hines and Danny Glover in 1991.
In 1968, Himes moved to Spain where he made his home until his death.
In 1953, Himes emigrated to France, where he was approached by Marcel Duhamel of Gallimard to write a detective series for Série Noire, which had published works from the likes of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson. Himes would be the first black author included in the series. The resulting Harlem Cycle gained him celebrity when he won France's Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for La Reine des Pommes (now known in English as A Rage in Harlem) in 1958. Three of these novels have been adapted into movies: Cotton Comes to Harlem, directed by Ossie Davis in 1970; Come Back, Charleston Blue (based on The Heat's On) in 1972; and A Rage in Harlem, starring Gregory Hines and Danny Glover in 1991.
In 1968, Himes moved to Spain where he made his home until his death.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 21, 2026
If I really loved you, baby, I would blow out your brains. Right now! Because all you can ever look forward to, baby, is never having anything you ever dreamed about. Low lights and soft music, luxury and ease, travel and pleasure - acceptance! Not for you, baby, not for us. We got dipped in the wrong river, baby, we got dipped in the mud. Your soul might be white as snow; but the color of your soul doesn't count in America, baby.
I actually hadn’t heard of Chester Himes at all. Not of his famous hard-boiled detective series set in Harlem, not of him himself, nothing. But I found a copy of this little collection in a used bookstore, and when I read the words “beginning his creative life by writing short stories in the 1930s while serving jail time for armed robbery” in the blurb, I was all in.
Stylistically, it didn’t surprise me at all when I found out the kind of fiction Himes is known for, as these stories all smack of it too. They all have that kind of seedy underbelly vibe essential to all good noir, even if the plots weren’t always in this wheelhouse. They were often strange and gruesome, and I appreciated Himes allowing them to be that wholeheartedly - they certainly aren’t for the sensitive, or for the faint of heart. For me it paired well with the humour aspect, giving these stories their own strange kind of balance. I also just respected how consistently of a quality they were. There wasn’t really a bad one in the bunch.
I don’t really have a bad word to say about the prose either. It was crystal clear with a nice flare for the descriptive, and that singular style that commands a certain amount of attention all on its own. All of the story elements were solid: fun little plots, characters that didn’t always exactly feel wholly realised but never felt phony. Really they were usually set pieces in Himes’ particular brand of Black Americana (which isn’t a bad thing, and works well with Himes’ style). He also had great range, sometimes veering into the more serious as with my favourite of the lot, ‘The Snake’. The careful unraveling of the story, the real feelings of fear and hardship he imbued into such a little story. That one particularly will definitely stay with me.
Overall this was a really fun little bookstore pick up, one I’m glad to have stumbled upon. Though not all of these stories will strictly haunt me (though a few might well), I don’t really have so much as a single bad word I could really say about any of them, or Himes writing in general. And this was definitely more than enough to make me add his more famous work to my never ending reading list.
I actually hadn’t heard of Chester Himes at all. Not of his famous hard-boiled detective series set in Harlem, not of him himself, nothing. But I found a copy of this little collection in a used bookstore, and when I read the words “beginning his creative life by writing short stories in the 1930s while serving jail time for armed robbery” in the blurb, I was all in.
Stylistically, it didn’t surprise me at all when I found out the kind of fiction Himes is known for, as these stories all smack of it too. They all have that kind of seedy underbelly vibe essential to all good noir, even if the plots weren’t always in this wheelhouse. They were often strange and gruesome, and I appreciated Himes allowing them to be that wholeheartedly - they certainly aren’t for the sensitive, or for the faint of heart. For me it paired well with the humour aspect, giving these stories their own strange kind of balance. I also just respected how consistently of a quality they were. There wasn’t really a bad one in the bunch.
I don’t really have a bad word to say about the prose either. It was crystal clear with a nice flare for the descriptive, and that singular style that commands a certain amount of attention all on its own. All of the story elements were solid: fun little plots, characters that didn’t always exactly feel wholly realised but never felt phony. Really they were usually set pieces in Himes’ particular brand of Black Americana (which isn’t a bad thing, and works well with Himes’ style). He also had great range, sometimes veering into the more serious as with my favourite of the lot, ‘The Snake’. The careful unraveling of the story, the real feelings of fear and hardship he imbued into such a little story. That one particularly will definitely stay with me.
Overall this was a really fun little bookstore pick up, one I’m glad to have stumbled upon. Though not all of these stories will strictly haunt me (though a few might well), I don’t really have so much as a single bad word I could really say about any of them, or Himes writing in general. And this was definitely more than enough to make me add his more famous work to my never ending reading list.
September 25, 2025
I never read Himes' detective novels but these short stories set in 1930s LA are dark, gritty and funny at the same time. A true storyteller.
Read
June 20, 2026Astonishing; a revelation. I read the first three tales - a head waiter marshalling his team in a hotel restaurant, a bet that racism did not exist, and an angry man subjected to racism - and was very impressed. I then took a break to focus on book club reads and seemed to come back to a very different compendium - three incendiary jail stories, a terrifying short about a snake, and a coda on racism. The three jail episodes made me question why Himes is not as celebrated as Cormac McCarthy. Friends could have been the synopsis for Child of God. It certainly made me look again at the title of this anthology.
This is outstanding writing. Heartbreaking, long-suffering, sometimes brutal, but always dignified and empathetic. Even the three monsters behind bars here are given an inner life, not quite a justification, but a hint of insight.
There is precious little biographical information included, but Wikipedia is my friend. I have heard of a couple of novels, and there are many short stories (these are not mentioned, so probably form part of other collections). I WILL be reading more.
This is outstanding writing. Heartbreaking, long-suffering, sometimes brutal, but always dignified and empathetic. Even the three monsters behind bars here are given an inner life, not quite a justification, but a hint of insight.
There is precious little biographical information included, but Wikipedia is my friend. I have heard of a couple of novels, and there are many short stories (these are not mentioned, so probably form part of other collections). I WILL be reading more.
September 26, 2025
This often gets said about short stories, but these really were like modern day fables. Noir-ish modern day fables on the emotional labour of facing racism; human dignity; crime and punishment and the drudgery of work. These are stories mostly about individual men that vividly reflect the society of the time, and continue to illuminate our own time.
In this short collection, Himes displays virtuosity of style and genre, and a great eye for the twist. My favourites were the first story 'Headwaiter', the title story and 'the Snake'.
Probably more of a 3.5 stars but I have a day off today and am in the giving vein.
In this short collection, Himes displays virtuosity of style and genre, and a great eye for the twist. My favourites were the first story 'Headwaiter', the title story and 'the Snake'.
Probably more of a 3.5 stars but I have a day off today and am in the giving vein.
April 30, 2025
Archive #2
4.5
Vivid, lurid tales.
Chester Himes made his fame as a crime writer, but the stories included in this book seem to focus more on the black experience of 20th century America, with elements of surrealism (cuddling with alligators in prison, vengeful married snakes) peppered in to a nice effect. Himes' writing is sharp, focused, witty, and also startingly bleak at times. In just a few stories, he explores such a rich variety of viewpoints, emotions and experiences, all of them nuanced and believable.
Really unlike anything I have read before!
4.5
Vivid, lurid tales.
Chester Himes made his fame as a crime writer, but the stories included in this book seem to focus more on the black experience of 20th century America, with elements of surrealism (cuddling with alligators in prison, vengeful married snakes) peppered in to a nice effect. Himes' writing is sharp, focused, witty, and also startingly bleak at times. In just a few stories, he explores such a rich variety of viewpoints, emotions and experiences, all of them nuanced and believable.
Really unlike anything I have read before!
September 28, 2025
I love Chester Himes Harlem detectives series, so cool funky, funny and brutal, and it turns out that his literary fiction is just as good. This is a set of short stories put together for the penguin archive 90 series. Very good indeed.
February 12, 2026
Writing from an interesting perspective as a black man having done time in prison, this was an enjoyable set of short stories. Some rough edges here and there, but creative and evocative in the round.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews