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Harlem Cycle #7
Cotton Comes to Harlem
Black flim-flam man Deke O'Hara is no sooner out of Atlanta's state penitentiary than he's back on the streets working the scam of a lifetime. As sponsor of the Back-to-Africa movement he's counting on the big Harlem rally to produce a big collection--for his own private charity. But the take ($87,000) is hijacked by white gunmen and hidden in a bale of cotton that suddenly everyone wants to get his hands on. With Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones on everyone's trail and piecing together the complexity of the scheme, Cotton Comes to Harlem is one of Himes's hardest-hitting and most entertaining thrillers.
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First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Chester Himes
122 books484 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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August 23, 2018
Himes is no James Baldwin or Richard Wright but there is an angry power to his writing that certainly affected writers from Walter Mosley to Rachel Howzell Hall.
Cotton Comes to Harlem is one of a series of novels that focus on the Harlem section of New York City and feature two black police detectives known as Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. These two, if not the only black detectives in their precinct, are unique because of their success and their style of “policing.”
The plot involves a Harlem “preacher” who is getting his flock to put down money for space on an ocean liner that will take them to a fresh start in “Africa.” Coffin Ed and “Digger” know that this is a scam perpetrated by an ex-con. When the money, $87,000, is stolen in a brazen robbery, they are determined that those poor people who gave everything will get their money back.
Himes takes us through various levels of Harlem crime complete with the vernacular (with the exception of one word, for which he substitutes “mother-raper.”) The action is almost non-stop but you get a good sense of what Harlem bars and eateries were like in the 1950s-60s. There is plenty of opportunity to play on stereotypes and show how the white cops involved have little understanding of the people they have sworn to protect. And, how little protection and civility they offer.
If you can get through Himes own hang-ups about women, Puerto Ricans and brutality, there are some very interesting things going on in Cotton Comes to Harlem. 3.5*
As you may have noted, I listened to the audio CD read by Dion Graham. The reading was excellent and added immensely to my enjoyment.
Cotton Comes to Harlem is one of a series of novels that focus on the Harlem section of New York City and feature two black police detectives known as Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. These two, if not the only black detectives in their precinct, are unique because of their success and their style of “policing.”
The plot involves a Harlem “preacher” who is getting his flock to put down money for space on an ocean liner that will take them to a fresh start in “Africa.” Coffin Ed and “Digger” know that this is a scam perpetrated by an ex-con. When the money, $87,000, is stolen in a brazen robbery, they are determined that those poor people who gave everything will get their money back.
Himes takes us through various levels of Harlem crime complete with the vernacular (with the exception of one word, for which he substitutes “mother-raper.”) The action is almost non-stop but you get a good sense of what Harlem bars and eateries were like in the 1950s-60s. There is plenty of opportunity to play on stereotypes and show how the white cops involved have little understanding of the people they have sworn to protect. And, how little protection and civility they offer.
If you can get through Himes own hang-ups about women, Puerto Ricans and brutality, there are some very interesting things going on in Cotton Comes to Harlem. 3.5*
As you may have noted, I listened to the audio CD read by Dion Graham. The reading was excellent and added immensely to my enjoyment.
February 5, 2024
Chester Himes is the bomb, he's the shit, he's a genius. You're into crime and you ain't read him, you're missing out. You're into the African-American experience and you ain't read him, you're really missing out. You think some lowly thriller-writer's beneath you? Chester Himes can write. The style is half the fun: baroque hip gritty black humour ramped up to eleven in the service of thrills and satire. Check this:
First Himes I ever read, The Heat's On, opened with the best action sequence I've seen in print ever - made me realise action is a glorious thing. In All Shot Up a motorcycle rider is decapitated by a pane of glass off a glass repairer's truck and keeps riding, while Grave Digger and Coffin Ed (the anti-heroic detectives who feature throughout Himes's Harlem crime novels) watch through the frosted-over windscreen of Ed's jalopy.
Thing is, Himes can do 'literary'. His first novel, Cast the First Stone, clearly part-autobiographical, is an acute analysis of homosexuality in prison (or bisexuality, since most of the characters were straight when they were free), with desperation, confusion and pride-versus-shame centre-stage. For 1950s America, coming from a black man, it must have been shocking, but (unlike Burroughs, say) it's not played for shock value. It's touching, it's true, it draws you in. But it didn't sell, and after 4 or 5 such professional misfires Himes moved to Paris, where he was convinced by translator and Serie Noir publisher Marcel Duhamel to try his hand at the crime novels which ultimately made him famous.
Harlem through the eyes of a Parisian emigre encouraged to write the black humour that always goes over better in France than the States. This is one-of-a-kind cult noir par excellence, the type of writer who obsesses you, fully the equal of Hammett or Chandler or Jim Thompson or David Goodis. Yeah (like Chandler's) the plots can be stupid, but try Cotton Comes to Harlem for the tightest of them, and for a healthy dose of race relations Chester Himes-style. Himes, man! If I haven't reviewed him until now it's cos I didn't know where to start. But, pulp writer though he may be, he's one for the canon.
Other classics: A Rage in Harlem, The Real Cool Killers, Blind Man With a Pistol.
Oh yeah, and most of the Harlem novels were re-released by Penguin in 2012.
With a flourish like a stripteaser removing her G-string, she took off one shoe and tossed it into his lap. He knocked it violently aside. She took off the other shoe and tossed it into his lap. He caught himself just in time to keep from grabbing it and biting it. She stripped off her stockings and garter belt and approached him to drape them about his neck.
He came to his feet like a Jack-in-the-box, saying in a squeaky voice, 'This has gone far enough.'
'No, it hasn't,' she said and moved into him.
He tried to push her away but she clung to him with all her strength, pushing her stomach into him and wrapping her legs about his body. The odor of hot-bodied woman, wet cunt and perfume came up from her and drowned him.
'Goddamn whore!' he grated, and backed her to the bed. He tore off his coat, mouthing, 'I'll show you who's a pansy, you hot-ass slut.'
But at the last moment he regained enough composure to go hang his holstered pistol on the outside doorknob out of her reach, then he turned back towards her.
'Come and get it, pansy,' she taunted, lying on the bed with her legs open and her brown-nippled teats pointing at him like the vision of the great whore who lives in the minds of all puritanical men.
First Himes I ever read, The Heat's On, opened with the best action sequence I've seen in print ever - made me realise action is a glorious thing. In All Shot Up a motorcycle rider is decapitated by a pane of glass off a glass repairer's truck and keeps riding, while Grave Digger and Coffin Ed (the anti-heroic detectives who feature throughout Himes's Harlem crime novels) watch through the frosted-over windscreen of Ed's jalopy.
Thing is, Himes can do 'literary'. His first novel, Cast the First Stone, clearly part-autobiographical, is an acute analysis of homosexuality in prison (or bisexuality, since most of the characters were straight when they were free), with desperation, confusion and pride-versus-shame centre-stage. For 1950s America, coming from a black man, it must have been shocking, but (unlike Burroughs, say) it's not played for shock value. It's touching, it's true, it draws you in. But it didn't sell, and after 4 or 5 such professional misfires Himes moved to Paris, where he was convinced by translator and Serie Noir publisher Marcel Duhamel to try his hand at the crime novels which ultimately made him famous.
Harlem through the eyes of a Parisian emigre encouraged to write the black humour that always goes over better in France than the States. This is one-of-a-kind cult noir par excellence, the type of writer who obsesses you, fully the equal of Hammett or Chandler or Jim Thompson or David Goodis. Yeah (like Chandler's) the plots can be stupid, but try Cotton Comes to Harlem for the tightest of them, and for a healthy dose of race relations Chester Himes-style. Himes, man! If I haven't reviewed him until now it's cos I didn't know where to start. But, pulp writer though he may be, he's one for the canon.
Other classics: A Rage in Harlem, The Real Cool Killers, Blind Man With a Pistol.
Oh yeah, and most of the Harlem novels were re-released by Penguin in 2012.
February 14, 2015
I was really in the mood for more of Chester Himes's Harlem Cycle books and this was the easiest one I could get my hand on at the moment. I'd read the first two books, A Rage in Harlem and The Real Cool Killers, and loved them. I had gathered that they don't need to be read completely in order, so I decided to jump into this one! In this installment, ace Harlem detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson rush to track down a slimy con man, who's been swindling hard-working Harlem families out of thousands in a phony Back-To-Africa movement, and ends up getting all of the money jacked. But all roads seem to lead to a bale of Southern-grown cotton everyone seems to be interested in!
While not as awesome as the first two books, this one had the same dry wit and sly social criticism that I love from Himes! It was definitely entertaining, but I found that I prefer reading about the more colorful supporting characters and criminals over the detectives Grave Digger and Coffin Ed. Maybe that's why I prefer the first two novels, where the detectives played more supporting roles. Also, a lot of the writing and ideas seem to be rehashed from the earlier novels.
But no biggy! It was still irresistibly readable, and I look to reading the other 1950's Harlem adventures!
While not as awesome as the first two books, this one had the same dry wit and sly social criticism that I love from Himes! It was definitely entertaining, but I found that I prefer reading about the more colorful supporting characters and criminals over the detectives Grave Digger and Coffin Ed. Maybe that's why I prefer the first two novels, where the detectives played more supporting roles. Also, a lot of the writing and ideas seem to be rehashed from the earlier novels.
But no biggy! It was still irresistibly readable, and I look to reading the other 1950's Harlem adventures!
May 28, 2021
Απολαυστικό hard-boiled, πασπαλισμένο με άφθονο γέλιο και κυρίως μια χωρίς προηγούμενο αποτύπωση της ζωής στο Χάρλεμ των 60s. Δεν είναι τυχαίο ότι η κινηματογραφική του μεταφορά εγκαινίασε ουσιαστικά το blaxploitation genre αν και αυτή η ταύτιση αδικεί το αριστουργηματικό στιλ και την οξεία κοινωνική μάτια του Chester Himes.
August 24, 2021
MID 20TH CENTURY NORTH AMERICAN CRIME/MYSTERY
My Favorites: #3 (of 250)
HOOK – 4 stars:>>>The voice from the sound truck said: “Each family, no matter how big it is, will be asked to put up one thousand dollars. You will get your transportation free, five acres of fertile land in Africa, a mule and a plow and all the seed you need, free…A sea of dark faces wavered...”Ain’t it wonderful honey? We’re going back to Africa.”<<PACE – 4: IF Himes takes a break from the action, it’s usually to talk about a feast such as this one: “On many a table there was chicken and dumplings or roast pork and sweet potatoes, and crime took a rest.” Or “Mammy Louise had barbecued an opossum especially for them and with the fat yellow meat she served candied yams, collard greens and okra, and left them to enjoy it.“ This might be the crime book that makes you the hungriest, hence breaks for snacks.
PLOT – 5: It’s not that there is a robbery of $87,000. It’s not that there is a con artist, Reverend Deke O’Malley and a second con artist coming to town. It’s not the mounting death toll, it’s not the cops on the take, ensuring gambling house and whore houses remain open. It’s all that plus most of Harlem finding then losing a bale of cotton in which the stolen $87,000 resides. And for 150 pages, Himes throws that bale of cotton into the air and leaves it there; spinning, seen, unseen, and finally resolving it all on the last page that gives this plot its 5-star rating.
CAST – 5: Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson have gotta be the toughest hard-boiled duo I’ve encountered in crime novels. They stay right on the edge of illegal and legal, one foot on both sides all the time. Ready to kill at any time: “Grave Digger fell belly down and began crawling fast…45 bullets were breaking up the benches [in church] all around him…He made out the vague outline of trousered legs …He took careful aim and shot a leg. He saw the leg break off like a wooden stick…and saw the trouser leg catch fire suddenly.” Billie, the stripper, has an act with that cotton bale, ending in a spectacular stage orgasm with screams of “Ohh, Daddy Cotton!” A “church sister” hides her money in a purse strapped between her legs, but a sneaky thief slowly cuts away the back of her skirt, then her panties and grabs the purse: “She hurried on down the street, worrying more about her hair in the rain than about her behind showing.” Himes can’t resist the ridiculous.
ATMOSPHERE – 5: Himes had done prison time, lived in Harlem, and oh he knows the scene. Knows the double-edged traps the cops, the stool pigeons, the hookers, the number-runners, and regular citizens have to navigate through daily. “Iris [under guard] lay on her sofa…Now there was another detective there…She was wearing a silk print dress and the skirt hiked up…His puritanical soul felt affronted…The fire seemed breaking through his skin…Centipedes were crawling over his testicles and ants were attacking his phallus…” Later, “Both women had been badly mauled-scratched and beaten as though they’d had a furious go with each other [yes, they had]…They had her taken from the cell where she was held…It was claimed that more pigeons were hatched there [interrogation room] than beneath all the eaves of Harlem. And I gotta add that today, we’re seeing stool pigeons crawl from beneath every stone in D.C. 1965+Nixon+Politicians=2019 USA. Sad, huh?
SUMMARY – 4.6 overall. It’s all really horrific, mostly true, and yet Himes gives himself time for the silliest scenes/words. “Grave Digger bought a bright red dress, size 14, a pair of dark tan lisle stockings and a white plastic handbag. Coffin Ed bought a pair of gilt sandals, size 7, and a hand mirror…They put these into their shopping bag and returned to the precinct station. All the brass had left…” Okay, admit it, did you read “brass” as “bras?” I did before I read the sentence again. Himes has fun writing, has fun with his readers, goes for the ridiculous, the hideous, the ugly, the pain of a day in the life of a cop in 1960s Harlem, and no one has ever done it as good. And probably never again. Himes is one of a handful of genius American authors.
My Favorites: #3 (of 250)
HOOK – 4 stars:>>>The voice from the sound truck said: “Each family, no matter how big it is, will be asked to put up one thousand dollars. You will get your transportation free, five acres of fertile land in Africa, a mule and a plow and all the seed you need, free…A sea of dark faces wavered...”Ain’t it wonderful honey? We’re going back to Africa.”<<PACE – 4: IF Himes takes a break from the action, it’s usually to talk about a feast such as this one: “On many a table there was chicken and dumplings or roast pork and sweet potatoes, and crime took a rest.” Or “Mammy Louise had barbecued an opossum especially for them and with the fat yellow meat she served candied yams, collard greens and okra, and left them to enjoy it.“ This might be the crime book that makes you the hungriest, hence breaks for snacks.
PLOT – 5: It’s not that there is a robbery of $87,000. It’s not that there is a con artist, Reverend Deke O’Malley and a second con artist coming to town. It’s not the mounting death toll, it’s not the cops on the take, ensuring gambling house and whore houses remain open. It’s all that plus most of Harlem finding then losing a bale of cotton in which the stolen $87,000 resides. And for 150 pages, Himes throws that bale of cotton into the air and leaves it there; spinning, seen, unseen, and finally resolving it all on the last page that gives this plot its 5-star rating.
CAST – 5: Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson have gotta be the toughest hard-boiled duo I’ve encountered in crime novels. They stay right on the edge of illegal and legal, one foot on both sides all the time. Ready to kill at any time: “Grave Digger fell belly down and began crawling fast…45 bullets were breaking up the benches [in church] all around him…He made out the vague outline of trousered legs …He took careful aim and shot a leg. He saw the leg break off like a wooden stick…and saw the trouser leg catch fire suddenly.” Billie, the stripper, has an act with that cotton bale, ending in a spectacular stage orgasm with screams of “Ohh, Daddy Cotton!” A “church sister” hides her money in a purse strapped between her legs, but a sneaky thief slowly cuts away the back of her skirt, then her panties and grabs the purse: “She hurried on down the street, worrying more about her hair in the rain than about her behind showing.” Himes can’t resist the ridiculous.
ATMOSPHERE – 5: Himes had done prison time, lived in Harlem, and oh he knows the scene. Knows the double-edged traps the cops, the stool pigeons, the hookers, the number-runners, and regular citizens have to navigate through daily. “Iris [under guard] lay on her sofa…Now there was another detective there…She was wearing a silk print dress and the skirt hiked up…His puritanical soul felt affronted…The fire seemed breaking through his skin…Centipedes were crawling over his testicles and ants were attacking his phallus…” Later, “Both women had been badly mauled-scratched and beaten as though they’d had a furious go with each other [yes, they had]…They had her taken from the cell where she was held…It was claimed that more pigeons were hatched there [interrogation room] than beneath all the eaves of Harlem. And I gotta add that today, we’re seeing stool pigeons crawl from beneath every stone in D.C. 1965+Nixon+Politicians=2019 USA. Sad, huh?
SUMMARY – 4.6 overall. It’s all really horrific, mostly true, and yet Himes gives himself time for the silliest scenes/words. “Grave Digger bought a bright red dress, size 14, a pair of dark tan lisle stockings and a white plastic handbag. Coffin Ed bought a pair of gilt sandals, size 7, and a hand mirror…They put these into their shopping bag and returned to the precinct station. All the brass had left…” Okay, admit it, did you read “brass” as “bras?” I did before I read the sentence again. Himes has fun writing, has fun with his readers, goes for the ridiculous, the hideous, the ugly, the pain of a day in the life of a cop in 1960s Harlem, and no one has ever done it as good. And probably never again. Himes is one of a handful of genius American authors.
August 24, 2019
I've read several of Chester Himes' hardboiled crime novels, and they never disappoint me. Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones are NYCPD detectives working the mean streets of Harlem. The slam-bang action, laconic dialogue, and social edge all combine to make their cop tale a lot of fun. I watched the movie by the same title (1970) not long ago, and it uses many elements found in the book. Redd Foxx was great. I'll try to get to read more of the entertaining titles in Mr. Himes' Harlem Cycle.
March 2, 2019
Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα Τσέστερ Χάιμς ήταν δύο χρόνια πριν, όταν ο "Χαμός στο Χάρλεμ" με συνεπήρε. Ο Χάιμς είναι ένας παραγνωρισμένος συγγραφέας, από τους πρώτους έγχρωμους νουάρ συγγραφείς που άνοιξαν τον δρόμο σε πολλούς πίσω τους (για την ιστορία, τον δρόμο τον άνοιξε ο Μπόρις Βιάν γράφοντας το "Φτύνω στους τάφους σας" με ψευδώνυμο, παριστάνοντας έναν έγχρωμο συγγραφέα που δεν του έβγαζε κανείς τα βιβλία). Ο Τζέιμς Μπάλτουιν είναι επικριτικός στο έργο του, μιας και θ��ωρούσε πως έκανε "exploitation" των προβλημάτων της κοινότητας του Χάρλεμ, όμως διαβάζοντας τα βιβλία του ανακαλύπτεις πως απλά λέει την αλήθεια με πολύ τρελά σενάρια και γαμάτο περιβάλλον.
Ναι, ο Χάιμς εκμεταλλεύτηκε το Χάρλεμ και την ατμόσφαιρά του, στο οποίο δεν έζησε ποτέ πραγματικά. Όμως σε βάζει μέσα στο κλίμα της παρανομίας και του ρατσισμού που βασιλεύει στην περιοχή, ενώ ταυτόχρονα καταφέρνει να θίξει και γεγονότα που σημάδεψαν για πάντα την κουλτούρα μας. Στην προκειμένη το κίνημα Επιστροφή στην Αφρική που εμπνέεται απ' τον Ρασταφαρισμό, το οποίο για τις ανάγκες του βιβλίου είναι μια καλοστημένη κομπίνα που εκμεταλλεύεται τον ευσεβή πόθο των μαύρων να γυρίσουν στην Αφρική.
Όμως να, ο Χάιμς σύντομα φέρνει μια ληστεία στο προσκήνιο και τότε είναι που στην υπόθεση βάζει τα αστέρια του, τον Μακάβριο Εντ και τον Νεκροθάφτη Τζόουνς, τους πιο σκληρούς ντετέκτιβ του Χάρλεμ γιατί μόνο έτσι τους σέβονται. Και ναι, είναι οι πιο κουλ ντετέκτιβ που δεν θα ήθελες να μπλεχτείς στα πόδια τους. Και όχι, όταν τους έχεις απέναντι ζήτημα είναι αν θα αναπνέεις στις τελευταίες σελίδες.
Ο Χάιμς έχει απίστευτο ταλέντο στην πλοκή και τους διαλόγους, βάζοντάς σε μέσα στο βιβλίο με την υπέροχη του ατμόσφαιρα. Σε αυτό βοηθάει η αφηγηματική πρόζα του, που με τις περιγραφές της φωτίζει κάθε σκοτεινή γωνία, ενώ η μετάφραση του Ανδρέα Αποστολίδη για μια ακόμη φορά αποτελεί αξία. Είναι στο σύνολο ένα καλοστημένο και διασκεδαστικό βιβλίο, που το μαύρο χιούμορ του σε κάνει να γελάς και να σκέφτεσαι εξίσου.
Σαν σύνοψη θα έλεγα πως το "Μπαμπάκι στο Χάρλεμ" είναι must για μια αστυνομική βιβλιοθήκη.
Ναι, ο Χάιμς εκμεταλλεύτηκε το Χάρλεμ και την ατμόσφαιρά του, στο οποίο δεν έζησε ποτέ πραγματικά. Όμως σε βάζει μέσα στο κλίμα της παρανομίας και του ρατσισμού που βασιλεύει στην περιοχή, ενώ ταυτόχρονα καταφέρνει να θίξει και γεγονότα που σημάδεψαν για πάντα την κουλτούρα μας. Στην προκειμένη το κίνημα Επιστροφή στην Αφρική που εμπνέεται απ' τον Ρασταφαρισμό, το οποίο για τις ανάγκες του βιβλίου είναι μια καλοστημένη κομπίνα που εκμεταλλεύεται τον ευσεβή πόθο των μαύρων να γυρίσουν στην Αφρική.
Όμως να, ο Χάιμς σύντομα φέρνει μια ληστεία στο προσκήνιο και τότε είναι που στην υπόθεση βάζει τα αστέρια του, τον Μακάβριο Εντ και τον Νεκροθάφτη Τζόουνς, τους πιο σκληρούς ντετέκτιβ του Χάρλεμ γιατί μόνο έτσι τους σέβονται. Και ναι, είναι οι πιο κουλ ντετέκτιβ που δεν θα ήθελες να μπλεχτείς στα πόδια τους. Και όχι, όταν τους έχεις απέναντι ζήτημα είναι αν θα αναπνέεις στις τελευταίες σελίδες.
Ο Χάιμς έχει απίστευτο ταλέντο στην πλοκή και τους διαλόγους, βάζοντάς σε μέσα στο βιβλίο με την υπέροχη του ατμόσφαιρα. Σε αυτό βοηθάει η αφηγηματική πρόζα του, που με τις περιγραφές της φωτίζει κάθε σκοτεινή γωνία, ενώ η μετάφραση του Ανδρέα Αποστολίδη για μια ακόμη φορά αποτελεί αξία. Είναι στο σύνολο ένα καλοστημένο και διασκεδαστικό βιβλίο, που το μαύρο χιούμορ του σε κάνει να γελάς και να σκέφτεσαι εξίσου.
Σαν σύνοψη θα έλεγα πως το "Μπαμπάκι στο Χάρλεμ" είναι must για μια αστυνομική βιβλιοθήκη.
April 16, 2017
From BBC radio 4 Extra:
Harlem, 1965: Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are the most notorious Detectives in the Harlem precinct. Their methods are unorthodox, and some people think they're trigger happy, but ask any law-abiding citizen of Harlem and they'll sing their praises. So when the Reverend Deke O'Malleys Back to Africa movement collects $87,000 from poor black families - only to have it stolen from under their noses - Jones and Johnson get put on the case.
Read by Hugh Quarshie.
Chester Himes' fantastically atmospheric novel is not just a great thriller it reveals the lives of black people in a white city at a time, three years before the death of Martin Luther King, when under Alabama law killing a Negro did not constitute murder. It was filmed in 1970 and has become a cult classic.
Chester Himes was born in 1909, and grew up in a middle class home in Missouri. His first real experience of racism was when a white hospital refused to treat his brother who had damaged his eyes in a schoolboy prank. He went to Ohio state University but was expelled. In 1928 he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years hard labour for armed robbery. He started writing in prison and sold stories to magazines including Esquire. He was released in 1936, lived in Los Angeles for a time - the basis of his novel If He Hollers Let Him Go, and moved to Paris in the 1950s where his Harlem precinct novels were first published. His novel For Love of Imabelle became very successful film A Rage in Harlem.
Hugh Quarshie is a TV regular in Holby City playing Ric Griffin. He has extensive film, tv and radio credits.
Abridged and produced by Chris Wallis.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Autolycus Productions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pbp6y
Harlem, 1965: Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are the most notorious Detectives in the Harlem precinct. Their methods are unorthodox, and some people think they're trigger happy, but ask any law-abiding citizen of Harlem and they'll sing their praises. So when the Reverend Deke O'Malleys Back to Africa movement collects $87,000 from poor black families - only to have it stolen from under their noses - Jones and Johnson get put on the case.
Read by Hugh Quarshie.
Chester Himes' fantastically atmospheric novel is not just a great thriller it reveals the lives of black people in a white city at a time, three years before the death of Martin Luther King, when under Alabama law killing a Negro did not constitute murder. It was filmed in 1970 and has become a cult classic.
Chester Himes was born in 1909, and grew up in a middle class home in Missouri. His first real experience of racism was when a white hospital refused to treat his brother who had damaged his eyes in a schoolboy prank. He went to Ohio state University but was expelled. In 1928 he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years hard labour for armed robbery. He started writing in prison and sold stories to magazines including Esquire. He was released in 1936, lived in Los Angeles for a time - the basis of his novel If He Hollers Let Him Go, and moved to Paris in the 1950s where his Harlem precinct novels were first published. His novel For Love of Imabelle became very successful film A Rage in Harlem.
Hugh Quarshie is a TV regular in Holby City playing Ric Griffin. He has extensive film, tv and radio credits.
Abridged and produced by Chris Wallis.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Autolycus Productions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pbp6y
October 20, 2019
Όχι τόσο αστείο και αγωνιώδες όσο το 'Χαμός στο Χάρλεμ', αλλά με κάποιες πολύ αστείες στιγμές στο 1ο μέρος και αρκετά 'βιτριολικά' σχόλια για τον ρατσισμό στις Η.Π.Α. του 1965.
Βαθμολογία: 3,9/5 ή 7,8/10.
Θα γίνει και εκτενέστερη κριτική του βιβλίου.
Βαθμολογία: 3,9/5 ή 7,8/10.
Θα γίνει και εκτενέστερη κριτική του βιβλίου.
March 17, 2024
A great crime novel. Not his best, but is influential and the prose is hard and driven.
November 3, 2015
Ευκολοδιάβαστο βιβλίο που μαζί του περνάς ευχάριστα διαβάζοντας τις περιπέτειες των δύο ντετέκτιβ στο σκληρό μαύρο Χάρλεμ. Γλαφυρή η αφήγηση του Himes γεμάτη χρώματα, μυρωδιές, αίμα, σφαίρες, αραπίνες μαύρες ερωτιάρες, ευκολόπιστους μαυρούληδες, μια μπάλα απο μπαμπάκι και 87.000 δολλάρια.
July 29, 2023
Exciting, fast-moving, police procedural/hard-boiled detective novel.
May 14, 2013
Chester Himes once again mines the street life of mid century Harlem for the setting in which to unspool a great thriller. Like all writers who endure beyond their time, Himes' observations are about human traits, frailty and strength, greed and generosity, here emerging from the crucible of poverty and violence. His writing is gripping, eloquent and funny. Himes captures a moment and renders it immortal as he conveys the moment and puts us there.
Here is how he describes the music at a the Cotton Club, famous Harlem jazz club, "A piano was playing frenetically, a saxophone wailing aphrodisiacally, the bass patting suggestively, the horn demanding and the guitar begging".
The recurring characters, African-American police officers Grave Digger Johnson and Coffin Ed Jones are tough guys that are still believable as they approach near mythic status. One can see how the community in Harlem and their fellow officers, see them this way but they never see themselves this way.
It will be a sad day for me when I read the last of these books. Luckily I have a poor memory which frees me to re-read!
Here is how he describes the music at a the Cotton Club, famous Harlem jazz club, "A piano was playing frenetically, a saxophone wailing aphrodisiacally, the bass patting suggestively, the horn demanding and the guitar begging".
The recurring characters, African-American police officers Grave Digger Johnson and Coffin Ed Jones are tough guys that are still believable as they approach near mythic status. One can see how the community in Harlem and their fellow officers, see them this way but they never see themselves this way.
It will be a sad day for me when I read the last of these books. Luckily I have a poor memory which frees me to re-read!
June 24, 2019
Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed are two of the most original detectives in crime fiction. And a perfect opportunity for them to demonstrate their talents is provided by this caper, an extraordinary blast of mayhem, dark humour, social insight, perversion, irony and simmering sensuality, as conman Deke O'Malley persuades families to hand over their savings in order to buy passage on board ships going back to Africa. But the ships are fictions. The money scammed from the families is stolen by the thugs of a Back to the Southland movement, run by Alabama 'gentleman' Colonel Calhoun. The interweaving of callous agendas, double crossing, ploys, tricks and bluffs, creates a dense net of intrigue that is bewildering but ingenious, and gives structure within which the barely controlled chaos of the action can erupt. This is tremendous absurdist literature in a crime context.
June 24, 2011
Another manic cartoony excercise in eyeball-popping, jaw-dropping Tex Avery psychosis. This time our favorite badass behemoths Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones step in between two huckster ops in old Harlem, Back to Africa (black) and Back to The South (white), the BS group led by a fake Southern plantation colonel type. Avoid the lousy movie adaptation at all costs and pick up some solid pulp, my brother.
January 9, 2022
Οκ το νουάρ δεν είναι το "είδος" μου, αν αυτό μπορεί να στέκει ως φράση γιατί δεν ξέρω και ποιο είναι το είδος μου. Ωστόσο, διαλέγω νουάρ μυθιστορήματα μόνο όταν θέλω να διαβάσω κάτι πιο ανάλαφρο που να με κάνει να περάσω καλά. Έτσι και τώρα, μου είχε πέσει πολύ βαριά η Νοσταλγία του Καρταρέσκου και κάπως έτσι διάλεξα αυτόν τον Τσέστερ Χαιμς για να χαλαρώσω λίγο.
Και επαληθεύτηκα. Κινηματογραφικό, περιπετειώδες, με γρήγορο ρυθμό, πολύ πολύ γέλιο και μια τρελή ιστορία με απρόσμενο τέλος. Απολαυστικοί ο Μακάβριος Εντ και ο Νεκροθάφτης ως οι Αφροαμερικανοί ντετεκτιβς της αστυνομίας του Χάρλεμ. Και μέσα απ' όλα αυτά ο Τσέστερ Χαιμς καταφέρνει μια λεπτομερέστατη περιγραφή του Χάρλεμ, των ανθρώπων του αλλά και του ονείρου των μαύρων να βάλουν τέλος στη σκλαβιά τους στις βαμβακοκαλλιέργειες του Αμερικανικού Νότου και να επιστρέψουν στην πατρίδα τους την Αφρική.
Και επαληθεύτηκα. Κινηματογραφικό, περιπετειώδες, με γρήγορο ρυθμό, πολύ πολύ γέλιο και μια τρελή ιστορία με απρόσμενο τέλος. Απολαυστικοί ο Μακάβριος Εντ και ο Νεκροθάφτης ως οι Αφροαμερικανοί ντετεκτιβς της αστυνομίας του Χάρλεμ. Και μέσα απ' όλα αυτά ο Τσέστερ Χαιμς καταφέρνει μια λεπτομερέστατη περιγραφή του Χάρλεμ, των ανθρώπων του αλλά και του ονείρου των μαύρων να βάλουν τέλος στη σκλαβιά τους στις βαμβακοκαλλιέργειες του Αμερικανικού Νότου και να επιστρέψουν στην πατρίδα τους την Αφρική.
October 31, 2022
Πολύ καλό !
August 30, 2007
Mother-raping cinematic.
February 15, 2025
"Grave Digger" Jones and "Coffin Ed" Johnson are back on the case. Deke O'Hara is working a scam, collecting money from Black families in Harlem as part of a "Back to Africa" movement. As two of the only Black detectives assigned to the area, Jones and Johnson are sent in to follow the money after $87K (in 1950's $) is stolen by white hijackers during a rally. Very much a noir crime read published initially in the 1960's, it's a book with a strong sense of time and place. I picked this one up because the character in my last read by Walter Mosley was reading Chester Hines throughout the novel. You can see some of Himes' influence on Mosley's writing, especially when read back to back.
November 30, 2023
Actual rating 2.5 *
February 22, 2021
I read this book for school. It was interesting and held my attention.
April 16, 2024
I would likely never have heard of this book without a glowing recommendation from a friend and now it's my turn to encourage everyone to read this!
I read this gritty 1960s American crime story in about 2 days, something I've not done in a long time. Whilst it is a short read, you lose yourself completely in New York City of the past as you follow two detectives in the pursuit of answers, no matter the cost. If you're looking for a summer page turner, this is your book.
I read this gritty 1960s American crime story in about 2 days, something I've not done in a long time. Whilst it is a short read, you lose yourself completely in New York City of the past as you follow two detectives in the pursuit of answers, no matter the cost. If you're looking for a summer page turner, this is your book.
February 7, 2021
An entertaining caper. And has more scathing takes on its America than most coeval novels.
(I'm unable to settle on four or five stars. The writing deserves the latter, but the plot is haywire.)
(I'm unable to settle on four or five stars. The writing deserves the latter, but the plot is haywire.)
June 26, 2012
Magic is a hugely abused word and can be as elusive as a loutish runt, trying to lose himself in a Mardi Gras crowd.
Very rarely, it manifests itself in some obscure form or the other. Himes wrote some ground-breakin',spine tinglin',nerve janglin' classics but here, he reaches the zenith.
GOD (He is black by the way) decided to put pen to paper one day and this macabre,bawdy,freak Masterpiece was the result.
If ever I dream of writing a novel, I only pray to GOD (That nigga again!) that it turns out to be something like this.
Read this before you die. Bet your rump yo'd regret it otherwise.
Very rarely, it manifests itself in some obscure form or the other. Himes wrote some ground-breakin',spine tinglin',nerve janglin' classics but here, he reaches the zenith.
GOD (He is black by the way) decided to put pen to paper one day and this macabre,bawdy,freak Masterpiece was the result.
If ever I dream of writing a novel, I only pray to GOD (That nigga again!) that it turns out to be something like this.
Read this before you die. Bet your rump yo'd regret it otherwise.
August 22, 2014
This is the first book by
Chester Himes that I have read. This book is one of the 8 Harlem Detective mysteries that he published between 1957 and 1969. The detectives, Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones fit in with the Harlem milieu, and use this to solve the crimes. Reading the books now gives me a taste of what life was like in Harlem in the 50's and 60's.
Chester Himes that I have read. This book is one of the 8 Harlem Detective mysteries that he published between 1957 and 1969. The detectives, Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones fit in with the Harlem milieu, and use this to solve the crimes. Reading the books now gives me a taste of what life was like in Harlem in the 50's and 60's.
September 21, 2020
A strange little book this one - a friend lent it to me and it was a good book, but not my usual thing. Very much of its time - 1965, in the words used and thoughts, but the story was interesting and the characters well done. Very American, similar to Raymond Chandler, etc.
December 27, 2014
Στα ελληνικά «Βαμβάκι στο Χάρλεμ», εκδόσεις Αγρα.
April 25, 2022
Bizarre book that I did not understand and the author does not drink respect women juice
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