Scan barcode
pezski's review
I recently heard a reading of [b:Cotton Comes to Harlem|429940|Cotton Comes to Harlem (Harlem Cycle, #7)|Chester Himes|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344370635s/429940.jpg|276418] on BBC radio (by the always superb Hugh Quarrie), and was completely blown away. I immediately sought out the beginning of the Harlem cycle, and was pleased to find this volume of the first three books.
tenisonpurple's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very ‘hard boiled’
coffeeandink's review against another edition
3.0
The first two books feature at least three scenes so far of black people rooking white authorities by acting crazy, because white folks will believe anything, or at least they'll believe anything that involves black people acting insane, stupid, or violent. I suspect that this is Himes revealing the truth behind the pyrotechnic, absurdist violence of his mysteries to an audience completely incapable of getting the joke, or even that a joke is being told. I wouldn't, in other words, take this as anything like social realism. Himes is brashly and hyperbolically artificial.
More on A Rage in Harlem.
More on A Rage in Harlem.
More...