Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Chester Himes Revisited

I’m reading a Chester Himes novel now. I’ve admired his lean, thoughtful writing style since I first read Cotton Comes to Harlem many years ago. His observations of the human condition, tempered by incarceration and his strong mind, ring as true today as they did a half-century ago. When I’m tired, his books wake me up. I find his novels display a zeal for life in all its dimensions. They also effectively communicate the earthy street and tenement life of New York, especially Harlem of the 1960s.

I know little of his life in France, and am quite curious about it.

If anyone wants to comment on Himes’ work, they’re welcome to do that here.

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