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Title: The Real Cool Killers (Vintage Crime) by Chester B. Himes ISBN: 0-679-72039-1 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 November, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Chester's Best
Comment: Chester Himes stands a bit apart- and perhaps a bit above- most of the mid-century crime and suspense novelists that this re-issue series collects. The action and the energy level are the equal of any writer in the genre, and for pure readability he's one of the most entertaining. But there is clearly some valid literary intent here as well, and as a result bookstores have never been quite sure where to place the few novels he wrote about Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones.
Himes' background as a black ex-convict (and eventual expatriate) add to his interesting perspective as he tries to capture- or, more accurately, caricature- the violence and the "comic chaos" (his phrase) of the Harlem Renaissance. Coffin Ed and Gravedigger are two ruthless detectives caught between their own people and the white law that employs them; they really don't fit into any group other than themselves. They are outsiders who believe strongly in order and in the guns they carry, but are often conflicted, and occasionally even divided.
This is probably the best and the tightest of Himes' stories with these characters; it is a fabulous read and one I will return to often over the years. The world Himes conjures is savage and disturbing, and the characters are eccentric to the point of being circus freaks, but are always believable and compelling. This is the kind of book that will leave you trying to describe scenes to your friends.
Coffin Ed and Gravedigger may be the greatest individual creations of a very rich genre. I'd say start here.
Rating: 5
Summary: It don't get mo' better than this
Comment: This is the proverbial "it". The characters, the action, the dialogue, everything is here and it all works perfectly. A true classic. Like jazzed-up Chandler or Moseley with a sense of humor.
Rating: 4
Summary: Brilliant, gritty crime fiction
Comment: Based on this book (the only one of his that I have read so far), Himes is an excellent stylist. The prose is tough and muscular, rough-hewn and perfectly suited to the subject matter. In its own way, it equals the prose of Jim Thompson. Himes' view of a morally-decrepit urban setting is the standard stuff of noir, but seen through a kind of angry be-bop lens. Excellent symbolism is present as well, particularly in the character of the old grandmother, who haunts me still.
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Title: Blind Man with a Pistol (Vintage Crime) by CHESTER HIMES ISBN: 0394759982 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 17 December, 1989 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Heat's on (Vintage Crime) by Chester B. Himes ISBN: 0394759974 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 November, 1988 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Cotton Comes to Harlem by Chester B. Himes ISBN: 0394759990 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 December, 1988 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: A Rage in Harlem (Vintage Crime) by Chester B. Himes ISBN: 0679720405 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 December, 1989 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: The Blonde on the Street Corner (Midnight Classics Series) by David Goodis ISBN: 1852424478 Publisher: Serpent's Tail Pub. Date: 01 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $11.99 |
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