Chester Himes

This story of a man living every day in fear of his life for simply being black is as powerful today as it was when it was first published in 1947. The novel takes place in the space of four days in the life of Bob Jones, a black man who is constantly plagued by the effects of racism. Living in a society that is drenched in race consciousness has no doubt taken a toll on the way Jones behaves, thinks, and feels, especially when, at the end of his story, he is accused of a brutal crime he did not commit. "One of the most important American writers of the twentieth century ... [a] quirky American genius..."—Walter Mosley, author of Bad Boy Brawly Brown, Devil in a Blue Dress "If He Hollers is an austere and concentrated study of black experience, set in southern California in the early forties."—Independent Publisher

A Novel

If He Hollers Let Him Go

A ripping introduction to Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, patrolling New York City’s roughest streets in Chester Himes’s groundbreaking Harlem Detectives series. For the love of fine, wily Imabelle, hapless Jackson surrenders his life savings to a con man who knows the secret of turning ten-dollar bills into hundreds—and then he steals from his boss, only to lose the stolen money at a craps table. Luckily for him, he can turn to his savvy twin brother, Goldy, who earns a living—disguised as a Sister of Mercy—by selling tickets to Heaven in Harlem. With Goldy on his side, Jackson is ready for payback.

A Rage in Harlem

Jackson?s woman has found him a foolproof way to make money ? a technique for turning ten dollar bills into hundreds. But when the scheme somehow fails, Jackson is left broke, wanted by the police and desperately racing to get back both his money and his loving Imabelle. The first of Chester Himes?s novels featuring the hardboiled Harlem detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, A Rage in Harlem has swagger, brutal humour, lurid violence, a hearse loaded with gold and a conman dressed as a Sister of Mercy. With a new Introduction by Luc Sante.

"A white undercover cop vents his rage and starts a cycle of violence from which there is no escape. Walker, one of New York's embittered policemen, is vicious when drunk. Staggering into a restaurant on a freezing day, he kills two black workers "because they were there," and pursues a third who witnessed the murders in one of the most suspenseful chases ever put on paper." -- Back cover.

Run Man Run

The big gold dream

Lonely Crusade

The Early Years, the Autobiography of Chester Himes

The Quality of Hurt

Dare-dare

Dare-Dare

'A bawdy, brazen rollercoaster of a novel . . . the wildest' The New York Times A preacher called Deke O'Malley's been selling false hope: the promise of a glorious new life in Africa for just $1,000 a family. But when thieves with machine guns steal the proceeds - and send one man's brain matter flying - the con is up. Now Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed mean to bring the good people of Harlem back their $87,000, however many corpses they have to climb over to get it. Cotton Comes to Harlem is a non-stop ride, with violence, sex, double-crosses, and the two baddest detectives ever to wear a badge in Harlem. With an Introduction by Will Self

Cotton Comes to Harlem

From the acclaimed author of the Harlem Detectives series, a masterful autobiographical novel about the injustices of the prison system and the humanity that flourishes despite it Jimmy Monroe is serving a twenty-year sentence for robbery. Terror and chaos reign in the prison, where corrupt, racist guards mete out capricious punishments like time in “the hole,” where inmates’ sense of reality slips away in total darkness. When a fire breaks out amid these mounting indignities, it unleashes a deadly mayhem that leaves Jimmy feeling as though his entire world is disintegrating. But in its aftermath, he kindles a tender relationship with a fellow convict named Rico and finally catches a glimmer of hope. Searing, exquisitely vivid, and ultimately affirming, Yesterday Will Make You Cry is a masterful autobiographical novel about the injustices of the prison system and the humanity that flourishes despite them.

Yesterday Will Make You Cry

Les deux tomes de cette édition représentent la collection la plus complète à ce jour des nouvelles de Chester Himes. Sur les soixante-deux nouvelles, quatorze sont inédites. Les autres, parues dans diverses éditions françaises, ont été retraduites pour les présents volumes. Il manque quelques textes pour qu'il soit possible de parler de collection complète, mais les lecteurs auront la surprise de découvrir un Chester Himes différent de celui popularisé sur la fin de sa carrière par les romans de la Série Noire. Les années de prison qui ont marqué la jeunesse de Chester Himes y sont, en effet, plus présentes que dans le reste de son œuvre.

Le paradis des côtes de porc

Detectives Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones are in the hot seat in one of the most chaotic, brutally funny novels in Chester Himes’s groundbreaking Harlem Detectives series. From the start, nothing goes right for Coffin Ed and Grave Digger. They are disciplined for use of excessive force. Grave Digger is shot and his death announced in a hoax radio bulletin. Bodies pile up faster than Coffin Ed and Grave Digger can run. Yet, try as they might, they always seem to be one hot step behind the cause of all the mayhem—three million dollars’ worth of heroin and a giant albino called Pinky.

The Heat's On

Tout pour plaire

C'est à la lance d'incendie que " Gentil Prophète ", le thaumaturge noir, baptise ses adeptes rassemblés dans une rue de Harlem. La fanfare joue quelques cantiques sur un rythme de rock and roll, et les fidèles assaillent alors le saint homme. Alberta, la cuisinière, lui fait bénir une bouteille d'eau et, après en avoir bu une bonne goulée, s'effondre raide morte. Panique, bousculade, enquête. Mais " Gentil Prophète " a plus d'un tour dans son sac...

Tout Pour Plaire

Nuevo caso que los detectives Coffin Ed y Grave Digger deben resolver.

El gran sueño de oro

Formerly A Rage in Harlem

For Love of Imabelle

The Crazy Kill Outside the apartment where a wake is going on, the manager of the A&P across the street is robbed. Reverend Short, a storefront preacher addicted to opium and brandy, is watching from a bedroom window in the flat. He leans too far and falls out; a bread basket, sitting outside the bakery below, saves him. Back inside, he says he sees a vision of a dead man. Outside, in the very basket Short landed in, lies the body of Valentine Haines. Who murdered Val? It is up to Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson to find out. "The word is out on the street, and the hopheads and whores and flimflam artists are running scared: Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones are back in print." —Newsweek

The Crazy Kill

Many people had reasons for killing Galen, a big Greek with too much money and too great a liking for young black girls. But there are complications--like a drug addict, a disappearing suspect, and the fact that Coffin Ed's daughter is up to her neck in the whole explosive business.

Chester Himes

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