kmdk reviewed If he hollers let him go by Chester B. Himes
Review of 'If he hollers let him go' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I find it hard to rate this book. I came to it thinking it was a crime story. Himes was at the top of the list of Black mystery/crime authors to read (in the historical category as opposed to modern, living writers). I saw that some call Himes a Raymond Chandler or a Dashiell Hammett. I am not keen on those types of books - it's just not the kind of book I enjoy. The atmosphere echoed what I had recently read by Walter Mosley in "Devil in a Blue Dress", so again, I expected a crime story.
However, despite the book not being what I expected, it was worthwhile reading it, although it was hard going. The tale of Bob Jones is a rather horrifying look at the rampant racism in Los Angeles during World War II. The racism is really awful. Bob is on edge all the time. …
I find it hard to rate this book. I came to it thinking it was a crime story. Himes was at the top of the list of Black mystery/crime authors to read (in the historical category as opposed to modern, living writers). I saw that some call Himes a Raymond Chandler or a Dashiell Hammett. I am not keen on those types of books - it's just not the kind of book I enjoy. The atmosphere echoed what I had recently read by Walter Mosley in "Devil in a Blue Dress", so again, I expected a crime story.
However, despite the book not being what I expected, it was worthwhile reading it, although it was hard going. The tale of Bob Jones is a rather horrifying look at the rampant racism in Los Angeles during World War II. The racism is really awful. Bob is on edge all the time. As in all. The. Time. You can't really blame him when you realise what he is up against. If you think, ah, he should just calm down and toe the line, you can look at the people who tow the line and "behave" and wonder "is that any better?" Bob's girlfriend can apparently pass as white so part of the story revolves about that problem.
This book was written in 1945, and I am sure it was a shocker then. The story is important for showing the amount of racism spread throughout society, especially among the police and a place like the shipbuilding companies. The raw style of writing suits this topic. The language isn't raw - Bob's feelings and emotions are raw.
I have to say, though, that the sexism is pretty awful, too. The racism is wrong, but so is the sexism. I think all the men have a pretty low regard for women. The woman who accuses him of rape (not a spoiler - it's in the blurb about the book) is pretty awful and unlikeable in general, but she is quite a big stereotype, too. Bob generally make disparaging comments about most of the women in the book regardless of colour. Learning about the racism is one important takeaway from the book. However, the sexism made it slow going once in a while. The pace felt slow, but then things went very fast - too fast? - at the end. I saw one review that said this wasn't Himes' best writing, but it is an early book, so the praise he has garnered must come from the later books. I probably won't read any more by him simply because this pulp fiction style just isn't my favourite thing. But from a historical perspective, so to speak, I am glad I read it.
