Urban Camera reviewed If He Hollers, Let Him Go by Chester B. Himes
Not For The Faint Hearted.
This was the first book Chester Himes had published, and it came out at a time of his life when thin gs were not as good as they could have been, and he might even have found himself in a similar situation to his main character, Robert Johnson. Fort anyone who does not know of the massive animosity between Black and White, the Jim Crow laws, the after effects of segregation, of slavery, this work is both an eye-opener, and something of a struggle to follow. It covers social truths from the point of view of a young Black man, caught in the grip of a highly racist society with a clearness, from his own standpoint, which grates, which surprises, which frustrates.
For younger readers not caught up in the sensibilities of what should and should not be said - the language is that of the Forties, with the constant …
This was the first book Chester Himes had published, and it came out at a time of his life when thin gs were not as good as they could have been, and he might even have found himself in a similar situation to his main character, Robert Johnson. Fort anyone who does not know of the massive animosity between Black and White, the Jim Crow laws, the after effects of segregation, of slavery, this work is both an eye-opener, and something of a struggle to follow. It covers social truths from the point of view of a young Black man, caught in the grip of a highly racist society with a clearness, from his own standpoint, which grates, which surprises, which frustrates.
For younger readers not caught up in the sensibilities of what should and should not be said - the language is that of the Forties, with the constant use of words we do not find acceptable today - or how people react to one another, perhaps a harder read than for those with more experience, more knowledge of north American history.
Highly recommended, as the first in a series of books by Himes, which get to the very base of what we know today through revolution, social change, diversity and sheer common sense.