Dan-Brooklyn

What a great and lovely noir novel

Revisado: 03-23-25

A Rage in Harlem stands out from every noir novel I’ve read. The descriptions are unforgiving but hilarious snapshots of these fictional 1950s Harlem residents. Chester Himes writes with all the energy of those old-time Harlem streets. His descriptions of Harlem throughout the book feel like a gritty sociological study. The main character Jackson was college educated in the south but he doesn’t have the street smarts to get by in Harlem. He knows the dangers, though. He’s afraid of the police and terrified of going to jail. The characters, Goldy, Gus, Imabelle and several others know how to survive on the streets, scamming and taking advantage of naive, frightened people like Jackson. They also know how to play the system. Imabelle, for example, had never been arrested, since she traded sexual favors in exchange for her freedom, an exchange she found perfectly fair.

Samuel L. Jackson brings the characters to life and delivers the text with all its humor, some of which I missed while reading it.

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Quick but a lot of fun with excellent performances

Revisado: 03-07-25

What a well-produced narration! This is a short, two-and-a-half-hour thriller with top of the line actors, mood music and sound effects. Since it’s so short, I expected less from the story. Still, I thought the story and the characterizations were notable. I wasn’t able to predict the ending as the plot unfolded.

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Fascinating old NYC story

Revisado: 07-05-19

I loved this book and the narration! So full of research and told so well!

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