Chester Himes' most disturbing and controversial novel, A Case of Rape has never been widely available to his readers in the United States. That is - until now. Himes, the author of many popular mystery novels and creator of the memorable black detectives, Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, wrote A Case of Rape in 1956-57. This thought-provoking, jarring thriller examines the social and sexual relationships between the races. A white woman is raped and killed by four black American men in Paris. Or is she?
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Notes for a novel about 1950s Paris Noir,
By Stephen O. Murray "Stephen O. Murray" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: A Case of Rape (Paperback)
This book is a synopsis for a novel that Chester Himes never wrote with some extended notes about characters and plot rather than a novel. Its prime interest is in the sarcastic portraits Himes provided of fellow exiled African American writers Richard Wright and James Baldwin. In addition to satirizing Wright, Baldwin (and less known African American exiles Ollie Harrington and William Gardner Smith), Himes was killing off a white woman Elizabeth Hancock, very like Willa Trierweiler, a married/separated woman with whom Himes had a long and tormented relationship (she is also the basis for Kriss in _The End of the Primitive_). This is the woman for whose rape and murder four African Americans have been found guilty by a French court. There was neither a rape nor a murder, though "[wo]manslaughter" seems a verdict that could be justified. Those convicted of the crimes have carried to Europe the American lesson that "it is always best for any Negro to deny any charge lodged against him, to deny it totally and continuously, rather than try to explain the degree of his guilt." Himes indicts his own character for elf-defeating (hurt) pride, Wright for naiveté (and failure to appreciate the nobility of his relationship with Willa) and worldly success, and Baldwin for volunteering to be an "Uncle Tom." As a semi-fictionalized document on the attitudes of one major expatriate African American writer, the book has some value, but don't expect much in the way of plausibility or narrative development.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shocking, excellent novel!,
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This review is from: A Case of Rape (Paperback)
I had heard of Chester Himes's novel "A Case of Rape" by reading Tyler Stovall's fantastic work on African American life in Paris, "Paris Noir". Himes paints a devastating portrait of racist french officials in this tour de force depiction of hypocritically racist French society. A must-read!
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First Sentence:
Testimony was presented by the instruction judge to the effect that Mrs. Elizabeth Hancock Brissaud accompanied Scott Hamilton to his hotel room at three o'clock of the afternoon of Sunday, September 8th. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
raping white women, four black men, four defendants Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Scott Hamilton, Chester Himes, Case of Rape, Roger Garrison, United States, Caesar Gee, Spanish Fly, New York, Elizabeth Hancock, American Hospital, American Negroes, Ted Elkins, New Orleans, Shelly Russell, Stella Browning, Harvard University, The Quality of Hurt, Latin Quarter, Madame Maulnier, Uncle Toms, Five Points, Reverend Hamilton, The Primitive, The Third Generation New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Testimony was presented by the instruction judge to the effect that Mrs. Elizabeth Hancock Brissaud accompanied Scott Hamilton to his hotel room at three o'clock of the afternoon of Sunday, September 8th. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
raping white women, four black men, four defendants Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Scott Hamilton, Chester Himes, Case of Rape, Roger Garrison, United States, Caesar Gee, Spanish Fly, New York, Elizabeth Hancock, American Hospital, American Negroes, Ted Elkins, New Orleans, Shelly Russell, Stella Browning, Harvard University, The Quality of Hurt, Latin Quarter, Madame Maulnier, Uncle Toms, Five Points, Reverend Hamilton, The Primitive, The Third Generation New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 19
books:
See all 19 books this book cites
- A Case of Rape by Chester B. Himes on 10 pages
- If He Hollers Let Him Go: A Novel (Himes, Chester) by Chester Himes on 4 pages
- Third Generation (Classic Reprint Series) by Chester B. Himes on page 109, page 113, and page 115
- Lonely Crusade (Himes, Chester) by Chester Himes on page 109, and page 111
- Women, Race, & Class by Angela Y. Davis on page 128
See all 19 books this book cites
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