I've suggested that Himes conveys a grim worldview, one in which oppression messes people up all around. But if the Harlem novels work as satirical, it's gotta be in part 'cause they're funny. What did you find memorably amusing in Cotton Comes to Harlem?
"How long after the shooting before the car crew arrived?" Grave Digger asked. "About two and a half minutes." (said Anderson) "What floor?" "Seventh, but there's a fast elevator and he would have had time to get down and away before the police arrived," he [Anderson] said, reading their thoughts. "Not if they were naked," Coffin Ed said. "And he'd have to dress well in that neighborhood," Grave Digger added. "And completely," Grave Digger concluded.
"Unprocessed," Grave Digger said. "It's been a long time since I've seen any cotton like that." "Hush, man, you ain't never seen any cotton like that. You were born and raised in New York."
Also, a lot of the sexiness in the novel cracked me up. Like, with Iris: "Nausea came up in her like the waves of the ocean and she gritted her teeth to keep from fainting. Her terror was so intense it became sexual - she had an orgasm. All her life she had searched for kicks, but this was the kick she never wanted."
The exchange between Digger, Ed, and the rally chef made me chuckle.
ReplyDelete"You'll get the money back for us, won't you?"
"Son, if we don't, we're gonna raise so much hell they're gonna send us all back to Africa."
"And for free, too."
When talking of Iris's arrest for homicide:
ReplyDelete"How long after the shooting before the car crew arrived?" Grave Digger asked.
"About two and a half minutes." (said Anderson)
"What floor?"
"Seventh, but there's a fast elevator and he would have had time to get down and away before the police arrived," he [Anderson] said, reading their thoughts.
"Not if they were naked," Coffin Ed said.
"And he'd have to dress well in that neighborhood," Grave Digger added.
"And completely," Grave Digger concluded.
"Unprocessed," Grave Digger said. "It's been a long time since I've seen any cotton like that."
ReplyDelete"Hush, man, you ain't never seen any cotton like that. You were born and raised in New York."
Also, a lot of the sexiness in the novel cracked me up. Like, with Iris: "Nausea came up in her like the waves of the ocean and she gritted her teeth to keep from fainting. Her terror was so intense it became sexual - she had an orgasm. All her life she had searched for kicks, but this was the kick she never wanted."
ReplyDelete