tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post9017015169664700013..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: A Rage in HarlemRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-49757108607863938442011-09-18T23:43:39.076-04:002011-09-18T23:43:39.076-04:00*Scott: Belated but sincere thanks for undertaking...*Scott: Belated but sincere thanks for undertaking a translation I would've been too lazy to do myself. In related news, that book just keeps sounding better and better!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-86512584853595806172011-09-15T14:30:54.230-04:002011-09-15T14:30:54.230-04:00I thought I'd take up Amateur Reader's sug...I thought I'd take up Amateur Reader's suggestion and roughly translate the plot of one of the Picouly novels, "L'Enfant Leopard." This will be more of a distillation of the Amazon description than a direct translation, but here goes: October, 1793. Marie-Antoinette, in her cell within the Concierge, awaits execution. Meanwhile, outside, with mere hours left to spare the queen's life, a search is on for a mysterious mixed-race child. Some want him protected; others want him killed. Are the rumors true, that he's the son of some grand lady of the court, perhaps even the queen herself? To turn this story into a crazy fictional romp one only needs invite author Daniel Picouly. Intrigues abound, fortunes turn as in a novel by Alexander Dumas. The two black detectives in charge of searching for the child in a bizarre Harlem located behind the Luxembourg Palace, are Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, straight from the universe of Chester Himes. This delightful novel, as fantastical as it is erudite, and which paints a moving portrait of Marie-Antoinette as assassinated mother and foreigner turned into scapegoat, won for its author the Prix Renaudot in 1999.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-42371293707791585652011-09-14T12:10:03.018-04:002011-09-14T12:10:03.018-04:00*Caroline: It's a savagely entertaining and su...*Caroline: It's a savagely entertaining and super quick read. That seems to be Himes <em>M.O.</em><br /><br />*Amateur Reader: Thanks a bunch--that's quite the annotated bibliography you've put together there! In fact, I almost dashed over to the foreign language bookstore on my dinner break last night to see if they had either of those Picouly titles in stock. They sound like a riot, <em>n'est-ce pas</em>?<br /><br />*Scott: I hadn't heard of <em>Plan B</em> before, but I have no problem imagining it's as intense as you say. Lucky you having your friend pick up those Picouly novels for you--that sounds like the kind of, ahem, historical fiction I can actually get excited about!<br /><br />*Gavin: You're very welcome--hope your library stocks a book or two by the guy. By the way, that "crime doesn't pay" line is typical of Himes' streetwise brand of humor.<br /><br />*Sarah: What Amateur Reader and Scott (Seraillon) have to say about three Himes books I haven't read make me eager to keep on reading the guy in or out of sequence. The problem that many readers will encounter, I suspect, is that many bookstores or smaller libraries will only stock 1-2 Himes titles rather than an entire selection. Worth seeking them out, though, and hurray for that entertainment indeed!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-60733549661601018922011-09-13T23:27:05.297-04:002011-09-13T23:27:05.297-04:00Pre-Tarantino intensity sounds right up my ally. I...Pre-Tarantino intensity sounds right up my ally. I'm adding Himes to my list. I'll take Amateur Reader's advice and try to read 'em in order. Hurray for violently funny entertainment!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-56815031457444993232011-09-13T21:59:40.149-04:002011-09-13T21:59:40.149-04:00I've not read Himes but you had me at "Cr...I've not read Himes but you had me at "Crime doesn't pay" and the idea of scams and counter scams has me checking the library. Thank, Richard!Gavinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12865699135545209220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-76352769831391552162011-09-13T15:45:31.794-04:002011-09-13T15:45:31.794-04:00I read Himes unfinished and flat-out astonishing &...I read Himes unfinished and flat-out astonishing "Plan B" last year - in which African-Americans stage an armed uprising against whites. It's incredibly violent, funny and grim at the same time, and utterly fascinating. AR - I'd never heard of the Daniel Picouly books, but I'm now having a friend in France pick up a couple of them for me this week. I read the descriptions - they sound wild!seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-2336084325212471002011-09-13T14:41:35.792-04:002011-09-13T14:41:35.792-04:00There's something to be said for reading the H...There's something to be said for reading the Harlem books in something like their original order - the craziness will build and build. <br /><br /><i>Blind Man with a Pistol</i> basically dispenses with all of the usual police novel rigmarole. It is more of a metaphysical statement than a mystery.<br /><br />Then! Then! You're not even done. Himes was and is huge in France. So next is Swiss-Camerounian Simon Njami's <i>Cercueil et Cie</i>, in English as <i>Coffin and Co.</i>, which actually takes Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones to Paris!<br /><br />And since they're already in Paris, Daniel Picouly wrote two novels taking them to - <a href="http://www.amazon.fr/T%C3%AAte-n%C3%A8gre-Daniel-Picouly/dp/2290345733/ref=pd_sim_b_2" rel="nofollow">no, that can't be right</a>. Someone with real French should read the descriptions of <a href="http://www.amazon.fr/LEnfant-l%C3%A9opard-Prix-Renaudot-1999/dp/2253150746/ref=pd_sim_b_1" rel="nofollow">these novels</a> at French Amazon.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-81541200762128976882011-09-13T14:31:19.449-04:002011-09-13T14:31:19.449-04:00It's been on my radar for years. Why I never g...It's been on my radar for years. Why I never got around to it eludes me. Now more than ever.Carolinehttp://beautyisasleepingcat.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-89272100724900076442011-09-13T11:49:03.918-04:002011-09-13T11:49:03.918-04:00*Amateur Reader: I actually saw the movie version...*Amateur Reader: I actually saw the movie version of <em>Cotton Comes to Harlem</em> long before I even knew who Himes was, but the "problem" with his books is that they all sound interesting (by which I mean "outta control"). I suspect <em>The Real Cool Killers</em> will be the Himes that's next up for me, but it may be hard to overlook the "completely insane" label you've attached to the memorably titled <em>Blind Man with a Pistol</em>.<br /><br />*Emily: Himes is, how do I put this?, eminently quoteworthy. "Lord save us from squares" is a good, concise example of his non-square aesthetic, for sure.<br /><br />*Amanda: I've only read two books by the guy so far, but both were violent, violently funny, and entertaining. Not sure you'll enjoy him as much as I, of course, but at the very least you can expect an <em>extreme</em> change of pace from the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!<br /><br />*Kailana: Thanks for the visit! Suffice it to say that that quote cracked me up when I came upon it in the book and thus <em>had</em> to be included in the post somehow. Cheers!<br /><br />*Carl V.: Yeah, isn't Himes' quote a peach? I'm glad people are digging that line as much as I did, and thanks very much for the kind words about the review (that one was more fun than many others to write on account of the novel in question).<br /><br />*Stu: Thanks, my friend. I don't know much about Himes myself other than that my dad's always telling me that I should read his autobiography (a favorite of his, it would seem), but the weird thing about Himes' Harlem novels is that most of them were written in Paris and yet they feel so real in terms of time and place. The stories are so "insane," to borrow Amateur Reader's clinical description, though, that they often come off as surrealistic. Not your standard crime capers at all.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-50723264245187533982011-09-13T06:45:40.559-04:002011-09-13T06:45:40.559-04:00I d not heard of him til recently when I caught a ...I d not heard of him til recently when I caught a bit on a radio show about him ,nice review richard I ve not read many books set in us in this time frame ,all the best stuAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-69580425334576735362011-09-13T06:03:20.938-04:002011-09-13T06:03:20.938-04:00Ah, that is a great line! Wonderful review, love ...Ah, that is a great line! Wonderful review, love your way with words.<br /><br />This one sounds frenetic and funny and unlike anything I've read before. You've made me very curious.Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-24291895990449485562011-09-12T23:30:20.147-04:002011-09-12T23:30:20.147-04:00ha ha, I love the quote you included at the end!ha ha, I love the quote you included at the end!Kailanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11136262232046813471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-22885120740657310732011-09-12T20:43:09.534-04:002011-09-12T20:43:09.534-04:00I've not heard of this book (or author) before...I've not heard of this book (or author) before, but your review makes it sound very intriguing: a "frantic, violently funny crime caper" sounds like just the thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-29233597542595999862011-09-12T11:48:32.288-04:002011-09-12T11:48:32.288-04:00I've never read Himes, but he's higher on ...I've never read Himes, but he's higher on my list having read this post! Lord save us from squares, indeed.Emilyhttp://www.eveningallafternoon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-27488933640559868412011-09-12T11:18:20.227-04:002011-09-12T11:18:20.227-04:00I have not read this one, but obviously should. Y...I have not read this one, but obviously should. Your highlights are equalled in the outrageous <i>Cotton Comes to Harlem</i> and the completely insane <i>Blind Man with a Pistol</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.com