If He Hollers Let Him Go by Chester Himes

A few weeks ago the L.A. Weekly had a really good article about deciding which book is the best ever "L.A. novel".  You can read the article at http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2013/07/best_la_novel_ever_if_he_hollers.php. After reading the article I knew that I'd have to read the book that won their contest, If He Hollers Let Him Go by Chester Himes. The only thing that made me skeptical was that The Black Echo by Michael Connelly ranked higher somehow than The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.

So, If He Hollers Let Him Go was published in 1947 and is set a few years earlier. To quote the summary on the back of the book "the novel spans four days in the life of Bob Jones, a black man relentlessly plagues by the effects of World War II racism." I really enjoyed the book, it presented an insightful take on racism in Los Angeles and how it can really take its toll on someone. I'm not sure though that I'd call it the best L.A. novel ever though... just because I felt like Los Angeles wasn't really a major part of the novel. Sure it takes place here but it almost seems like this story could have been told in any major city. I'll give it an A.

Some other thoughts:
- The cover of the edition I bought is horribly boring... an extreme close up of some fingers. It is further evidence to me the "art" on modern book covers is just getting worse. When I write up these posts I always look at all of the different covers a book has had and I almost always like some really old cover over whatever is on the most current edition.
Just compare this...

to the original cover (which actually shows a scene from the book)

-One part of the book that did make it seem like an "L.A." novel is that the author frequently would give detailed directions of what streets he'd take to get around the city. Yes, the totally reminded me of the SNL skit "The Californians"



-Even though this book isn't on our Top 100 list, it does mention a Native Son which is.