A Rage in Harlem
Penguin Modern Classics
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A Rage in Harlem
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Narrated by:
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Samuel L Jackson
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By:
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Chester Himes
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
A dark and witty work of hardboiled detective fiction set in the mean streets of New York, Chester Himes's A Rage in Harlem includes an introduction by Luc Sante in Penguin Modern Classics.
Jackson's woman has found him a foolproof way to make money - a technique for turning 10 dollar bills into hundreds. But when the scheme somehow fails, Jackson is left broke, wanted by the police and desperately racing to get back both his money and his loving Imabelle. The first of Chester Himes's novels to feature the hardboiled Harlem detectives 'Coffin' Ed Johnson and 'Grave Digger' Jones, A Rage in Harlem has swagger, brutal humour, lurid violence, a hearse loaded with gold and a conman dressed as a Sister of Mercy.
Chester Himes (1909-1984) was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and grew up in Cleveland. Aged 19, he was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to 20 to 25 years in jail. In jail he began to write short stories, some of which were published in Esquire. Upon release he took a variety of jobs from working in a California shipyard to journalism to script-writing while continuing to write fiction. He later moved to Paris where he was commissioned by La Série Noire to write the first of his Harlem detective novels, A Rage in Harlem, which won the 1957 Grand Prix du Roman Policier, and was adapted into a 1991 film starring Forest Whitaker and Danny Glover.
If you enjoyed A Rage in Harlem, you might like Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep and Other Novels, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.
©1957 Chester Himes (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"The greatest find in American crime fiction since Raymond Chandler." (Sunday Times)
What listeners say about A Rage in Harlem
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- peter j. o'neill
- 19-08-24
Jackson's brilliant narration
Plot meandered a little in places and not enough use of the two detectives Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- chris
- 17-01-24
One of the best audiobooks I've listened to.
I have been a member of audible for a long time and without a doubt this is one of the best audiobooks I have ever heard. I did not know anything about Chester Himes and will read/listen to more books of his in the future. The story cracks along at a breakneck pace and the writing in lyrical, funny, brilliant. He captures a time and place, Harlem in the 70's with a humour and insight that is as good as any great American writer, in fact I would say he is one of the great American writers. And if that was not enough Samuel L Jackson's performance is truly astounding. His characterisations and the pace of his reading, again is one of the best I have ever heard. I listened to this over one day and I will do the same again very soon. Get this book you will not be disappointed.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lord Emsworth
- 28-03-24
Gritty crime caper
Excellent hard boiled fare brilliantly narrated by Mr Jackson. Looking forward to more Chester Hines.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-10-23
ONE OF THE BEST EVER
Samuel L Jackson is the real deal. I really wish he narrated more books. Highly recommend!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- I. P. Gearing
- 28-01-23
Cracking pace brilliantly conveyed
Probably Chester Hymes best known book, Rage in Hallam deserves, in my opinion, the accolade of classic. Evocative, exotic - at least to anyone not acquainted with 60's Harlem - and with a real pace to it I enjoyed this book immensely, being vaguely aware of it from a relatives book collection. Samuel L Jackson once again proves his performing chops to the point I can't imagine anyone else voicing it. I am put in mind of ancient episodes of Dragnet if refilmed by Tarantino, then maybe I am supposed to. if thats the case, then it worked.
Well worth the investment in time and money.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- fiona
- 07-01-24
Superb writing!
My first Himes novel and I loved every minute of it. Superbly drawn characters, pacy, gritty realism relieved by a thread of fatalistic humour. Brilliant. Off to download the next one in the series…
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. Wragg
- 02-07-24
Great story, iffy narration.
The book is a classic, funny, zesty, full of action and a real sense of authenticity. Samuel L Jackson has a great voice of course, but he's not a diligent narrator: he keeps maintaining the tone of a speaker into the "she said" or "he asked" parts, rather than dropping back to the narrative voice. So we get "Who's that, he asked??" and "Get out, he shouted!!!" This is off-putting once you've noticed it, but the book is well worth listening to nevertheless.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tom B
- 22-08-24
Star narrator let it down
Samuel L Jackson should have bern made gor this. He voices is it brilliantly but I think he loses the spirit and wit of this superb novel.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CAROL
- 06-03-22
Superb!!!
Truly brilliant, entertaining story with great characters. Fabulously read by Samuel L Jackson.
absolute classic!!!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- TA
- 22-07-22
Wicked story beautifully read.
Samuel L Jackson’s reading of this story is a masterpiece of comic timing. Amidst all the picaresque detail of Harlem life, the twists and turns of the story and the social comment Chester Himes has written a dark comedy. This is all beautifully caught by this narrator
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