by Jessica Schneider

Created on: June 26, 2009

The Collected Stories of Chester Himes is an example of what is missing from short fiction today. Too often stories are bloated with superfluous information or just prattle endlessly with regards to description, yet the description isn't particularly memorable, and nor is it insightful. Or they try to over explain everything, rather than allowing the metaphors and scenes speak for themselves. (This is not in reference to the great describers, as in Steinbeck or Wolfe).

A neglected writer with an interesting bio, Shaw wrote many of his stories while in prison. The writer he most resembles (to me) is Irwin Shaw, in that both were well known for having written detective/more pulpy type novels in their days, thereby gaining popularity with the masses. But both also happen to be excellent short story writers where they use a 'telling' approach in their narratives, and for the most part, their stories tend to remain on the short side.

Himes, for example, has many tales that don't go past two pages. He also is good with titles in that they are simple but contain many layers to them. In a tale called, "A Penny For Your Thoughts", a phrase that is in and of itself a cliche gets subverted by way of the subject matter, since the tale deals with a lynching. Another great story is called "Looking Down The Street" about a couple that has their gas turned off in their apartment. The story then ends with:

"He stood perfectly still until the postman had passed the house and turned the corner, and still he stood there. He kept looking down the street, his body rigid as death, and when he realized that the postman had gone his eyes went dull as dirt. Goddamnit, I wish there was a war, he thought. I wish there was the biggest Goddamn war that was ever fought. And suddenly he was crying, so ashamed, so utterly ashamed."

As you can see, Himes does not have an obvious poetic approach in his writing, the narratives read rather straightforwardly, and this ending is a very powerful one because of the situation just before it. And that is how Himes gets his poetry. A very simple scene with a man looking out of a window, who is frustrated because he has no choice in having his gas turned off, and yet it evokes such emotion and it is done very well. Just taken out of context one could think it was a tad melodramatic, i.e. "rigid as death" etc, but it works well within the context of the tale.

This is sort of akin to the Woody Allen film Sweet And Lowdown, where the story consists

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