<<I was curious what makes this novel stand out over
Himes' other
novels.>>
The novel is built around Sweet Prophet Brown, a
larger-than-life
preacher-healer-crook. The mixture of religious fervor and
innocence
among the population of Harlem with the realistic description
of
widespread crime is irresistible. Apparently, Sweet Prophet
is based on
a real character - a guy who wore extravagant diamond rings
and never
clipped his enormously long nails - I've seen pictures of him
and he
looked like, well, like a character out of a Himes
novel...
Of course, I could choose _Cotton Comes to Harlem_ or _Blind
Man with a
Pistol_ and justify the choice without much effort. All the
Harlem
novels are great.
Regards,
MT
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