El gran sueño de oro

Resumen del libro

Los grandes y marrones ojos de vaca de Alberta Wright miraban con adoración el rostro negro de Sweet Prophet. Parecía que el predicador sólo se estaba dirigiendo a ella, aunque era una más entre los seiscientos conversos de túnica blanca arrodillados en el ardiente asfalto bajo el sol del mediodía. Alberta se sentía en éxtasis, y éste resultaba contagioso. Había depositado su confianza en el Señor; Él le había correspondido con un sueño millonario, y lo contó a la multitud. Acercó su agua para que fuera bendecida por Sweet Prophet y al poco rato se encontraba tendida en el suelo, convulsionándose sobre la calzada mojada. Para Coffin Ed y Grave Digger se abría un nuevo caso: debían encontrar el móvil del crimen y al asesino... ¿de Alberta?

Biografía del autor

Chester Himes, in full Chester Bomar Himes, (born July 29, 1909, Jefferson City, Mo., U.S. died Nov. 12, 1984, Moraira, Spain), African-American writer whose novels reflect his encounters with racism. As an expatriate in Paris, he published a series of black detective novels.<br><br>The domination of his dark-skinned father by his light-skinned mother was a source of deep resentment that shaped Himes's racial outlook. The family's frequent relocations, as well as the accidental blinding of his brother, further disrupted his childhood. Himes attended Ohio State University. From 1929 to 1936 he was jailed at the Ohio State Penitentiary for armed robbery, and while there he began to write fiction. A number of his stories appeared in Esquire and other American magazines. After his release from prison, he worked at numerous odd jobs and joined the Works Progress Administration, eventually serving as a writer with the Ohio Writers' Project.<br><br>His first novel, If He Hollers Let Him Go (1945), details the fear, anger, and humiliation of a black employee of a racist defense plant during World War II. Lonely Crusade (1947) concerns racism in the labour movement. Cast the First Stone (1952) portrays prison life, and The Third Generation (1954) examines family life.