Plan B

Resumen del libro

Un crítico francés, que afirmaba que Himes pasaría a la historia como el escritor negro más importante del siglo, consideraba la novela inconclusa Plan B un legado delirante que exploraba el odio implacable existente entre negros y blancos. Efectivamente, la lógica y la perspicacia de Himes son en ella aterradoras, y el resultado es una historia furiosa y violenta, una auténtica parábola incandescente de la locura racial, además de una retrospectiva de la historia americana. Plan B es un libro duro que deja al lector con un regusto persistente en la boca, una muestra excelente de la peculiar mezcla de surrealismo y humor a la que recurría Himes para sobrellevar los tormentos que debió de sentir por una vida entera enfrentado a la injusticia de las políticas raciales norteamericanas.

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.