Just as I prefer those few DePalma films where his fear of
women does
not become embarrassing, I liked Slim's two books with White
Folks
(granting I'm a sucker for any book about a con man) much
better. First
of all, Slim's writing improved which each book he wrote.
Second, in
these two books (Trick Baby and Long White Con) about a black
con man
who can pass for white, Slim makes a better argument about
the limited
options for a black man, basically entertainment or crime.
And how,
after setting up the whole system against the black man, the
system
cries foul when he ignores the rules and follows the latter
path.
All in all, though, I think Nathan Heard dealt with these
same issues --
pimps, con men, etc. -- better in Howard Street, which I
can't recommend
highly enough. It was once described as what you would get if
"Hubert
Selby, Jr, were black and writing for Holloway House."
I'll probably read more books by Iceberg Slim, have several
on my shelf,
but I think I'll read some more Chester Himes first.
One thing I've never understood, though, is why Andrew Vachss
dedicated
Shella to Iceberg Slim (along with Doc Pomus). Isn't Slim
guilty of
capitalizing on the by-product of the child abuse Vachss has
dedicated
his life to fighting?
Mark
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