SOURCE: Braham, Persephone. “Violence and Patriotism: La Novela Negra from Chester Himes to Paco Ignacio Taibo II.” Journal of American Culture 20, no. 2 (summer 1997): 159-69.

In the following essay, Braham compares the detective novels of Himes and Mexican writer Paco Ignacio Taibo II, arguing that each seeks to regain control of radical and popular history and to redefine their discourses.

The hard-boiled detective novel evolved as a genre in the United States during the 1920's and 30's, in reaction to the rapid growth of organized crime, institutional corruption and an ensuing disenchantment with the effete British-style whodunit. In the tradition of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, the hard-boiled detective is a vigilante descended from the knights of Arthurian legend, whose romantic mission—the search for truth and justice—contrasts tragically with the corruption of his society and its institutions. The outcome of the clash between the detective's personal ideals and...