In this the second volume of his autobiography, Chester Himes deals with moving to Paris in the early 1950s, where he developed from an eloquent, influential "black writer" into a writer who was internationally known. Himes take us to the heart of Paris expatriate café society & through the writing of his eighteen books & novels. He also paints fascinating portraits of lovers, three continents, & friends such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, & James Baldwin. My Life of Absurdity is the story of a life only Himes could have lived-just on the edge of reality, about three steps short of fantasy, & three generations out of slavery. Chester Himes (1909-1984) is the renowned author of If He Hollers Let Him Go, Cotton Comes to Harlem, The Heat's On, Come Back Charlestown Blue, & many other novels, short stories, & articles. The first part of his autobiography, The Quality of Hurt: The Early Years, is also published by Thunder's Mouth Press.