A world of noir anthologies
You may have read Dublin Noir or either of two London Noirs. If you missed Brooklyn Noir, perhaps you picked up Brooklyn Noir 2. But how about Miami Noir, Paris Noir, Havana Noir or, from that hotbed of crime, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, Twin Cities Noir? Are all available or soon to be published, many from Akashic Books.The heads-up on many of these noirs comes from Maxim Jakubowski, that busy writer, anthologist and proprietor of Murder One bookshop. Jakubowki, editor of several volumes of Best British Mysteries, among other collections, reports that his Paris Noir should be out in the fall of 2007, with stories from French, British and other European writers, all of whom live or have lived in Paris. Jakubowski also reports that contracts have been signed for Rome Noir, with publication possible in 2008.
© Peter Rozovsky 2006
Labels: anthologies, International crime fiction, noir
posted by Peter Rozovsky at 12:18 PM
14 Comments:
Thanks for the link to these noir collections.
I had a brief look at the essay list for the London Noir, and what appeared to be the location of each story in brackets.
I was shocked by the inclusion of Bradford as a location in London Noir, and totally dismayed that there were only two locations south of the river [Thames the only river that matters to a cockney]. Brixton, and the Elephant and Castle must have gone soft or they would each have got a book to themselves.
Norm [South Londoner in exile]
Bradford?!!!
Look forward to Paris and Rome noir collections.
Did you buy much in Murder One?
Thanks for the notes, especially that lesson on London geography. One would expect, given the rough times in Brixton a couple of decades back, that someone would have seen fit to set a crime story or two there. If you drop a note to Maxim Jakubowski, perhaps he'll assemble a London noir collection that will feature some of the locations the first one omitted.
You will see that both of you were shocked that Bradford was included. To this, I reply, where is Bradford? I know there a number of streets named Bradford around Russell Square. Does Bradford have anything to do with them?
Incidentally, I was surprised, given that Maxim Jakubowski is such a busy and well-known figure in English crime fiction, to find him working right in the shop behind a desk, and available for a pleasant and informative chat about international crime fiction.
And I did buy five books there, Australian and English. It was a small haul, but one you should be hearing about in the coming weeks.
Yes, I am definitely into the concept of Kingston upon Thames noir.
(1) the mystery of the failure to extend Oystercards to zone 6.
(2) the search to find a restaurant in town that isn't Burger King or Macdonalds
(3) What happened to Peter Hall, alleged director of the Rose Theatre, a defunct shell in our town centre?
(4) will we ever get an independent bookshop back here?
Yep, life is pretty exciting on the London outskirts.
PS Bradford is in Yorkshire -- about as far away from London as you can get and not be in Scotland.
I once had an American dental unit purchased by a business partner, and when it needed servicing we were told the LOCAL agent was in Bradford!
Luckily it was under guarantee so the US manafacturer paid, but I don't think they realised how far Bradford was from Devon.
Kingston upon Thames noir sounds good, as a former Chairman of Kingston upon Thames Dental Advisory Committee I could tell a few tales.
First things first:
1) Uriah R.: One of my London cousins is a retired Harley Street dentist. Perhaps you've talked shop with him.
2) Maxine: I have always found the term Oystercard beguiling. I hope I have the opportunity to use one someday.
3) I gather that Kingston-Upon-Thames is unlikely to be named cultural capital of Europe any year soon. But non-happening locations can be wonderful settings for crime stories. One of my favorite opening chapters consists largely of a description of a concrete parking garage in a suburban shopping mall. (Ruth Rendell's The Veiled One.)
4) I was under the impression that a royal decree restricted independent bookshops to Charing Cross Road and Hay-on-Wye.
Why doesn't Australia get a look in here? We can do noir with the best of them. What about Nihill Noir? Coleambally Noir? Get off your bum, Maxim, you're slacking.
I suppose there will come a time when every city, state, town, hamlet or incorporated administrative area with a population of over 106 will have a noir book of its own, offering a gritty look at the side of town that tourists never see. And any place called Nihill deserves to paired with the word noir.
As it happens, I was wondering why, considering the profusion of Australian crime fiction and the intensity of its boosters, there was no, say, Melbourne Noir or at least Australian Noir on that list. Of course, that doesn't mean such books are not out there. I'll try to find them and share the good news with my readers.
If it's any consolation, I did buy two books by Shane Maloney at Murder One. There was nothing by Garry Disher or Peter Temple there, though, at least not on paperback.
Peter: What exactly do you mean by the phrase 'the intensity of its boosters'? Are you referring to respondents to your blog? If not, where does this boosting take place? Speak plainly.
I shall endeavo(u)r to make the following as plain as I am able to. By intensity of its boosters, I alluded to the comprehensiveness of a number of Australian crime-fiction sites, some of which are on my list of links. The keepers of these sites seem especially eager to spread the word about Australian crime fiction past and present. This is a good thing, if I did not make myself clear at the start.
Australian readers have also responded in relatively large numbers to this blog, and Australian crime fiction has generated quite a volume of comment here. I take this, too, as an indicator that Australian crime fiction generates strong interest.
Peter Temple's The Broken Shore is only available in hardback I'm afraid. I did see some Gary Disher pbs in Hay on Wye recently so they must have been printed at some point. Perhaps you might spot some in the secondhand bookshops in Charing X area... Waterstones at Picadilly Circus is pretty huge, might be worth a visit for UK writers.
thanks for your kind words.
Actually, PARIS NOIR will be appearing from Serpent's Tail, whileas ROME NOIR will be from Akashic (and is being edited with Chiara Stangolini, an Italian friend and publisher). I did do a LONDON NOIR volume for Serpent's Tail some 12 years ago, but the new Akashic one, with Bradford appearing curiously in one story, and many of the authors not being from the actual crime and mystery world was actually edited by Cathi Unsworth).
I agree with you that there should be an AUTRALIA NOIR volume at some point; maybe someone should propose it to Johnny Temple at Akashic; it should in all fairness be done by an Australian!
And, yes, Murder One does stock Temple and Disher in paperback, but all in American imports and we were temporarily out of stock at the time...
Garry Disher's Wyatt novels seem not that easy to find anywhere if availability on ABE is a guide, which surprises me, since his Hal Challis novels are pretty readily available.
And thanks for throwing in the mention of Serpent's Tail. I wasn't sure if it was kosher to mention the publisher at this early stage.
Thanks, too, for the heads-up on bookshops. I may go back next week and make my pockets a little lighter.
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