02/13/2017
The legendarily tough California city of Oakland finally gets an entry in the Akashic noir series. The volume’s 16 original stories touch on “thug life,” as well as such issues as homelessness and suicidal despair in the digital age. Despite a few tales of torrid sexual desire, most of the contents feel less like true noir and more like something barely on the fringes of the genre—the plot of Keenan Norris’s “A Murder of Saviors,” for example, centers on the formation of charter schools. Judy Juanita’s “Cabbie” seems poised to explore controversial depths with mentions of notorious real-life cop killer Lovelle Mixon, a hero to some, but dribbles away into a vague vignette, volcanic potential untapped. Joe Loya’s “Waiting for Gordo” provides visual variety by presenting the narrative as a wire transcript. The editors follow the Akashic formula with a mix of local writers of diverse ethnic backgrounds, but leave out Oakland literary giants such as the street fighter and poet Floyd Salas. The end result is just an average entry in this acclaimed series. (Apr.)
Brand-new stories by: Nick Petrulakis, Kim Addonizio, Keenan Norris, Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder, Katie Gilmartin, Dorothy Lazard, Harry Louis Williams II, Carolyn Alexander, Phil Canalin, Judy Juanita, Jamie DeWolf, Nayomi Munaweera, Mahmud Rahman, Tom McElravey, Joe Loya, and Eddie Muller.
In the wake of San Francisco Noir, Los Angeles Noir, and Orange County Noir-all popular volumes in the Akashic Noir Series-comes the latest California installment, Oakland Noir. Masterfully curated by Jerry Thompson and Eddie Muller, the “Czar of Noir,” this volume will shock, titillate, provoke, and entertain. The diverse cast of talented contributors will not disappoint.
From the introduction:
Jerry Thompson: “Discovering the wang-dang-doodle jams of the Pointer Sisters shifted my entire focus. Stunning black women were scatting and bebopping all the way into my soul. I think what we've put together in Oakland Noir is a volume where this city is a character in every story. He's a slick brother strutting over a bacon-grease bass line and tambourine duet. She's a white chick with a bucket of hot muffins heading to farmer and flea markets, to sell crafts and get hooked up with some fine kat with dreadlocks and a criminal record. And it's in the faces of young fearless muthafuckers pounding keyboards and snapping fingers, lips, Snapchats, and Facebook timelines. It's the core of not only Black Lives Matter but all lives matter. We are the children of fantasy and of the funk.”
Eddie Muller: “These days, writers and readers aren't denying the darker parts of our existence as much as they used to, especially in crime fiction. Some writers just do it for fun because it's become the fashionable way to get published. You know, `gritty violence' and all that bullshit. The genuine darkness in noir stories comes from two places-the cruelty of the world's innate indifference and the cruelty that people foster within themselves. If you're not seriously dealing with one, the other, or both, then you're not really writing noir.”
Brand-new stories by: Nick Petrulakis, Kim Addonizio, Keenan Norris, Keri Miki-Lani Schroeder, Katie Gilmartin, Dorothy Lazard, Harry Louis Williams II, Carolyn Alexander, Phil Canalin, Judy Juanita, Jamie DeWolf, Nayomi Munaweera, Mahmud Rahman, Tom McElravey, Joe Loya, and Eddie Muller.
In the wake of San Francisco Noir, Los Angeles Noir, and Orange County Noir-all popular volumes in the Akashic Noir Series-comes the latest California installment, Oakland Noir. Masterfully curated by Jerry Thompson and Eddie Muller, the “Czar of Noir,” this volume will shock, titillate, provoke, and entertain. The diverse cast of talented contributors will not disappoint.
From the introduction:
Jerry Thompson: “Discovering the wang-dang-doodle jams of the Pointer Sisters shifted my entire focus. Stunning black women were scatting and bebopping all the way into my soul. I think what we've put together in Oakland Noir is a volume where this city is a character in every story. He's a slick brother strutting over a bacon-grease bass line and tambourine duet. She's a white chick with a bucket of hot muffins heading to farmer and flea markets, to sell crafts and get hooked up with some fine kat with dreadlocks and a criminal record. And it's in the faces of young fearless muthafuckers pounding keyboards and snapping fingers, lips, Snapchats, and Facebook timelines. It's the core of not only Black Lives Matter but all lives matter. We are the children of fantasy and of the funk.”
Eddie Muller: “These days, writers and readers aren't denying the darker parts of our existence as much as they used to, especially in crime fiction. Some writers just do it for fun because it's become the fashionable way to get published. You know, `gritty violence' and all that bullshit. The genuine darkness in noir stories comes from two places-the cruelty of the world's innate indifference and the cruelty that people foster within themselves. If you're not seriously dealing with one, the other, or both, then you're not really writing noir.”
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169838688 |
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Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
Publication date: | 04/04/2017 |
Series: | The Akashic Noir Series |
Edition description: | Unabridged |