Customer Reviews

Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics (Akashic Noir)

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This was my sixth read of the Noir series. It was divided into three sections. The "old school" covered nine stories written between 1891 and 1970. Part two contained the work of three poets and Part three had eight stories composed between 1969 and 2008. Surprisingly, I enjoyed part 1 the most. Edith Wharton's Mrs. Manstey's View about an old lady who constantly observed the neighborhood from her window was quite compelling. O. Henry's The Furnished Room about a young man searching for his missing love was excellent. Irwin Shaw's Sailor Off The Bremen was a fast moving story of revenge. Daman Runyon's Johnny One-Eye, the story of a murderer and a one eyed cat was quite good. Evan Hunter's The Last Spin about two gang members who were chosen to resolve a dispute between their respective gangs by playing Russian Roulette was moving.
I would have rated Part 1 at five stars. However, since I'm not a fan of poetry the inclusion of the poetry section brought down my review. From Part 3 my favorite was Clark Howard's Crowded Lives about a former bank embezzler who had hidden his loot while he served time in prison. The building had once been a classy hotel but subsequently had deteriorated to a welfare building. Donald Westlake's Love In The Lean Years was an interesting story about a husband and wife taking out insurance policies to benefit from their spouses demise. Lawrence Block's In For A Penny about a criminal released from prison who ultimately reverted to his old ways. So all in all this wasn't bad. There were in fact some excellent components. But, for my taste, in total it ended up as an average read.

Masterfully edited by Lawrence Block, Manhattan Noir 2 is a welcome addition to this terriffic series. Of its 17 short stories, what may have been Cornell Woolrich's last (first published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in 1970) is by itself well worth the price of admission. This anthology features stories which first saw print over more than a 100-year time span, from 1891 to 2008. There also is a very short middle section with works by three poets. Poetry accounts for less than 5 per cent of my reading, but these are great. There is the predictable "Raven" by Poe and it isn't a stretch to include him as (perhaps the first) noir author. (What else but noir could you call say, "A Cask of Amontillado"? For the Love of God, Montressor!). But the two other poets represented are also excellent, especially the selections from Geoffrey Bartholomew's "The McSorley Poems" (2001) which made me want to seek out the entire volume. My favorite stories besides the Woolrich are Stephen Crane's very short "The Poker Game" (1902), Langston Hughes' "Spanish Blood" (1934). Damon Runyon's poignant "One-Eyed Johnny" (1941), and Evan Hunter's (Ed McBain's) gritty "The Last Spin" (1948) all in Part I, "The Old School". The stories in Part III are more modern, grouped under the heading "Darkness Visible". I liked all but one of these eight stories which range from 1969 to 2008. My three favorites were grand master Donald Westlake's "Love in the Lean Years", Joyce Carol Oates' "A Manhattan Romance" (which like two others feature a man running from the mob), and editor Lawrence Block's "In For a Penny". As always, kudos to Tim McLoughlin for creating this internationally acclaimed series. This book was released simultaneously with "D.C. Noir 2: The Classics" which is next on my must read list. Also forthcoming in the series are another 15 books, most of which have noir settings in foreign countries and are so titled.