Customer Reviews

Queens Noir (Akashic Noir)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The concept behind this intensely original anthology has been manifest in its sometimes sublime, sometimes unnerving, and altogether fascinating exploration of the distinct borough of Queens. Each story has its own essential element; one feels uncomfortable and at the same time laughs out loud at the plot twists and turns.

Of particular interest is the story by Jill Abbott entitled "Jihad Sucks", which follows a terrorist in New York who encounters a talented woman, changing his perspective on the perverse imaginations of the American spirit. His ideology is transformed forever with an act wittily hinted at in the title... While the looming issues of New York life are treated with funny and interesting dialogs, as are the sometimes funny and often melancholic complexities of relationships. It is dark and amusing.

I highly recommend this book for the stories by Denis Hamil and Jill Abbott, both of them page intricate tales, with weaving noir storylines and oedipal overtones; leaving one, ultimately, with the uncomfortable darkness and intrigues of the detective novel. It is reminiscent of classic 40's noir, yet reinvented on the modern city. Wonderful.

The newest in the Akashic Noir series, following prior compilations of short stories dedicated to tales in, among other places, other New York boroughs: Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, this follows the pattern of the previous books in that it is comprised of all-new stories, predominantly by little-known authors. [Other books include other major American cities as well as ones outside of the U.S., e.g., Dublin, London and Havana.] I must admit the only authors in the present book with whose prior work I was familiar were Stephen Solomita and K.J.A. Wisnia.

The stories range in length from very short, e.g., four and six pages, to twenty-eight pages. They are somewhat uneven, but the whole is enjoyable. Other authors whose tales are included are Denis Hamill, Megan Abbott, and the editor, Robert Knightly. The book is divided into three sections, and covers time frames as recent as 2006, covering a blackout which engulfed the area that summer, in a story by Liz Martinez; a somber post-9/11 tale by Patricia King; one by Megan Abbott in a story about the 1970's; and one by Joe Guglielmelli sure to please any Mets fan [of which I am admittedly and unashamedly one] which includes references to one great season and one notoriously disastrous trade that will make fans grin and grimace by turn before it veers into considerably darker territory. [Mr. Guglielmelli was a co-owner of the very recently closed--and sorely missed--Black Orchid Mystery bookstore in Manhattan.] An interesting assortment of stories, and the book makes for a good read.

After reading "Brooklyn Noir" I was immediatly hooked on the series and have read many of the "Noir" volumes.
Being a lifelong Queens resident I anxiously awaited "Queens Noir" but was afraid that like many of the Noir series other than the two Brooklyn's that this would be lackluster with maybe one very good story but instead I was happily surprised at what a great addition it was. I would say third in the series behind the two Brooklyn's.
A must read for anyone familiar with Queens and especially for the newcomers who have settled in Long Island City and Astoria.
You will not be disappointed.

I like short stories. So, this is my seventh read in the Noir Series. As might be expected when reading contributions from nineteen different authors to my taste the results are somewhat uneven. My favorite stories were Denis Hamil's Under The Throgs Neck Bridge about a daughter who avenged her mothers suicide. Alan Gordon's Bottom Of The Sixth where a criminal and a cop bonded over a baseball game. Shailly Agnihotri's Avoid Agony tells the tale of an astrologer/match maker who tried to do good with his talent. Glenville Lovell's Out of Body was about a tough gang/drug dealer who met his unexpected fate at the hands of a former victims son. Also, Liz Martinez's Lights Out For Frankie about a cop who went bad and ended paying for his misdeeds. Finally,Jillian Abbott's Jihad Sucks, about the conversion of a committed mujahideen who was changed by life in the U.S.

If you want an outsider's view on Queens, open up any alternative publication (village voice, new york press)and look at the culture section; you'll find some smarmy piece written by pseudo-intrepid reporters "daring" enough to cross the Hudson to get a bite to eat or attend a cultural event. You'll get a lackluster description of the cantina scene from star wars and an over-the-top rendering of Queens as a shangri-La. Tourists.
No beef with the stories. Some are quite good, but most could've taken place anywere. And Admittedly, according to the Editor Robert Knightly, some stories were initially set in other boroughs but quickly changed to meet this books criteria. Real Authentic.
Yes, publishing is a shamelessly incestuous practice, but if you're going to attempt to represent an entire borough , maybe push back some of the cronyism and recognize that you're dealing with history, culture, and a diversity that should be represented - maybe (considering it is Queens) even more than any other boroughs heretofore depicted in this noir series.
With the exception of about 5 (OUT OF 19!) authors that have lived in Queens for any length of time, everyone else has "connections" to Queens, meaning they weren't raised there and at best only live there - and by "live" they mean "reside," as in sleep and bathe there before getting out of the borough like a bat out a hell to get to the City. About as many authors that do live there don't.
Also, some of those alterna-culture pieces from newspapers before mentioned just get further perpetuated in this book. That is to say, the tourist interpretation of Queens: In Shailly Agnihotri The myth that Jackson Heights is an Indian neighborhood is belabored. There are a little over two blocks in the entirety of Jackson Height that have a large concentration of Indians and their business. That's it. And of all stories this was probably the least "noir" of them all.
Enjoyed the stories, but the book is a shameless attempt to tack another one onto the series at the expense of a rich and underappreciated - because underexposed - borough.

Tourists, transplants beware: you'll learn nothing about Queens from this book that you wouldn't learn from your neighbor(who probably also just moved into the neighborhood because they were pushed out of the village and williamsburg).
The lore, mystique, appeal of Queens goes untapped, to say nothing of the genuine "noir" of the borough.