Trinidad Noir (Akashic Noir) [Paperback]

Lisa Allen-Agostini (Editor), Jeanne Mason (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2008 | Series: Akashic Noir

Trinidad Noir reveals the Caribbean island’s darkness and its appeal with an unexpected and gratifying result.

Features brand-new stories by Robert Antoni, Elizabeth Nunez, Lawrence Scott, Ramabai Espinet, Shani Mootoo, Kevin Baldeosingh, Vahni Capildeo, Willi Chen, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Keith Jardim, Reena Andrea Manickchand, Tiphanie Yanique, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The volumes in Akashic's locale-based noir anthology series set outside North America (Dublin Noir, etc.) offer more variety than those set in different major U.S. cities, and this one is no exception. The editors' brief but insightful introduction makes clear that the sun and sea tourist image of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is at odds with the country's political climate of excess and corruption and an element of society afloat in drugs and guns. While one entry, Robert Antoni's How to Make Photocopies in the Trinidad & Tobago National Archives, mostly comprising stream-of-consciousness letters to mr. robot, may be tough going for noir fans who prefer traditional storytelling, the other 17 stories are solid. The two standouts are Keith Jardim's mystical The Jaguar and Lawrence Scott's Prophet, in which a series of child disappearances in a small but corrupt community builds to an appropriately bleak ending. (Aug.)
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From Booklist

Trinidad Noir is the best of the international entries in Akashic’s series. Covering the entire island of Trinidad, the stories take readers from the steamy jungle countryside to the tropical beaches and on to the city streets of the capital, where political intrigue thrives. The stories evoke an atmosphere so strong the reader can practically feel the heat, smell the marijuana, and hear the calypso music. The authors do an especially good job with the dialogue, portraying the speech rhythms and slang of the distinctive Caribbean island. --Jessica Moyer

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Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933354550
• ISBN-13: 978-1933354552
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read, December 14, 2008

By 

Hope Munro Smith (Chico, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Trinidad Noir (Akashic Noir) (Paperback)

This book is an enjoyable read, with a lot of details from Trinidad life and culture. It's great to have a collection that represents many members of the writing community.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People Think They Know the Caribbean -- These Writers Really Do, June 2, 2009

By 

Gerald Hausman - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Trinidad Noir (Akashic Noir) (Paperback)

I bought Trinidad Noir and read each story with the greatest interest. Lisa Allen-Agostini wrote one of my favorites but there are many great ones in this collection. Truth is, not a weak link in the chain, all the stories terrific in different ways. Some like poems wandering in and out of the tricky emotional and physical landscape of Trinidad. Some get right under your skin and you'll read them twice: Oonya Kempadoo's opening line "Trinidad never promised me anything" stays with me as does her nettly, sweet pungent story. The smuggler's morality tale by Willi Chen has this line: "All my life I have been a wretched soul" and I was stuck like glue to this story. Baldeosingh's rape in the cane is like no rape you've ever read or heard about in your life and I loved the last line of the story: "In the clear light of the moon, the man's eyes were open and aware and staring mutely at her." The beauty of this story is that it's somehow moral, immoral and amoral all at the same time. Shani Mootoo's sex, death, and butterflies is another stunner. Tiphanie Yanique's story -- well, I read this three times, savoring it more with each reading. But the greatest you-win-you-lose-you-win story is Agostini's Pot Luck. I was hooked when I read this lovely line -- "She always left him, wandering off like a cat without provocation or explanation..." Single lines at the front and the end of a story often tell me if I'm going to like it, and all of these -- I can't possibly mention every writer though I'd like to! -- have lines of tense, prophetic poetry. I've always sided with those who tell tales this way, as if poetry were the story's real reason for being. All of these noir moments are alive and that is their greatest virtue. Nothing else matters as long as the stories breathe. And these do. Every single one of them.

4.0 out of 5 stars Trinidad going strong, November 4, 2010

By 

Woman moving on (Florida) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Trinidad Noir (Akashic Noir) (Paperback)

This book is a collection of stories from various Trinidadian authors.

I must say I could not put the book down once I stared reading it.

I got it as a present for someone but then I enede up reading kit first before I wrapped it up

Boy was I glad that I did.

Sometimes there will be stories that you just want to go on and on forever.

I wasn't disappointed with any of these offerings of the Trinidad experience.

I highly recommend this book.