London Noir (Paperback)

by Cathi Unsworth (Editor)
Key Phrases: lady jogger, Camden Town, King's Road, John Frederson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
While few of the names in the 10th entry in the city noir anthology series that began with Brooklyn Noir (2004) will be familiar to American readers (where, for example, are Robert Barnard and John Harvey?), by way of compensation eight of the 17 contributions focus on punk rock. Ken Bruen, best known for his native Dublin settings, offers a sharp jab to the gut in "Loaded." Michael Ward's "I Fought the Lawyer" profiles one of the worst blackmail schemes ever devised. Unsworth's tale, "Trouble Is a Lonesome Town," riffs nicely on the seedy PI who gets in over his head. Martyn Waites's "Love" is a frightening portrait of a skinhead recruit. Joolz Denby's "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" effectively traces the arc of would-be punk stars from the country trying to find fame in the big city. If this volume doesn't match the quality of the best in the series, there are still pleasures to be found, especially for those into the contemporary London music scene. (Aug.)
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Product Description

Brand-new stories by: Desmond Barry, Ken Bruen, Stewart Home, Barry Adamson, Michael Ward, Sylvie Simmons, Daniel Bennett, Cathi Unsworth, Max Décharné, Martyn Waites, Joolz Denby, John Williams, Jerry Sykes, Mark Pilkington, Joe McNally, Patrick McCabe, and Ken Hollings.

Cathi Unsworth moved to Ladbroke Grove in 1987 and has stayed there ever since. She began a career in rock writing with Sounds and Melody Maker, before co-editing the arts journal Purr and then Bizarre magazine. Her first novel, The Not Knowing, was published by Serpent's Tail in August 2005.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188845198X
• ISBN-13: 978-1888451986
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #621,462 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Noir Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars London Punk 1977, February 19, 2007

By	Andrew J. Tumey (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like dirt on the streets of London, these dirty characters are afixed to a dirty world. Pushers and addicts, crooked cops, the homeless and ,of course, punk rockers star in these short stories.

The lives portrayed touch the reality that is quite often glossed over and glamourized by artists who tend to elevate these dark ends of London in their works. One would rather read this book than live it out.

The scenes are bleak but eye opening as they teach about their dark and hopeless world. These stories illuminate the often attractive London , especially during punk's early days.

So if you survived those heady times you can have fun, reminisce and read these tales and be glad you survived!

3.0 out of 5 stars The Darker Side on London, August 10, 2008

By	Drewry F. Wofford III (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the second book I have read in this series, and while I like the books, they get a bit over bearing after a while. "London Noir" paints a consistently bleak and desperate picture of one of my favorite cities, and there is simply no let up in the constant parade of hopeless characters. I found that the stories - for this is a collection of short stories, each anchored in a specific geographic location around London - to get increasingly less well written, definitely less interesting, and even a bit more bizarre, as the book went on.

There are some well known authors, such as Ken Bruen, but many are first time writers, or at least new to the genre. Like Cinema Noire, the stores all have a dark, crime ridden atmosphere, populated by characters on the periphery of society. Many are interesting, but because they are short stories, you really make no connections with any character. There is no single character that runs through the stories to give any sense of continuity (they are all written by different authors), and I think that also hurts the collection. While I recommend the book, maybe just because I'll read almost anything about London, come with the proper expectations. I'll keep reading through the series (I think there are 16 or 17 books now) as time and interest permits