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    Berkeley Noir
    Berkeley Noir
    Berkeley Noir
    Ebook298 pages2 hours

    Berkeley Noir

    By Jerry Thompson, Owen Hill, Jim Nisbet and

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Sixteen storytellers shed light on the darkness that lurks in the California city in this fun collection of crime tales.

    Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.

    With stories by: Barry Gifford, Jim Nisbet, Lexi Pandell, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Mara Faye Lethem, Thomas Burchfield, Shanthi Sekaran, Nick Mamatas, Kimn Neilson, Jason S. Ridler, Susan Dunlap, J.M. Curet, Summer Brenner, Michael David Lukas, Aya de León, and Owen Hill.

    Praise for Berkeley Noir

    “Each story evokes the dark side of a Berkeley neighborhood and pays tribute both to the city's history as a haven for outcasts and as a literary metropolis. If you race through it, consider picking up San Francisco Noir and Oakland Noir.” —Diablo Magazine, a Top Ticket choice

    “In “Lucky Day,” Thomas Burchfield reveals the evil that can come when a well-meaning aide breaks his boss’s cardinal rule never to allow patrons into the library early. A worried mom from Holloway wangles her son a prized place in the Berkeley school district in Aya de León’s “Frederick Douglass Elementary.” . . . . J.M. Curet’s “Wifebeater Tank Top,” the tale with the firmest criminal pedigree, is the most violent, but its poetic language and come-from-nowhere ending make it the best.” —Kirkus Reviews

    “The 16 stories set in Berkeley, Calif., in this above average Akashic noir anthology offer little actual noir but a heaping helping of crime, with almost every entry featuring at least a murder or kidnapping . . . . Readers will be glad that many of these tales are fun in a way that traditional noir isn’t.” —Publishers Weekly
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAkashic Books
    Release dateMay 5, 2020
    ISBN9781617758133
    Berkeley Noir

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    Reviews for Berkeley Noir

    4/5

    27 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is the sixth Noir collection by Aksahic Books that I have reviewed for Library Thing. They have been consistently good with a variety of stories. Berkeley Noir, covering a town I've never been to, continues the trend. I tend to read the stories out of order based on length, author, and how I'm feeling at the time. So I was a little worried when the first few that I read didn't leave a last marIk on me. Then I hit "Eat Your Pheasant, Drink Your Wine" by Shanthi Sekaran, which had such a unique twist for this series that I ultimately ended up on the positive side. "Wifebeater Tank Top" and "The Tangy Brine of Dark Night" were also highlights for me.
    • 4/5
      I have definitely become a fan of this Akashic Noir series of short story collections. "Berkeley Noir" contains stories that are simultaneously poignant and shocking. It conveys a definite sense of a seething undercurrent beneath a shiny, upscale veneer. Several stories capture the vulnerability that accompanies loneliness in a manner that makes the reader struggle to resolve the morality of the characters' choices. In others, love ameliorates morally ambiguous choices. Very good read!
    • 4/5
      As the Introduction to this recent collection from Akashic Books' noir series notes: “Can a Bay Area college town be a breeding ground for noir? On the surface the alleys don’t seem that dark, until we look a little closer.” Fans of noir recognize what the 16 tales in this book make plain: Shadows and darkness that mark the genre are not found in the alleys or the wharfs, or in city streets and the dusky hills they give way to. Shadows and darkness live in the heart and mind—even our own (if we are brave enough to admit it).In these stories, dark impulses—what Poe called “the imp of the perverse,” are like rafts carried on dark currents. Among the not-quite-human tech moguls, free range environmentalists, left-behind revolutionaries, and bitcoin barkers, rises the tide of recognize-you-anywhere dark hearted, ill-fated losers that cast their shadows on it all. Many of the people in these stories are seekers. But rather than enlightenment or venture capital, they seek the expected—a home, love, somewhere to belong, escape. And because it’s noir we’re dealing with, we know the only way to those things is to get out, and the only way out is down. As in the best noir tales, there is redemption here. The secret promise of an ocean burial, the hollow histories of idolized personalities, the double-cross that is its own hopeless reward. The stories, each by a different author, mix easily, with haunted academe and black night sailing taking up residence among fables and the hapless inevitability of surrender. Berkeley Noir is a strong addition to Akashic’s catalogue. Strong not only because of its faith in the noir genre, but because of the way its stories uncover the wanting in the land of plenty. Hollywood and Los Angeles have their rich veins of noir familiar to many readers. Now the Bay Area claims its own.Peter Scisco
    • 5/5
      The last time I visited Berkeley, California was in 1999 and the catch phrase being thrown around was "How Berkeley Can You Be?" I don't recall hearing much about the noir aspect of Berkeley in the conversations that followed that question. The attitude was that "that kind of stuff" happened in Oakland and Richmond or across the Bay. I knew better. My great aunt was a physician there for years and she told us stories--some as good as the best in this collection. There are sixteen stories in this anthology and most of them hit the mark of being both Berkeley and noir. All were decent diversions that helped break the boredom of self quarantine. I do have have a favorite: "Eat Your Pheasant, Drink Your Wine" by Shanthi Sekaran with a rat as the narrator. The rodent type of rat, not the gangster type who rats on his partners in crime. Another favorite is Michael David Lukas' "Dear Fellow Graduates" in which a high school journalist tells all.I deducted a half star because this morning when I scanned the table of contents there were a couple of stories that I couldn't remember at all.
    • 5/5
      These are great short stories. This will be the sixteenth book that I have read in this series. I especially like the ones that take place in a city where I have been. Some stories disappoint but not very many.
    • 4/5
      I received this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers page.This is the 4th anthology from Akashic Books that I’ve read. Each is a selection of short stories in the noir genre. This one did not disappoint. The writing was solid and the plots had good twists and turns. They all have their dark, cynical points of view. But that is noir!Berkeley may be neighbour to San Francisco and a university town, but it has it’s dark, gritty and deadly side too. Each story is set in a different neighbourhood of Berkeley.In “Lucky Day,” Mason is in week three of his new job at the Berkeley Public Library. Today the new library director is coming in to see how things are going. The manager had to run out to deal with a few problems but would be right back. Mason should be OK on his own, he knows not to unlock the doors to anyone until the opening time.When Sharpie, a homeless man who is a regular at the library, starts pounding on the glass doors and appears to be seriously bleeding, Mason unlocks the door to let Sharpie in, planning to call 911 for help. Simple plan that becomes complicated when Mason’s brother, Harry, starts pounding on the door. Harry is someone Mason doesn’t want to see or deal with. Harry is also homeless and has some serious problems. Things go from bad to worse when Harry barges in. Seems he has a score to settle with Sharpie. So much for Mason’s ‘lucky day.’There is the tale of the house sitter who helps leave a body in the garden of the house she is setting.There is the single mother who wants to move her kid out of a low performance school that has a serious bullying problem, to a high achieving school. After jumping through all the hoops, the boy is accepted. What greets the lady and her son on the first day makes the lady wonder if it was the right idea to transfer the boy.Twisty tales with dark sides. A good read.
    • 4/5
      There were some strong stories in this collection (I especially enjoyed Eat Your Pheasant, Drink Your Wine by Shanthi Sekaran and Hill House by Lexi Pandell, among others) but there were those that just didn't work for me. I will always recommend this series as it does a fantastic job of highlighting local scenes and introducing me to a great array of authors.
    • 4/5
      Berkeley Noir contains 16 stories that sometimes stretch the definition of noir but that all seem perfectly to capture the mix of peoples and cultures and funk that is Berkeley. I enjoyed every story in this book, and the editors have selected tales that reflect the literary heritage of the East Bay, including a sea story, an otherwise classic noir tale featuring a literate, talking rat, and several with the gritty grumbling sensibility of Philip K. Dick's best fiction. The stories explore race, class and, a persistent theme, gentrification. And this volume of Akashic's noir series is highly entertaining!
    • 4/5
      Overall, nice try but no cigar. Susan Dunlop is the only author I already knew well, so I read hers first. I give it a strong no vote. The Nick Mamatas story should have been good, but no. The Neilson piece is from a longer project and is good, other than the awkward structure. I think the first story, by Lexi Pandell, is best. And of course if you have ever lived in Berkeley you will love all the local references. Good job on the contributors section.(LibraryThing Early Reviewers)

    Book preview

    Berkeley Noir - Jerry Thompson

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