Paris Noir (Akashic Noir)

'The dank and sweaty crime scenes in Paris Noir testify to the fact that the French invented'noir.'Among the jarring images in this story collection, Didier Daeninckx's murky view of the after-hours scene in Porte Saint-Denis and Marc Villard's gritty look at the sex trade in Les Halles are correctives to all those persistent romantic fantasies about the city.'—New York Times Featuring brand-new stories by: Didier Daeninckx, Jean-Bernard Pouy, Marc Villard, Chantal Pelletier, Patrick Pécherot, DOA, Hervé Prudon, Dominique Mainard, Salim Bachi, Jérôme Leroy, Laurent Martin, and Christophe Mercier. From the editor's introduction:'Paris is a city that lives, and thus dies, every day. No point hiding behind history or war memories. What is a threat to Paris, to its noir dimension even, is potential'museumification,'the possibility of the city turning into a big theme park. In Paris, after all, everything is still there. All you have to do is look around with eyes wide open...'Beyond the lights, beyond the cafés and bars, Paris is sometimes like a grave. It's a city you run away from, or at least dream of running away from. But on every street corner, the past jumps at your throat like a grimacing hyena... You don't inhabit your city, you dream it. All I can do now is invite you to enter the dream.' Launched by the summer '04 award-winning, best-seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book. All original stories from Paris' finest authors, all translated from French. Brand-new stories by: Didier Daeninckx, Jean-Bernard Pouy, Marc Villard, Chantal Pelletier, Patrick Pecherot, DOA, Herve Prudon, Dominique Mainard, Salim Bachi, Jerome Leroy, Laurent Martin, and Christophe Mercier. Twelve short stories, twelve points of view, twelve neighborhoods of the same town, and finally, twelve pieces of the same puzzle. Paris Noir takes you on a ride through the old medieval center of town with its intertwined streets, its ghosts, and its secrets buried in history. You'll cruise Paris with its nightclubs full of mysterious beauties who seem to have a lot to hide. You'll meet a driver with a big heart who decides to save a beaten prostitute by all means necessary, a politician knowing too much living his lasts moments in a French brasserie full of cigarette smoke, old and tired mobsters settling scores in Pigalle on Christmas Eve. But Paris Noir is not only an homage to the crime genre, to Melville and Godard, it's also an invitation to French fiction. Besides the crime world, we discover the everyday people: a waiter who goes on a search after his best client disappears; a lunatic living on rue de la Sante, the only street in Paris where you can find a prison, a psychiatric hospital, and the traces of onetime resident Samuel Beckett; and a young beauty who believes she will be the next big star of a reality-TV show. Crime, gunfights, twisted love stories, and shattered dreams, Paris Noir offers an explosive and poetic cocktail. Contrary to what certain people say, France is not Old Europe and Paris is certainly not a museum

 

"The dank and sweaty crime scenes in Paris Noir...testify to the fact that the French invented “noir.” Among the jarring images in this story collection, Didier Daeninckx’s murky view of the after-hours scene in Porte Saint-Denis and Marc Villard’s gritty look at the sex trade in Les Halles are correctives to all those persistent romantic fantasies about the city.”—New York Times

Paris Noir takes you on a ride through the old medieval center of town with its winding streets, its ghosts, and its secrets buried in history. This is more than an homage to the crime genre, to Melville and Godard, it’s also a lush introduction to the very best in French fiction.

Brand-new stories from: Marc Villard, Didier Daeninckx, Jean-Bernard Pouy, Salim Bachi, Christophe Mercier, Jerome Leroy, DOA, Laurent Martin, Herve Prudon, Patrick Pecherot, Dominique Mainard, and Chantal Pelletier.

Aurélien Masson is the director of la Série Noire at Gallimard, one of France’s leading publishing companies.

"The dank and sweaty crime scenes in Paris Noir testify to the fact that the French invented 'noir.' Among the jarring images in this story collection, Didier Daeninckx's murky view of the after-hours scene in Porte Saint-Denis and Marc Villard's gritty look at the sex trade in Les Halles are correctives to all those persistent romantic fantasies about the city." —New York Times

Featuring brand-new stories by: Didier Daeninckx, Jean-Bernard Pouy, Marc Villard, Chantal Pelletier, Patrick Pécherot, DOA, Hervé Prudon, Dominique Mainard, Salim Bachi, Jérôme Leroy, Laurent Martin, and Christophe Mercier.

From the editor's introduction:

"Paris is a city that lives, and thus dies, every day. No point hiding behind history or war memories. What is a threat to Paris, to its noir dimension even, is potential 'museumification,' the possibility of the city turning into a big theme park. In Paris, after all, everything is still there. All you have to do is look around with eyes wide open . . .

"Beyond the lights, beyond the cafés and bars, Paris is sometimes like a grave. It's a city you run away from, or at least dream of running away from. But on every street corner, the past jumps at your throat like a grimacing hyena . . .

You don't inhabit your city, you dream it. All I can do now is invite you to enter the dream."

Marc Villard Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy -- Laurent Martin Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy -- Laurent Martin -- Christophe Mercier Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy -- Laurent Martin -- Christophe Mercier -- Jean-Bernard Pouy Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy -- Laurent Martin -- Christophe Mercier -- Jean-Bernard Pouy -- Dominique Mainard Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy -- Laurent Martin -- Christophe Mercier -- Jean-Bernard Pouy -- Dominique Mainard -- Didier Daeninckx Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy -- Laurent Martin -- Christophe Mercier -- Jean-Bernard Pouy -- Dominique Mainard -- Didier Daeninckx -- Patrick Pecherot Marc Villard -- Chantal Pelletier -- Salim Bachi -- Jerome Leroy -- Laurent Martin -- Christophe Mercier -- Jean-Bernard Pouy -- Dominique Mainard -- Didier Daeninckx -- Patrick Pecherot -- Doa Marc Villard-- Chantal Pelletier-- Salim Bachi-- Jerome Leroy-- Laurent Martin-- Christophe Mercier-- Jean-Bernard Pouy-- Dominique Mainard-- Didier Daeninckx-- Patrick Pecherot-- Doa-- Herve Prudon. All original stories from Paris' finest authors, all translated from French. Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book. Brand-new stories by: Didier Daeninckx, Jean-Bernard Pouy, Marc Villard, Chantal Pelletier, Patrick Pécherot, DOA, Hervé Prudon, Dominique Mainard, Salim Bachi, Jérôme Leroy, Laurent Martin, and Christophe Mercier.