South Central Noir: Akashic Books: Noir
- Downloads：1999
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-29 11:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Gary Phillips
- ISBN：B0BG5T2SRN
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The Akashic Noir series' forensic study of Southern California sharpens its focus on one of Los Angeles' most recognized neighborhoods。
Featuring brand-new stories by: Steph Cha， Nikolas Charles， Tananarive Due， Larry Fondation， Gar Anthony Haywood， Naomi Hirahara， Emory Holmes II， Roberto Lovato， Penny Mickelbury， Gary Phillips， Eric Stone， Jervey Tervalon， Jeri Westerson， and Désirée Zamorano。
From the introduction by Gary Phillips
"Within these pages you'll find stories of those walking the straight and narrow—until something untoward happens。 Maybe it's someone taking a step out of line， getting caught up in circumstances spiraling out of their control。 Maybe they're planning the grift， the grab。。。whatever it is to finally put them over。 Other times the steps they take are to get themselves or people they care about out from under。 You'll find the offerings in these pages are a rich mix of tone—tales told of hope， survival， revenge， and triumph。 Excursions beyond the headlines and the hype。
The settings herein reflect South Central today or chronicle its colorful past， such as the days of the jazz joints along Central Avenue。。。。 From South Park to East Martin Luther King Jr。 Boulevard， from the borderlands of Watts to the one-time Southern Pacific railroad tracks paralleling Slauson Avenue， take a tour of a section of Los Angeles that may be unfamiliar to you but you will get to know， at least a little， by the time you finish reading this entertaining and engaging anthology。"
Featuring brand-new stories by: Steph Cha， Nikolas Charles， Tananarive Due， Larry Fondation， Gar Anthony Haywood， Naomi Hirahara， Emory Holmes II， Roberto Lovato， Penny Mickelbury， Gary Phillips， Eric Stone， Jervey Tervalon， Jeri Westerson， and Désirée Zamorano。
From the introduction by Gary Phillips
"Within these pages you'll find stories of those walking the straight and narrow—until something untoward happens。 Maybe it's someone taking a step out of line， getting caught up in circumstances spiraling out of their control。 Maybe they're planning the grift， the grab。。。whatever it is to finally put them over。 Other times the steps they take are to get themselves or people they care about out from under。 You'll find the offerings in these pages are a rich mix of tone—tales told of hope， survival， revenge， and triumph。 Excursions beyond the headlines and the hype。
The settings herein reflect South Central today or chronicle its colorful past， such as the days of the jazz joints along Central Avenue。。。。 From South Park to East Martin Luther King Jr。 Boulevard， from the borderlands of Watts to the one-time Southern Pacific railroad tracks paralleling Slauson Avenue， take a tour of a section of Los Angeles that may be unfamiliar to you but you will get to know， at least a little， by the time you finish reading this entertaining and engaging anthology。"
Reviews
Porshea DiMera
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Are you interested in: a well curated anthology of short stories all based on different time periods in South Central LA？ How about stories where noir can mean anything from characters getting involved in more than they bargained for to being visited by an ill-timed ghost？This is the best curated anthology I’ve ever come across。 Each story matches in vibe although written by different authors， reflecting on different backgrounds within this infamous neighborhood。 Most of these stories linger in Are you interested in: a well curated anthology of short stories all based on different time periods in South Central LA？ How about stories where noir can mean anything from characters getting involved in more than they bargained for to being visited by an ill-timed ghost？This is the best curated anthology I’ve ever come across。 Each story matches in vibe although written by different authors， reflecting on different backgrounds within this infamous neighborhood。 Most of these stories linger in mind well after reading it while others are not as solid - overall worth picking up！ 4。75/5 stars 。。。more
HighPrairieBookworm - Jonni Jones
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South Central Noir， part of the Akashic Noir Series， is an anthology of stories about the south central area of Greater Los Angeles。 These are tales about the seamy side of Los Angeles， the people who live there， the conditions they live in， and actions affecting them。Some of these stories are frightening， some violent， and others just plain sad。 Each book in The Noir Series takes place in a particular city， state， province， or country all over the world。Having lived in southern California for a South Central Noir， part of the Akashic Noir Series， is an anthology of stories about the south central area of Greater Los Angeles。 These are tales about the seamy side of Los Angeles， the people who live there， the conditions they live in， and actions affecting them。Some of these stories are frightening， some violent， and others just plain sad。 Each book in The Noir Series takes place in a particular city， state， province， or country all over the world。Having lived in southern California for a short while， I enjoyed these stories， some more than others but all well written。 。。。more
EuroHackie
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I received a copy of this book courtesy of LibraryThing Early Reviewers and the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review。This collection of noir centers on a 33-mile patch of LA made famous by the 1992 riots and gangsta rap。 South Central has a reputation of being cold and hard， and these stories certainly reflect this aspect of reality。 What I especially enjoyed about this collection is that 1/3 of the stories are histor I received a copy of this book courtesy of LibraryThing Early Reviewers and the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review。This collection of noir centers on a 33-mile patch of LA made famous by the 1992 riots and gangsta rap。 South Central has a reputation of being cold and hard， and these stories certainly reflect this aspect of reality。 What I especially enjoyed about this collection is that 1/3 of the stories are historically set （before the riots）， as well as the exploration of the melting pot of cultures that swirls around Central Avenue。 The stories are divided into three categories: Always and Forever， Cold Sweat， and The World is a Ghetto。 My favorite story （by a long margin） was "The Golden Coffin" by Emory Holmes II， set in the 1930s around the classic Dunbar Hotel， an oasis for upper-class Blacks during the Depression。 The story's main strength is the strong sense of community。 We have our narrator and all of the people around him， who serve as a reflection of the illusion of safety that is the Dunbar， nestled in the heart of a heady， racist LA。 The eponymous golden coffin speaks to the nature of the Dunbar and all the people who both work there and stay there。 It's a wonderful story， a blend of history， murder， and noir， and also the longest of the bunch。There is a lot of grim， miserable reality in these pages: the opening story is about a Korean store owner who burns down his place during the riots in a gamble for insurance money。 The second story is about two teen girls who hustle for their lives （quite literally） as well as the precious life of an innocent baby。 The first story in the second section is a slice of life vignette following a kneebreaker for a loan shark in the post-war period。 "Mae's Family Dining" is another excellent story spanning decades， telling how Mae opened her restaurant and how she can （and can't） outrun her luck as an outspoken Black woman in the 1960s。 There's a thread of corruption （especially police corruption） through the entire collection， one that reality has proven is even worse than we think。 All of the stories in Part 3 are misery personified， with only the last one offering a glimpse of hope。 It's a lot to read all at once。There is some sweetness to balance the dark - "All that Glitters" by Gar Anthony Haywood was another personal favorite， a bittersweet story about a mentally challenged man who hides his family treasure among the structures of Watts Towers before he dies - and all of the people who are trying to find it。 I called it a "sideways fairy tale" in my notes。 "I Am Yojimbo" by Naomi Hirahara is an interesting intersection of cultures: a young Black boy idolizes the samurais in the movies shown at the local Japanese theatre， but life gets a little too real when he has a run-in with a real-life yakuza。In the end， there was just a touch too much unrelenting misery for me to rate the entire collection higher than 3， but it is a solid collection and worth reading。 I'd definitely like to read the other LA-centered collections， especially the "classics" given California noir was practically its own subgenre during the postwar heyday。 。。。more
Rachel
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Absolutely amazing。 This is one of the best Akashic Noir collections I have ever read。 The style and setting of each story is unique - some more current and others nearly 100 years in the past。 Watching this section of Los Angeles change over time in just 280 pages is an experience no fan of noir should miss。 While South Central is almost a character in its own right， these stories all bring the people to the forefront， and they are first and foremost people。 They aren't mere vehicles to further Absolutely amazing。 This is one of the best Akashic Noir collections I have ever read。 The style and setting of each story is unique - some more current and others nearly 100 years in the past。 Watching this section of Los Angeles change over time in just 280 pages is an experience no fan of noir should miss。 While South Central is almost a character in its own right， these stories all bring the people to the forefront， and they are first and foremost people。 They aren't mere vehicles to further an author's message about gentrification， over-policing （especially in the wake of the 1992 brutal beating of Rodney King）， gang violence， drugs， or even the pandemic。 Those messages are all there， but they transcend their circumstances and demand to be seen。There is not a single story in this collection that I did not enjoy。 The scope of this collection is breathtaking。 The writing quality on all of them is high。 I cannot recommend this one enough。 "The Golden Coffin" by Emory Holmes II was probably my favorite。 Set in 1935， this one had an absolutely perfect ending。 Jeri Westerson's "The Last Time I Died" was sad and haunting。 "All That Glitters" by Gar Anthony Haywood was delightful and I loved the narrator of Eric Stone's "Collections"。 Mae， the central character in Penny Mickelbury's "Mae's Family Dining" is probably my favorite character in the collection， though。 I loved her。Full disclosure - I received an advanced copy of this book from Akashic and LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Diana
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SOUTH CENTRAL NOIR edited by Gary Phillips is published by Akashic Books （September of 2022）。This title is the latest addition to Akashic Books’s celebrated Noir anthology series。All the Noir books have the same set-up， which I really like。 I feel right at home with a new title。There is the title page; a lengthy list of all the Noir titles from ACCRA NOIR （Ghana） to ZAGREB NOIR （Croatia）; a map （I love maps！） with body cutouts marking the neighborhoods or streets or areas or places that correspo SOUTH CENTRAL NOIR edited by Gary Phillips is published by Akashic Books （September of 2022）。This title is the latest addition to Akashic Books’s celebrated Noir anthology series。All the Noir books have the same set-up， which I really like。 I feel right at home with a new title。There is the title page; a lengthy list of all the Noir titles from ACCRA NOIR （Ghana） to ZAGREB NOIR （Croatia）; a map （I love maps！） with body cutouts marking the neighborhoods or streets or areas or places that correspond to the stories; a Table of Contents listing the stories， authors and their areas/locations; an Introduction by the editor which sets the tone for/sets the stage for the stories that follow; and last， but not least， a very interesting section About the Contributors。SOUTH CENTRAL NOIR is written in three parts and includes 14 stories written by the following authors: Steph Cha - Nikolas Charles - Tananarive Due - Larry Foundation - Gar Anthony Haywood - Naomi Hirahara - Emory Holmes II - Roberto Lovato - Penny Mickelbury - Gary Phillips - Eric Stone - Jervey Tervalon - Jeri Westerson - Desiree Zamorano。Editor （and author） Gary Phillips defines South Central for us in the Introduction “ The settings reflect South Central today or chronicle its colorful past， such as the days of the jazz joints along Central Avenue……From South Park to East Martin Luther King Jr。 Boulevard， from the borderlands of Watts， to the one-time Southern Pacific Railroad tracks paralleling Slauson Avenue， take a tour of a section of Los Angeles that may be unfamiliar to you but you will get to know， at least a little， by the time you finish reading this entertaining and engaging anthology。”I liked all the stories。 The nice thing about an anthology is that one can read a story， walk away and have time to digest it， to mull it over a bit。 There was the taste of noir in every one。 Noir is defined as a genre of crime fiction characterized by cynicism， fatalism and moral ambiguity。 The characters are usually hard-boiled and cynical in very bleak and sleazy settings。 Noir is not for the faint-hearted。This Noir series is brilliant and every title， every story is well-written。 The stories put you on the edge of your seat and one feels a gauntlet of emotions。Thank you to Akashic Books for this ARC （Advance Reading Copy）。**** 。。。more
Thomas Petri
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