Montreal Noir

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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: Patrick Senécal, Tess Fragoulis, Howard Shrier, Michel Basilières, Rob Pobi, Samuel Archibald, Geneviève Lefebvre, Ian Truman, Johanne Seymour, Arjun Basu, Martin Michaud, Melissa Yi, Catherine McKenzie, Peter Kirby, and Brad Smith.Montreal is noir, the birthplace of Leonard Cohen, Saul Bellow, Michel Tremblay, Mordecai Richler, and Oscar Peterson. It's unsettling, it's subversive, it's palpable, but it's never obvious. Montreal's long history is dominated by cultures coming together, almost. And coming apart, almost. And continuing, always. Here, French and English writers explore the underside of the Sin City of the north.From the introduction by John McFetridge & Jacques Filippi:One of the oldest cities in North America, Montreal seems to be in a constant state of flux, changing its personality every few decades. Today Montreal has its own language, Franglais , and maybe the first word spoken in that language was noir...
This collection, with voices of French and English writers, visits many neighborhoods and combines them into something that is, if not totally coherent, at least as coherent as the beautiful mess that is Montreal...Each neighborhood is different, and of course, each Montrealer is different, making up the pieces of the mosaic of our city. Some are bright and shiny, others are darker and somber, but all have a shadow in the noir. 2017 marks Montreal's 375th birthday, and we're pleased to add this collection to the literary life of an amazing city.