Manila Noir: (Akashic Noir Series)

Manila provides the ideal, torrid setting for a Noir Series volume. It's where the rich rub shoulders with the poor, where five-star hotels coexist with squatter settlements, where religious zeal coexists with superstition, where "hospitality" might be another word for prostitution, where politics is often synonymous with celebrity and corruption.

About the Author :
Jessica Hagedorn was born in Manila and now lives in New York. A novelist, poet, and playwright, her published works include Toxicology, The Gangster of Love, and Dogeaters, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. She also edited both volumes of the groundbreaking anthology Charlie Chan Is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction.

Review :
For those who love travel, history, and a little bit of lore, this anthology transports you to the Philippines and is filled with riveting and sometimes dark stories of the capital city.-- "Glamour (Summer Reading pick)" It is Manila itself--its heat and throb, its particular melange of Asia and America, its poverty and wealth, its diverse neighborhoods, the iconic pan de sal--that is the main protagonist in the collection as a whole . . . every reader--even those with weak stomachs or no particular affinity for noir--is likely to find some that are intriguing, enjoyable or eye-opening.-- "Asian Review of Books" While certain cities in past Akashic volumes might appear to lack an obvious noir element, Manila (like Mexico City, which shares many of the same problems) practically defines it, as shown by the 14 selections in this excellent anthology. As Hagedorn points out in her insightful introduction, Manila is a city burdened with a violent and painful past, with a long heritage of foreign occupation. The specters of WWII (during which the city suffered from U.S. saturation bombing), and the oppressive 20-year reign of dictator Ferdinand Marcos live on in recent memory. The Filipino take on noir includes a liberal dose of the gothic and supernatural, with disappearance and loss being constants.-- "Publishers Weekly, Starred Review" Held closely to their breasts by the stories are messy, edged lives flaring out in seemingly random directions. But the 14 stories themselves are all elegant and smooth, like a bladed weapon concealed in a jacket. They strike suddenly but thoroughly, leaving you wounded. Embedded in each story is a deep acceptance of the fantastically flawed life in the big city and a step out of the ordinary . . . Manila Noir is a masterfully crafted anthology that reminds us that, if you truly love your city, you embrace its darkness as much as--if not more than--its brightness.-- "Inquirer (Philippines)" In . . . Manila Noir, the latest addition to Akashic Book's series of original noir anthologies, poet, novelist, and artist Jessica Hagedorn writes of how ghosts of past occupations, buried secrets, corrupt political dealings, crime, and inequality have shaped the fabric of the Philippine capital city.-- "The Margins"