Mexico City Noir

Akashic Books: Noir

By: Paco Ignacio II Taibo - editor, Achy Obejas - translator

Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann, Tim Pabon, Thom Rivera, Kyla Garcia

Latin American noir at its finest. “[A] diverse collection of stories which reflect the harshness and also the brittle brilliance of life in Mexico City.” (MostlyFiction Book Reviews)

Akashic Books’ acclaimed series of original noir anthologies has set a high standard for portraying cities and their neighborhoods in all their dark and violent splendor. Now, Mexico City Noir surpasses that standard with phantasmagorical tales of double-dealing, corruption, violence and self-delusion.... This collection is such a varied literary feast. Fans of Jorge Luis Borges will find surprises galore in the story "Violeta Isn’t Here Anymore". The noir-ish maze that Myriam Laurini constructs with her flair for the shifting realities of "magical realism" is dazzling enough, and then up pops Borges....

“Peel back one layer and find something totally unexpected, these tales tell us again and again. As Eduardo Monteverde writes, ‘the heart of Mexico City is made of mud and green rocks, and the God of Rain continues to cry over the whole country.’ And standing on that ground, the 12 writers here find inspiration to die for.” (Shelf Awareness)

This anthology includes brand-new stories by Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Eugenio Aguirre, Eduardo Antonio Parra, Bernardo Fernández Bef, Óscar de la Borbolla, Rolo Díez, Victor Luiz González, F.G. Haghenbeck, Juan Hernández Luna, Myriam Laurini, Eduardo Monteverde, and Julia Rodríguez.

©2010 Akashic Books (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Sharp storytelling

This collection of noir stories was excellently narrated: the performances from Hispanic American readers and the translations themselves kept just enough of the original Spanish language and made good use of Mexican-American accents to make it feel “authentic.” Favorite stories: the tape story, Bang! and the one about cats.