Venice Noir

by Maxim Jakubowski (Editor/Author), Peter James, Isabella Santacroce

Original stories by: Peter James, Emily St. John Mandel, Barbara Baraldi, Mike Hodges, Mary Hoffman, Maria Tronca, Matteo Righetto, Tony Cartano, Francesco Ferracin, Isabella Santacroce, Michelle Lovric, Francesca Mazzucato, Maxim Jakubowski, and Michael Gregorio.

Maxim Jakubowski is a British editor and writer. Following a long career in book publishing, during which he was responsible for several major crime imprints, he opened London's mystery bookshop Murder One. He reviews crime fiction for the Guardian, runs London's Crime Scene Festival, and is an advisor to Italy's annual Courmayeur Noir in Festival. His latest crime novel is Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer, and he edits the annual Best British Mysteries series.

“Drifter” by Emily Mandel was selected for inclusion in The Best American Mystery Stories 2013, edited by Otto Penzler and Lisa Scottoline

Genres: Short Stories, Noir, Italy, Travel, Mystery, Fiction, Anthologies

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Maxim Jakubowski is a crime, erotic, and science fiction writer and critic.

Jakubowski was born in England by Russian-British and Polish parents, but raised in France. Jakubowski has also lived in Italy and has travelled extensively. Jakubowski edited the science fiction anthology Twenty Houses of the Zodiac in 1979 for the 37th World Science Fiction Convention (Seacon '79) in Brighton. He also contributed a short story to that anthology. He has now published almost 100 books in a variety of areas.

He has worked in book publishing for many years, which he left to open the Murder One bookshop[1], the UK's first specialist crime and mystery bookstore. He contributes to a variety of newspapers and magazines, and was for eight years the crime columnist for Time Out and, presently, since 2000, the crime reviewer for The Guardian. He is also the literary director of London's Crime Scene Festival and a consultant for the International Mystery Film Festival, Noir in Fest, held annually in Courmayeur, Italy. He is one the leading editors in the crime and mystery and erotica field, in which he has published many major anthologies.

His novels include "It's You That I Want To Kiss", "Because She Thought She Loved Me", "The State Of Montana", "On Tenderness Express", "Kiss me Sadly" and "Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer". His short story collections are "Life in the World of Women", "Fools for Lust" and the collaborative "American Casanova". He is a regular broadcaster on British TV and radio and was recently voted the 4th Sexiest Writer of 2,007 on a poll on the crimespace website.

Reviews

[Jaidee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.68 "entertaining, solid, grotesque, chilling, thrilling, humorous" stars !!!


Boy did I enjoy this compilation of Noir that takes place in Venice by a variety of Italian and International writers. I have not been to that city since I was 21. I had spent seven weeks in Sicily with a beautiful Russian girl and on the way home....she to Chicago and me to Toronto...we stopped for a week in Venice. We were completely broke at this point and lived on bread, figs, olives, lust and the kindness of strangers. A magnificent week to end a most wonderful of summers.

After reading this book I am uncertain if I wish to return. The city is polluted, dying, corrupt, expensive, dirty, stinky, in addition to being grand, wondrous and ridiculous.

These stories ranged from good to superb with only one dud in fourteen. The writing was fresh, at times strange, affected, unique. The stories were inhabited by all manner of folk: policemen, tourists, fishermen, gondoliers, vixens, crooks, mobsters, schemers, old women, psychotics, sociopaths, ingenues. Much to my chagrin two of the stories featured rats and that gives me the heeeebie jeebies.

I am going to list the story, the author, the rating and then just a impressionistic sentence to give you a taste.

1. Cloudy Water by Matteo Righetto

4 stars....careful what you order at the bistro

2. The Comedy is Over by Francesco Ferracin

4 stars....a woman's revenge can be masculine !

3. Commissario Cielia Vinci by Barbara Baraldi

3 stars...passable but just passable police melodrama

4. Little Sister by Francesca Mazzucato

3.5 stars....creepy good with some stink

5. Lido Winter by Maxim Jakubowski

4 stars....erotic and lovely and a bit much ;)

6. Pantegana by Michelle Lovric

4.5 stars....creepy gross....old ladies and a lone rat

7. Desdemona Undicesima by Isabella Santacroce

4.5 stars....sad, chilling, poetic, with a touch of the ridiculous

8. Venice Aphrodisiac by Peter James

4 stars....hilarious and very dark...a marriage gone awry

9. Drifter by Emily St. John Mandel (yes that Mandel)

3 stars...interesting but way too underdeveloped...come on Ms. Mandel

10. Rendezvous by Tony Cartano

3.5 stars....paranoid paranoid but fun fun

11. Signor Gauke's tongue by Mike Hodges

3 stars...swindling the rich has a price !!

12. Tourists for supper by Maria Tronca

4.5 stars...my favorite in the bunch but I will have nightmares as it involves thousands of rats....wheres that gray kitty of mine to protect me !!

13. Laguna Blues by Michael Gregorio

4 stars...two little vignettes of noir that were both fun and cheeky !!

14. A closed book by Mary Hoffman

2 stars...I wish they left this one out....not a good way to end a really entertaining collection !!

I will leave you with a poem

On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic
BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Once did She hold the gorgeous east in fee;
And was the safeguard of the west: the worth
Of Venice did not fall below her birth,
Venice, the eldest Child of Liberty.
She was a maiden City, bright and free;
No guile seduced, no force could violate;
And, when she took unto herself a Mate,
She must espouse the everlasting Sea.
And what if she had seen those glories fade,
Those titles vanish, and that strength decay;
Yet shall some tribute of regret be paid
When her long life hath reached its final day:
Men are we, and must grieve when even the Shade
Of that which once was great is passed away.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthology of short noir stories set in Venice. Not the one in California. Venice is a unique city, and the setting lends a lot to these stories, most of which are pretty pedestrian. The dream like quality makes them stand out a little.

[Ines · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Mętna woda 4/5
2. La commedia è finita 3/5
3. Komisarz Clelia Vinci 3.5/5
4. Siostrzyczka 3.5/5
5. Zima w Lido 3/5
6. Szczur wodny 4.5/5
7. Desdemona Undicesima 3/5
8. Wenecki afrodyzjak 4/5
9. Łazęga 4/5
10. Randka 3/5 (najmniej ciekawe)
11. Język Signor Gaukego - 3.5 / 5
12. Turyści na obiad - 5/5 (zdecydowanie najlepsze opowiadanie)
13. Laguna Blues - 4/5
14. Zamknięty rozdział 4/5

[Woody Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell behind in my reviews thanks to the impending end of SY2017-'18. I am currently working as a day-to-day substitute teacher & I get some of my best reading done at work. There is usually 30 minutes of independent reading time built into each school day & so I indulge while the children are reading. As the end of the school year approached, I found myself wanting to read more & type less before the opportunity closed.

I ordered my copy through BetterWorldBooks.com & even before I confirmed my order, I had a niggling, sneaking idea that I had read this one before. If I had, then I might be in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease since it all seemed brand-new to me.

I really liked this one, especially coming on the heels of "Stockholm Noir", about which I had been lukewarm, at best. In this collection, the grittiness was palpable, which seemed unlikely in a city built on canals, but it was unrelenting in its noir-ness. My favorite section was III - "Tourists and Other Troubled Folk" since I have been a tourist in Venice. I didn't get into trouble, or more precisely, I avoided it like the seasoned sailor that I was. I can promise you, first-hand, that Venice will offer you plenty of opportunities for trouble, if that is what you are after. This volume captured that sentiment nicely.

[Blanka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jednak 4

Metna woda 3,5
La commedia è finita 3
Komisarz Clelia Vinci 4
Siostrzyczka 3
Zima w Lido 3.5
Szczur wodny 4,5
Desdemona undicesima 3
Wenecki afrodyzjak 4
Łazęga 3.5
Randka 4
Język Signor Gaukego 3.5
Turyści na obiad 4.5
Laguna blues 3.5
Zamknięty rozdział 4

[B.G.M. Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another anthology, another mix of good and difficult-to-get into stories. I enjoyed some of the more traditional noir tales (criminals, cops, femmes fatale) but found some of the others harder, especially those that seemed to cross more into the horror genre (and the couple that turned out to be written from the perspective of Venice's rat population!).

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a little disappointing - all anthologies, as we know, tend to be a mixed bag by definition but I suspect the issue here is that my tastes just don't coincide with those of Jakubowski who has selected the stories. He even gives us one of his own, hideously over-written with sentences like: 'His gaze lingers along the utterly smooth desert of her mons, where Giulietta sported a terribly exquisite jungle of jet-black curls'!

It's a shame as Venice with its deep connection to beauty and decay seems custom-made for noir but this was a little dull and not nearly as evocative as I expected.

[Kriszta M-Zs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, as any anthology with anything decent in it, should get 3 stars as a rule since the quality of the writing will inevitably vary. I'll give it 4 because the ones I liked push the quality up.
Here are my two favourites: “Venice Aphrodisiac” by Peter James, which is really fun, and the fantastic “Tourists for Supper” by Maria Tronca.
I didn't like much Emily St. Mandel's and the editor Max Jakubowski's was especially weak with its simplistic allegorical attempt, with the rest fluctuating everywhere between beautiful and boring, but still somehow enjoyable.

[Brenton Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories, but none that were particularly compelling, so I stopped halfway through. I picked it up for the Emily St John Mandel story, which I enjoyed.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Tuxlie]

“Drifter” by Emily Mandel was selected for inclusion in The Best American Mystery Stories 2013, edited by Otto Penzler and Lisa Scottoline

Original stories by: Peter James, Emily St. John Mandel, Barbara Baraldi, Mike Hodges, Mary Hoffman, Maria Tronca, Matteo Righetto, Tony Cartano, Francesco Ferracin, Isabella Santacroce, Michelle Lovric, Francesca Mazzucato, Maxim Jakubowski, and Michael Gregorio.

"Forget the magnificence of Venice's art, architecture, and music, and delve into this tour of the City of Water's murky depths…visions of a Venice not seen in tourist brochures."
--Publishers Weekly

"Editor Jakubowski does an excellent job of selecting a variety of stories that represent all strata of Venetian life, from tourists visiting for Carnevale to criminals running illegal operations in the bay…A must-read for lovers of Venice…the presence of a new and intriguing voices, many of them Italian, will pique the interest of international-mystery readers."
--Booklist

"Sex, food and real estate inspire 14 hot-blooded new takes on crime in the magical city of Venice...Rather than crimes of passion, this collection focuses on the passion of crime, painting its noir in robust tones rather than gritty gray."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Venice Noir, edited by Maxim Jakubowski, aims to shred through our preconceptions of this remarkable city. The 14 writers featured in this anthology of short stories take our travel brochure images of Venice and scatter them like confetti."
--NY Journal of Books

Maxim Jakubowski is a British editor and writer. Following a long career in book publishing, during which he was responsible for several major crime imprints, he opened London's mystery bookshop Murder One. He reviews crime fiction for the Guardian, runs London's Crime Scene Festival, and is an advisor to Italy's annual Courmayeur Noir in Festival. His latest crime novel is Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer, and he edits the annual Best British Mysteries series.

About the Author

Maxim Jakubowski is a British writer and editor who has lived in Italy and returns there annually. He co-edited ROME NOIR, with Chiara Stangalino, and has also assembled London and Paris volumes for other publishers. His new novel Ekaterina and the Night is partly set in Venice and his non-fiction book of essays about the real cities of crime fiction Following the Detectives has been shortlisted for the MacAvity Award. He lives in London when not travelling the world.

“Drifter” by Emily Mandel was selected for inclusion in The Best American Mystery Stories 2013, edited by Otto Penzler and Lisa Scottoline

Original stories by: Peter James, Emily St. John Mandel, Barbara Baraldi, Mike Hodges, Mary Hoffman, Maria Tronca, Matteo Righetto, Tony Cartano, Francesco Ferracin, Isabella Santacroce, Michelle Lovric, Francesca Mazzucato, Maxim Jakubowski, and Michael Gregorio.

"Forget the magnificence of Venice's art, architecture, and music, and delve into this tour of the City of Water's murky depths…visions of a Venice not seen in tourist brochures."
--Publishers Weekly

"Editor Jakubowski does an excellent job of selecting a variety of stories that represent all strata of Venetian life, from tourists visiting for Carnevale to criminals running illegal operations in the bay…A must-read for lovers of Venice…the presence of a new and intriguing voices, many of them Italian, will pique the interest of international-mystery readers."
--Booklist

"Sex, food and real estate inspire 14 hot-blooded new takes on crime in the magical city of Venice...Rather than crimes of passion, this collection focuses on the passion of crime, painting its noir in robust tones rather than gritty gray."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Venice Noir, edited by Maxim Jakubowski, aims to shred through our preconceptions of this remarkable city. The 14 writers featured in this anthology of short stories take our travel brochure images of Venice and scatter them like confetti."
--NY Journal of Books

Maxim Jakubowski is a British editor and writer. Following a long career in book publishing, during which he was responsible for several major crime imprints, he opened London's mystery bookshop Murder One. He reviews crime fiction for the Guardian, runs London's Crime Scene Festival, and is an advisor to Italy's annual Courmayeur Noir in Festival. His latest crime novel is Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer, and he edits the annual Best British Mysteries series.

**

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This exchange from Maxim Jakubowski's "Lido Winter" is the nearest I can explain my readerly why. It'll either make sense, or it won't.

“Did you come for the churches?” she asks you.
“No.”
“Did you come to Venice for the canals and the art?”
“No.”
“For the glass baubles from Murano, the food, the way the evanescent light plays on the slow-moving waters of the canals and the lagoon, the history, the gondolas, the teeming Rialto Bridge markets, the way the water slops against the stone walls of the canals when the tide rises . . . ?” A litany of questions.
“No, no, no . . .”

*****


I picked this up because I was in a Venice state of mind, if such a thing can actually be a thing, and was reading a long, each story making me shiver with delight a little more than the previous. I was preparing to slap an astonishing five stars on this until I hit the final two stories, and everything came crashing down. Were I more introspective, I might wonder if this was an intentional sabotage, but I don't think any book would do something so foolish as to try and mirror the fall of man within the literary scope.

There's some amazing writing here, and I mean this. If you like good solid writing, pick this up. Some of these stories will linger with you after the reading, and this is glorious. And, it's not every collection of short stories that allows the reader to cultivate and feel empathy, true empathy for rats. But this one does.

So, I will recommend when you reach "Laguna Blues" by Michael Gregorio, immediately stop reading and take a deep breath, and then set the book down. I know you will not do this, you will insist upon reading "Laguna Blues" and keep on with "A Closed Book" by Mary Hoffman. Why? Because you won't be able to help yourself. It's okay, but afterwards, you will remember my recommendation and smile, or try to, and then you will see what I tried to have you not see.


There is some really good writing here.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Venice Noir, edited by Maxim Jakubowski, is one of a series of original anthologies published by Akashic Books of New York; the premise of each is to take a particular city and ask authors (some associated with the city, others not) to write a noirish story situated in that city. This volume includes tales by Matteo Righetto, Francesco Ferracin, Barbara Baraldi, Francesca Mazzucato, Michelle Lovric, Isabella Santacroce, Peter James, Emily St. John Mandel, Tony Cartano, Mike Hodges, Maria Tronca, Michael Gregorio, Mary Hoffman and editor Jakubowski; the names of most of these are new to me, and I was happy to make the acquaintance of some, particularly Baraldi ("Commissario Clelia Vinci"), Mandel ("Drifter"), Tronca ("Tourists for Supper") and Hoffman ("A Closed Book"). Some I found unfathomable (Santacroce's "Desdemona Undicesima" in particular as it seemed to be nothing but a repetition of various sentences; and Gregorio's "Laguna Blues" contains two entirely separate segments that don't create a full story but rather just seem to be sketches), but in all of the stories, the author depicts the famed location as a complete character in and of itself. This conceit wouldn't work for too many cities in the world, but certainly Venice is one of the few that can take on such a role. All told, by the time I finished the book, I wanted even more to visit that lovely place before it sinks into the Lagoon - recommended!

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know you cannot believe I am rating a book w/ 'Venice' in the title as only '2'!! But it is a book of short 'noir' stories that are not particularly interesting to me nor do I think there is really much of 'real' Venice involved. None the less - so don't bother unless you really find dark and grisly stories your cup of tea.

Saw this in while I was in Venice and it seemed attractive; even thought I'd struggle through it in Italian. ..am quite happy I did not but then, maybe I would have enjoyed it more since many of the stories are translated from Italian and I think that language has more nuance than English, particularly in the 'giallo' genre!

[tiddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the plots of a number of short stories in this noir, particularly the translated ones in the first section of the book, which are much stronger than, say, Barcelona Noir. The more enjoyable stories are also the ones that are translated from Italian; that goes to show the skill of the translator. But since I don't read Italian, I would never find out if the Italian writers are really as good as the translated versions have them out to be. There are others though that seem to just jump around. All in all, the quality of the stories are rather uneven; some good, some not quite so.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some particularly creepy short stories in this collection of murder and mayhem in that most wet and beautiful of cities.

My particular favourites include "Cloudy Water" by Matteo Righetto; "The Comedy is Over" by FRancesco Ferracin; "Drifter" by Emily St John Mandel and "A Closed Book" by May Hoffman.

[Garden Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading short stories from time to time. These were interesting as I have been to Venice. Like all collections some stories were better than others; but atmosphere was always intriguing. So, if you want a sense of place (Venice) this is a really good read.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few odd-balls in this collection. More than one non-human narrator. Still entertaining, though.

[Gail Kennon]

quite enjoyable. especially like stories by mary hoffman & maria tronca.