St. Petersburg Noir

by Julia Goumen (Editor), Natalia Smirnova (Editor), Andrei Kivinov

Original stories by: Lena Eltang, Sergei Nosov, Alexander Kudriavstev, Andrei Kivinov, Julia Belomlinsky, Natalia Kurchatova, Kseniya Venglinskaya, Evgeniy Kogan, Anton Chizh, Konstantin Gavrilov, Vladimir Berezin, Andrei Rubanov, and others.

Natalia Smirnova was born in 1978 in Moscow, Russia. In 2006 she co-founded the Goumen & Smirnova Literary Agency with Julia Goumen, representing Russian authors worldwide. She and Goumen were also the co-editors of Moscow Noir.

Julia Goumen was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1977. With a PhD in English, she has been working in publishing since 2001, and since 2006 has run the Goumen & Smirnoval Literary Agency with Natalia Smirnova.

Genres: Short Stories, Russia, Fiction, Noir, Mystery, Crime, Anthologies

285 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2012

About the author

Julia Goumen was born in Leningrad in 1977. With a PhD in English, she has worked in publishing since 2001, and started her own literary agency after three years as a foreign rights manager. Since 2006 Goumen has run the Goumen & Smirnova Literary Agency with Natalia Smirnova, with whom she also coedited Moscow Noir and St. Petersburg Noir. Julia Goumen is the coordinator of The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia project (published by Fuel Publishing, UK) and handles the estate of Danzig Baldaev as well as Home-Made by Vladimir Arkhipov, also published by Fuel Publishing in UK. Her clients list includes Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, Sergei Kuznetsov, Marina Stepnova, Eugene Vodolazkin and others. Her field is Russian-language publication, film and theater adaptation rights.

See Юлия Гумен

Reviews

[Lisa Hayden Espenschade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I didn't love St. Petersburg Noir as much as Moscow Noir--the Moscow book scared the hell out of me--it's a solid collection of noirish variations. It has humor, back alleys, ice, cultural references, murder, and plenty of other misbehavior set in a dark northern city.

(There's more on my blog, here.)

[Milan]

Krimi priče iz Sankt Peterburga koje se nalaze u ovoj zbirci su mi mnogo bolje legle nego one u zbirci "Istanbul noar". Dobre su. Odlične.

Više o pojedinačnim pričama možete pročitati u malo dužem tekstu na ovom linku: http://www.bookvar.rs/sankt-peterburg...

[Tokoro]

I think my favorites were the first story of part I, Training Day by Andrei Kivinov, taken place at Kupchino; Drunk Harbor by Lena Eltang, taken place at Drunk Harbor of part II (reminded me of Scandinavian fiction and "The Discontinuity of Small Things"); and both The Nutcracker by Anton Chizh, taken place at Haymarket Square and The Hairy Sutra by Pavel Krusanov, taken place at Moika Embankment of part III.

[Red · Rating 1 out of 5]

Мне показалось, что очень неровный сборник по уровню.
Понравилось: С. Носов "Шестое июня"
Норм: Элтанг "Пьяная гавань", В. Березин "Англетер"
Не заинтересовало, но фамилии почитать можно ещё (хотя я эти фамилии слышала не раз :3): Рубанов, Крусанов, Беломлинская?
"Щелкунчик" мне точно где-то попадался уже, читала 100%

Начала читать по пути в питер, совсем не в тему оказалось, почти сразу в поезде бросила.
Почитала отзывы, посмеялась, люди на английском пишут, что эта книга -- самая нуарная в серии, а я читала и ждала, когда нуар будет, где, дайте (я не про кровищу и жесть, которых тут тоже не было почти, но и запроса у меня не было на них), как же сбит мой компас, особенно теперь после всего, когда каждый день 5, 7, 20, а других до суда сразу туда.

[Michael Bartolone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read 5 or 6 of these collections at this point, and this is one of the better ones. One or two clunkers, as is usually the case, but otherwise some really rich storytelling and character building that incorporates elements of Piotr and is quite moving in some instances. Julia Belomlinsky's story about a teenager getting in with and surviving life amongst a group of racketeers was a particular standout. As was Pavel Krisanov's very dark entry about a taxidermist curator working at a St. Petersburg museum.

[Guy Salvidge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag. Quite a few stories are fairly trashy, and others interminable, but at least four or five are very good and one in my view is a small masterpiece. That is 'Drunk Harbor' by Lena Eltag. I'd love to read more of her work, but I'm not sure there's anything else available in English. The collection was worth reading for 'Drunk Harbor' alone...

[Zorica Oljaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mjesavina razlicitih stilova pripovjedanja i noar sentimenta. Od mracnog humora, horora mjesta i trenutka, poremecenih licnosti u stilu Norman Bates pa do prazne ljusture ispunjene pacovima i drugim gadnim stvorenjima ovo je knjiga koja svakako moze pruziti svakome ponesto a i pokazati bogatstvo noar pripovjedanja.

[Лазар Симић · Rating 4 out of 5]

Успони и падови. Има врло занимљивих прича које те доводе до губљења даха јер хоћеш да видиш како се завршавају. Са друге стране, има оних прилично досадних и слободно могу да кажем одвратних. То је и јесте ноар.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories are great and others, as is the case with these collections, were mediocre. And man the Russians are dark! I've always wanted to visit Saint Petersburg, so maybe this will cheer me up now that it seems all but impossible.

[Tuxlie]

"The Russian soul is well suited to a style defined by dark, hard-edged moodiness in underground settings. With St. Petersburg, the tsar’s 'Window on Europe,; we get European-style existential angst as well—not to mention the scary sociopolitical realities of the new Russia ... For all sophisticated crime fiction readers."
--Library Journal

Fourteen uniformly strong stories in this outstanding noir anthology devoted to Russia's second city, St. Petersburg. With its rich if often tragic history, deep literary traditions, inspiring landscape, famous architecture, and an aging population stuffed into overcrowded 'kommunalkas' amid a post-Soviet decline and soaring crime rates, the city provides an ideal backdrop for crime fiction ...The diversity of these skillfully crafted tales testifies to the vigor of contemporary Russian writing."
--Publishers Weekly

Original stories by: Lena Eltang, Sergei Nosov, Alexander Kudriavstev, Andrei Kivinov, Julia Belomlinsky, Natalia Kurchatova, Kseniya Venglinskaya, Evgeniy Kogan, Anton Chizh, Konstantin Gavrilov, Vladimir Berezin, Andrei Rubanov, and others.

Natalia Smirnova was born in 1978 in Moscow, Russia. In 2006 she co-founded the Goumen & Smirnova Literary Agency with Julia Goumen, representing Russian authors worldwide. She and Goumen were also the co-editors of Moscow Noir.

Julia Goumen was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1977. With a PhD in English, she has been working in publishing since 2001, and since 2006 has run the Goumen & Smirnoval Literary Agency with Natalia Smirnova.

About the Author

Natalia Smirnova: Natalia Smirnova was born in 1978 in Moscow. After studying law and working as a lawyer, she moved to St. Petersburg to work as a foreign rights manager for a publisher. In 2006 she cofounded the Goumen & Smirnova Literary Agency, with Julia Goumen, representing Russian authors worldwid. She and Goumen were also the coeditors of Moscow Noir (Akashic Books).
Julia Goumen: Julia Goumen was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1977. With a PhD in English, she has been working in publishing since 2001, starting her own literary agency after three years as a foreign rights manager. Since 2006 Goumen has run the Goumen & Smirnoval Literary Agency with Natalia Smirnova. She and Smirnova were also the coeditors of Moscow Noir (Akashic Books).

Original stories by: Lena Eltang, Sergei Nosov, Alexander Kudriavstev, Andrei Kivinov, Julia Belomlinsky, Natalia Kurchatova, Kseniya Venglinskaya, Evgeniy Kogan, Anton Chizh, Konstantin Gavrilov, Vladimir Berezin, Andrei Rubanov, and others.Natalia Smirnova was born in 1978 in Moscow, Russia. In 2006 she co-founded the Goumen & Smirnova Literary Agency with Julia Goumen, representing Russian authors worldwide. She and Goumen were also the co-editors of Moscow Noir.Julia Goumen was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1977. With a PhD in English, she has been working in publishing since 2001, and since 2006 has run the Goumen & Smirnoval Literary Agency with Natalia Smirnova.

[Clay Stafford]

ST. PETERSBURG NOIR / Julia Goumen & Natalia Smirnova, editors

The short story collection, “St. Petersburg Noir,” was an absorbing trip for me. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you completely why without taking the fun away for you. A short story is a one-punch treatise so if someone gives away what the story is really about, especially if it falls into the categories of mystery, suspense, or thriller (as these short stories do), they’ve given away the goods. There’ll be no spoilers here. I will say this anthology of Russian short stories is a riveting collection. An insightful “tour” of St. Petersburg. And a spellbinding introduction to Russian literature and perspective. I like the idea of taking in the literary flavor of different areas and find this whole series of “noir” books from Akashic Books intriguing. These stories are grown indigenously and give such a regional flavor that I feel I’ve been to the places in this series and know them as I know my own. Some of these stories were so interesting, the voices so clear, that I looked up the authors hoping to find more of their books in English, but alas, I’ll have to wait until some translator takes mercy. Until then, we have “St. Petersburg Noir.”

From Amazon:

“The Russian soul is well suited to a style defined by dark, hard-edged moodiness in underground settings. With St. Petersburg, the tsar’s ‘Window on Europe,; we get European-style existential angst as well – not to mention the scary sociopolitical realities of the new Russia … For all sophisticated crime fiction readers.” – Library Journal

Fourteen uniformly strong stories in this outstanding noir anthology devoted to Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg. With its rich if often tragic history, deep literary traditions, inspiring landscape, famous architecture, and an aging population stuffed into overcrowded ‘kommunalkas’ amid a post-Soviet decline and soaring crime rates, the city provides an ideal backdrop for crime fiction …The diversity of these skillfully crafted tales testifies to the vigor of contemporary Russian writing.” – Publishers Weekly

Original stories by: Lena Eltang, Sergei Nosov, Alexander Kudriavstev, Andrei Kivinov, Julia Belomlinsky, Natalia Kurchatova, Kseniya Venglinskaya, Evgeniy Kogan, Anton Chizh, Konstantin Gavrilov, Vladimir Berezin, Andrei Rubanov, and others.

Natalia Smirnova was born in 1978 in Moscow, Russia. In 2006 she co-founded the Goumen & Smirnova Literary Agency with Julia Goumen, representing Russian authors worldwide. She and Goumen were also the co-editors of Moscow Noir.

Julia Goumen was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1977. With a PhD in English, she has been working in publishing since 2001, and since 2006 has run the Goumen & Smirnoval Literary Agency with Natalia Smirnova.”


St. Petersburg Noir on Killer Nashville
My Other Reviews on Killer Nashville

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the latest additions to Akashic’s series of Noir collections, each one associated with a particular city or country. In this volume we are taken on a tour of Russia’s second city with 14 diverse stories by contemporary Russian authors, few, if any, of whom will be familiar to a western readership, but all of whom present us with an aspect of the city’s underside and give an atmospheric and dark glimpse of a city a world away from the magnificent architecture and stately palaces more usually associated with St Petersburg. The stories range from the grotesque to the mystical, the violent and savage to the simply seedy, and present a searing indictment of the poverty, drugs, drunkenness, aimlessness, crime and squalor which is in stark contrast to the glitzy new wealth of the post-Soviet world.
As a frequent visitor to St Petersburg, I think I will find myself looking over my shoulder a little more frequently, and a little less likely to take a short-cut through a back-alley or dark courtyard!
This is excellent reading even for those not normally attracted to crime fiction- like myself, in fact - and although some stories are better than others, taken as a whole this is a book I recommend wholeheartedly.

[tiddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few of the short stories are good, both in plots and translation. Some of them, though, just ramble on and on, with unclear focus of the gist, and then suddenly, it's the end of the story, prompting me to wonder what the point is for reading it at all.

The one theme that runs through all stories is the grimness of not only St Petersburg, but Russia as a whole. There is no lightheartedness or humor in any of the stories, to the point where it's suffocating. I almost couldn't go on reading when it's half-way through. I have read a number of the books in this noir series, but St Petersburg Noir is the darkest so far. I'd give it 3.5 stars on average.

[Robert Giambo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a one of series I stumbled across. A collection of mystery short stories all taking place in one city. I enjoyed these stories (or most of them). However, being russian they were more noir than usual.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories of noir from the mystical city of St. Petersburg.
Enjoy!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found these stories very hard to follow, and not very interesting.