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Mumbai Noir
After the critical and commercial success of Delhi Noir, part of New York's award-winning noir series, comes Mumbai Noir, which looks through a glass darkly at what is arguably India's most fascinating city. The stories in Mumbai Noir depict the many ways in which the city's ever-present shadowy aspects often force themselves onto the lives of ordinary people.
The city's chroniclers—its novelists, essayists, poets, journalists, and filmmakers—often seem overawed by the idea of Mumbai, rendering its quotidian realities in brushstrokes of grandiose narratives. What inoculates the stories in this collection from the hyperbole of “maximum city”—that much-abused term coined by the astute Suketu Mehta to describe Mumbai—are the restraints set by the noir genre, which stipulates, among other things, an unflinching gaze at the underbelly, without recourse to sentimentality or forced denouements. When viewed from a plane (or hot-air balloon), any metropolis might strike one as jaw-dropping. For a majority of Mumbai's residents, however, the city's overcrowded public transportation and decaying infrastructure fail to provide even the minimum of relief
The city's chroniclers—its novelists, essayists, poets, journalists, and filmmakers—often seem overawed by the idea of Mumbai, rendering its quotidian realities in brushstrokes of grandiose narratives. What inoculates the stories in this collection from the hyperbole of “maximum city”—that much-abused term coined by the astute Suketu Mehta to describe Mumbai—are the restraints set by the noir genre, which stipulates, among other things, an unflinching gaze at the underbelly, without recourse to sentimentality or forced denouements. When viewed from a plane (or hot-air balloon), any metropolis might strike one as jaw-dropping. For a majority of Mumbai's residents, however, the city's overcrowded public transportation and decaying infrastructure fail to provide even the minimum of relief
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 30, 2014
There should be a button on Goodreads for "I didn't finish this book because....". My entry for this book would be "...more than one story about genitals being sliced off is too many for one story collection."
January 5, 2013
14 stories, divided into 3 sections, edited by Altaf Tyrewala, that's Mumbai Noir. A completely different version of the city from the usual grandiose, glamorous ones that most fictional works create, it definitely lives up to the title.
For some reason, I saw more of Bombay in this than the current Mumbai - in terms of the city's character and how the actions of various people across different stations in life helped create it. Altaf's introduction sets up the overall tone and feel of the book pretty well, and sensitises us to the stories ahead.
In the first section - Bomb-ay - Riaz Mulla's take on how ordinary hard working people become pawns in the machinations of global terrorism is an excellent start. Paromita Vohra's mix of internet and real life 'romance' and trust makes 'The Romantic Customer' a neat read. Devashish Makhija's 'By Two' is quite surreal and tragic, and Abbas Tyrewala's "Chachu at Dusk" has to be a contender for my favourite among the stories. It captures the transition from Bombay to Mumbai the best.
In "Dangerous Liaisons", the second section, both "Nagpada Blues" and "The Body in the Gali" cover the dark underbelly of Mumbai's crime world very well. Annie Zaidi's "A suitable girl" is another contender for my favourite for its racy narrative that takes nothing away from the main protagonist's struggles in Mira Road. TZP is another hard hitting work based on the gay community, and Avtar Singh's "Pakeezah" provides a poignant end to the section and again reminds one of an earlier version of Bombay's society.
The third section, quite aptly titled "An Island unto itself" was probably the one that was more generic than the other two. Altaf Tyrewala's "The Watchman" didn't really work for me, though Sonia Faleiro's "Lucky 501" and Namita Devidayal's "The Egg" were both very interesting works for different reasons. Kalpish Ratna seem to have continued from "The Quarantine Papers" in "At Leopold Cafe", with Ratan Oak and his ancestor. Another interesting tale. Jerry Pinto's "They" provided a very satisfactory end to the book with what can be categorised as a thriller, with some wonderful subtext.
In essence, this is a Bombay book that you won't really regret spending time or money on.
For some reason, I saw more of Bombay in this than the current Mumbai - in terms of the city's character and how the actions of various people across different stations in life helped create it. Altaf's introduction sets up the overall tone and feel of the book pretty well, and sensitises us to the stories ahead.
In the first section - Bomb-ay - Riaz Mulla's take on how ordinary hard working people become pawns in the machinations of global terrorism is an excellent start. Paromita Vohra's mix of internet and real life 'romance' and trust makes 'The Romantic Customer' a neat read. Devashish Makhija's 'By Two' is quite surreal and tragic, and Abbas Tyrewala's "Chachu at Dusk" has to be a contender for my favourite among the stories. It captures the transition from Bombay to Mumbai the best.
In "Dangerous Liaisons", the second section, both "Nagpada Blues" and "The Body in the Gali" cover the dark underbelly of Mumbai's crime world very well. Annie Zaidi's "A suitable girl" is another contender for my favourite for its racy narrative that takes nothing away from the main protagonist's struggles in Mira Road. TZP is another hard hitting work based on the gay community, and Avtar Singh's "Pakeezah" provides a poignant end to the section and again reminds one of an earlier version of Bombay's society.
The third section, quite aptly titled "An Island unto itself" was probably the one that was more generic than the other two. Altaf Tyrewala's "The Watchman" didn't really work for me, though Sonia Faleiro's "Lucky 501" and Namita Devidayal's "The Egg" were both very interesting works for different reasons. Kalpish Ratna seem to have continued from "The Quarantine Papers" in "At Leopold Cafe", with Ratan Oak and his ancestor. Another interesting tale. Jerry Pinto's "They" provided a very satisfactory end to the book with what can be categorised as a thriller, with some wonderful subtext.
In essence, this is a Bombay book that you won't really regret spending time or money on.
May 2, 2012
I received a free copy of this e-book in exchange for reading and providing an honest review of it.
None of the stories in the newest of the Akashic Noir series are what I would call an easy read. Then again, that is to be expected from a noir offering – or at least, what I would want to find. In this case, my expectations were definitely met.
While many of the stories are not strictly crime stories, there are criminal elements present in every one of them, in many varying ways. The stories cover as wide a range of genres and topics as they do places in Mumbai, each one with a distinctive feel of the setting while still maintaining a cohesive sense of the city itself and its inhabitants. That the authors wrote without watering down the language clearly added to this sense of place and people. There is a convenient glossary added to the back of the book to help clarify meaning.
Despite the fact that I received this book free of charge, and was expected to review it, I still intended to treat with it in the manner which I do any collection of short stories – dip into it a story at a time until I got to the end. I should have learnt from my previous experience with books in this series. I began and finished Mumbai Noir within two days, arriving at work blurry-eyed with sleep each day afterward from having read ‘just a little more’ on both of the previous nights. Out of a collection of fourteen stories, there was only one that I could say I didn’t particularly like, and that I wouldn’t read again – a more than satisfying overall result.
None of the stories in the newest of the Akashic Noir series are what I would call an easy read. Then again, that is to be expected from a noir offering – or at least, what I would want to find. In this case, my expectations were definitely met.
While many of the stories are not strictly crime stories, there are criminal elements present in every one of them, in many varying ways. The stories cover as wide a range of genres and topics as they do places in Mumbai, each one with a distinctive feel of the setting while still maintaining a cohesive sense of the city itself and its inhabitants. That the authors wrote without watering down the language clearly added to this sense of place and people. There is a convenient glossary added to the back of the book to help clarify meaning.
Despite the fact that I received this book free of charge, and was expected to review it, I still intended to treat with it in the manner which I do any collection of short stories – dip into it a story at a time until I got to the end. I should have learnt from my previous experience with books in this series. I began and finished Mumbai Noir within two days, arriving at work blurry-eyed with sleep each day afterward from having read ‘just a little more’ on both of the previous nights. Out of a collection of fourteen stories, there was only one that I could say I didn’t particularly like, and that I wouldn’t read again – a more than satisfying overall result.
April 30, 2023
This collection of shorts is a great read for those wanting a flavour of the city of dreams - Mumbai. Each set in a distinct neighbourhood of Mumbai, the stories reflect on the changing sociopolotics, religious sentiments and economic status of the city through the 80s and 90s. The introduction by the editor adds context and value to this selection.
My favourite picks were - "Justice" by Riyaz Mulla (Mahim Dargah), "By Two" by Devashish Makhija (Versova), "The Body in the Gali" by Smita Harish Jain (Kamathipura) and "At Leopold Café" by Kalpish Ratna (Colaba Causeway).
The one downside of the book is that the authors generously sprinkle words from the Indian languages to make the cadence true to the spoken language of Mumbai. If you are not familiar with these words (there is a glossary to help you) it can take away from the stories.
My favourite picks were - "Justice" by Riyaz Mulla (Mahim Dargah), "By Two" by Devashish Makhija (Versova), "The Body in the Gali" by Smita Harish Jain (Kamathipura) and "At Leopold Café" by Kalpish Ratna (Colaba Causeway).
The one downside of the book is that the authors generously sprinkle words from the Indian languages to make the cadence true to the spoken language of Mumbai. If you are not familiar with these words (there is a glossary to help you) it can take away from the stories.
February 24, 2017
This is one of a collection of Noir stories published by Akashic Books. As of the date of this collection there were 49 volumes, with another 11 planned.
There are 14 stories collected in this volume, all of which are set in various parts of Mumbai. The stories are a varied lot, but all are of a high caliber. The stories are arranged in four parts: Bomb-ay (4 stories), Dangerous Liaisons (5), and An Island unto Itself (5). In the opening story, “Justice” by Riaz Mulla, a judge must pass sentence on a revenge killer but only the women involved in this painful episode achieve a measure of justice and resolution. In “The Romantic Customer” by Paromita Vohra the clerk in a cyber café has a complicated relationship with his boss, a customer, and another worker. Two twin brothers, one mute, come to Mumbai and rent an autorickshaw in “By Two,” by Devashish Makhija. This works well as long as the speaking one pretends to be mute, but complications arise when the mute one fails to let his twin know what he and some of his night customers get up to. In “Chachu at Dusk” by Abbas Tyrewala, the narrator recalls the way the city changed in the 1990s, and all that he lost when it did so.
The stories shift gears a bit in the second section, Dangerous Liaisons. In “Nagpada Blues” by Ahmed Bunglowala, PI Shorty Gomes is hired to find a missing prostitute. In “The Body in the Gali” by Smita Harish Jain the reader goes deeper into the bleak underworld of the city when the police find one of their own murdered, his genitals hacked off. In “A Suitable Girl” by Annie Zaidi the narrator falls in “love” with a girl he sees at a distance and comes to believe she is meant for him, and so begins stalking her. “TZP” by R. Raja Rao tells the story of a man who finds himself being watched by the police without knowing why. The only thing he has figured out is that the police showed up after the last time his American friend visited him. “In Pakeezah” by Avtar Singh, the narrator is caught in the metaphorical clutches of a drunk who holds him with a story about a well-to-do young man who falls in love with an exotic dancer, whose other love-lorn follower is one of the most powerful men in the underworld.
In the third section, An Island unto Itself, the stories shift again. In “The Watchman” by Altaf Tyrewala, a guard for an apartment building believes he has seen the signs that someone will die that day, and he is tortured by this knowledge throughout the day. In “Lucky 501” by Sonia Faleiro the dai nirvan in the story is famous for having carried out 500 “changes,” neatly slicing off their genitals, thereby rendering men young and old a new person, initiating them into the world of the hijras. In “The Egg” by Namita Devidayal a young mother drifting through her days loses her cook and is ill prepared when he returns to confront her for his back pay. “At Leopold Café” by Kalpish Ratna is a peculiar story about time, the elixir of eternal youth, and the mirror land of image and reality. In “They” by Jerry Pinto, a journalist named Peter gets involved in helping a police friend solve a murder at his gym.
There are 14 stories collected in this volume, all of which are set in various parts of Mumbai. The stories are a varied lot, but all are of a high caliber. The stories are arranged in four parts: Bomb-ay (4 stories), Dangerous Liaisons (5), and An Island unto Itself (5). In the opening story, “Justice” by Riaz Mulla, a judge must pass sentence on a revenge killer but only the women involved in this painful episode achieve a measure of justice and resolution. In “The Romantic Customer” by Paromita Vohra the clerk in a cyber café has a complicated relationship with his boss, a customer, and another worker. Two twin brothers, one mute, come to Mumbai and rent an autorickshaw in “By Two,” by Devashish Makhija. This works well as long as the speaking one pretends to be mute, but complications arise when the mute one fails to let his twin know what he and some of his night customers get up to. In “Chachu at Dusk” by Abbas Tyrewala, the narrator recalls the way the city changed in the 1990s, and all that he lost when it did so.
The stories shift gears a bit in the second section, Dangerous Liaisons. In “Nagpada Blues” by Ahmed Bunglowala, PI Shorty Gomes is hired to find a missing prostitute. In “The Body in the Gali” by Smita Harish Jain the reader goes deeper into the bleak underworld of the city when the police find one of their own murdered, his genitals hacked off. In “A Suitable Girl” by Annie Zaidi the narrator falls in “love” with a girl he sees at a distance and comes to believe she is meant for him, and so begins stalking her. “TZP” by R. Raja Rao tells the story of a man who finds himself being watched by the police without knowing why. The only thing he has figured out is that the police showed up after the last time his American friend visited him. “In Pakeezah” by Avtar Singh, the narrator is caught in the metaphorical clutches of a drunk who holds him with a story about a well-to-do young man who falls in love with an exotic dancer, whose other love-lorn follower is one of the most powerful men in the underworld.
In the third section, An Island unto Itself, the stories shift again. In “The Watchman” by Altaf Tyrewala, a guard for an apartment building believes he has seen the signs that someone will die that day, and he is tortured by this knowledge throughout the day. In “Lucky 501” by Sonia Faleiro the dai nirvan in the story is famous for having carried out 500 “changes,” neatly slicing off their genitals, thereby rendering men young and old a new person, initiating them into the world of the hijras. In “The Egg” by Namita Devidayal a young mother drifting through her days loses her cook and is ill prepared when he returns to confront her for his back pay. “At Leopold Café” by Kalpish Ratna is a peculiar story about time, the elixir of eternal youth, and the mirror land of image and reality. In “They” by Jerry Pinto, a journalist named Peter gets involved in helping a police friend solve a murder at his gym.
July 21, 2013
Growing up in Mumbai, I had high expectations for the book. It sort of disappointed. There were a few good stories; rest seemed too similar.
March 15, 2017
It was a mediocre reading experience, I liked the way stories were initiated and then grew,the analogies given while describing everyday activities but was disappointed by the content. Most of the stories were alike, I didn't enjoy the 'noir' series, my first acquaintance with sordid criminal stories.
June 27, 2015
Disappointed with most of the stories in the collection. Some stories were utterly incomprehensible thanks to some over sophisticated attempt of writing by the author's. the book just failed to meet my expectations of a classic noir.
May 15, 2018
Enjoy half of the short stories. Truly a noir collection on the underground happenings in Mumbai like prostitution, eunuchs, adultery, drugs, etc. An enjoyable read.
August 27, 2015
Mumbai Noir delivered the two things it promised: Mumbai and noir. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like it delivered much more than that. I was not impressed by the collection of stories, some of which I found I found too cliché or simply too hard to understand because they were written in oddly convoluted ways. Did I get a bit of a feel for Mumbai, a city I have never visited filled with people who live lives that radically differ from my own? Sure. But did I get a real sense of plot or character? Not so much. Some of the stories would have been better had they been longer and actually delved into their plots instead of pulling everything together as fast as possible. I’d say the only stories that stood out for me were The Romantic Customer, Lucky 501 (I can’t decide if this story caught my attention because it was actually good or it depicted such a horrific incident that I couldn’t stop thinking about it) and The Egg. Note: I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program.
February 5, 2016
Continuing in the tradition of the earlier released 'Delhi Noir', this collection of short stories cover Bombay's dark underbelly with an unflinching gaze. The Bombay blasts, prostitution, the hijra community, the polarized cops of Bombay, migrants, Jains and lot of other characters populate these stories.
If you want to explore an alternate Bombay in the comfort of your cozy sofa, you could very well consider browsing through this one.
If you want to explore an alternate Bombay in the comfort of your cozy sofa, you could very well consider browsing through this one.
February 15, 2018
I bought it just because I love Tyrewala, not knowing he was the editor and didn't pen the entire collection... I appreciated it regardless. Of course, Tyrewala's own story outshines everything else in the collection and reminds me why I'm a sapiosexual... This man is a genius.
May 14, 2020
Crime, the under belly of Mumbai and all the gory areas which many are unawares, is covered through different authors.
The stories range from simple act of murder, to terrorism, to the dark lived of prostitutes and hijras...some stories are difficult even to read.
You need to be strong and some may even find some stories shocking and feel...does this even happen in Mumbai?
The written is many a times abstract with endings left for us to decide while some have romanticism or a little humour around them.
Overall a part of your surroundings is brought home which all may not find easy to digest but yes they exist
The stories range from simple act of murder, to terrorism, to the dark lived of prostitutes and hijras...some stories are difficult even to read.
You need to be strong and some may even find some stories shocking and feel...does this even happen in Mumbai?
The written is many a times abstract with endings left for us to decide while some have romanticism or a little humour around them.
Overall a part of your surroundings is brought home which all may not find easy to digest but yes they exist
January 16, 2022
Noir. Dark. The underbelly. Always fascinated me more than the daylight, fairy-tale romances peddled about the great cities of the world- New York, Paris, Mumbai. This anthology is positively spine-chilling, all for its realness and timelessness. The stories of betrayal, poverty, terrorism, illicit love affairs and corruption, ring as true in 2022 as they were relevant at the time of writing the book. What could be avoided is the repetition of genres and tropes (spoiler: but foreign homosexuals being pedophiles?). Overall, a fun read and one that will have you turning pages quite easily.
November 29, 2025
Definitely an interesting read. For multiple stories I honestly found it hard to follow the flow and keep track of what was going on. There seemed to be a lot of back and forth that made it difficult to understand. However, the stories themselves had very intriguing topics and I liked the discussion of Hijras. The one that stuck with me the most was the internet cafe one.
December 4, 2019
One star for each good short story.
Means ki, I am giving two stars for that Jerry Pinto story.
Means ki, I am giving two stars for that Jerry Pinto story.
June 16, 2015
There has been a steady spate of Mumbai-centric books in the past few years prominent of them being 'The Maximum City', 'Sacred Games' and 'Shantaram'. Edited by Altaf Tyrewala, the stories in this new anthology choose to walk the dark, seedy and twisted by lanes of Mumbai that are generally obscured by the bright lights and upright skyscrapers.
In his introduction to the book, Tyrewala writes that “What inoculates the stories in this collection from the hyperbole of ‘maximum city’... are the restraints set by the noir genre, which stipulates, among other things, anunflinching gaze at the underbelly, withoutrecourse to sentimentality or forced denouements”.
Tyrewala’s claim is not entirely true: There is sentimentality in the book, in the use of ‘Mumbai characters’ like corrupt cops, tough-talking detectives, hijras and dance bar girls, and there are forced denouements as well, when a terrorist’s wife meets a victim, or a depressed housewife snaps. But what is true is that this is an unflinching gaze at Mumbai that makes you, sometimes, flinch. The themes are predictable: drugs, sex, prostitution, eunuch-cop nexuses, confused sexuality and the casualness of brutality and crime.
There are two stories about hijras in the collection dealt with the same milieu, albeit from divergent perspectives. Two stories also feature dance bars and two stories deal with persecuted Muslim characters. The scenes conjured are vivid enough though and sure to provoke many a moment of déjà vu for those familiar with the city. Like in Jerry Pinto’s ‘They’, a story of the habits and politics of a neighbourhood gym that are uncovered when a gym trainer is murdered. Or Paromita Vohra’s ‘The Romantic Customer’, a first-person narrative of young love and betrayal, set in the ubiquitous cyber café. Tyrewala’s ‘The Watchman’, about a building watchman waiting for an impending death, captures a sense of the irrational fear that can sometimes swamp us in a city where death is ever-present. And then there’s the horror of the home, like in Namita Devidayal’s ‘The Egg’, a satirical tale on what happens with the discovery of a single egg in a ‘vegetarians-only’ building.
At Leopold Cafe by Kalpish Ratna comes as a disappointment from the credible duo and the narrative seems to be straight out of their another book, Quarantine Papers. Ratan-Ramratan story will be difficult to understand for the readers who have not read their earlier work.
There is variety here but that makes the literary quality somewhat erratic. The anthology does, however, succeed in reflecting the dark side of Mumbai with a great deal of authenticity. Don't read with too many expectations, specially if you have read Delhi Noir before.
In his introduction to the book, Tyrewala writes that “What inoculates the stories in this collection from the hyperbole of ‘maximum city’... are the restraints set by the noir genre, which stipulates, among other things, anunflinching gaze at the underbelly, withoutrecourse to sentimentality or forced denouements”.
Tyrewala’s claim is not entirely true: There is sentimentality in the book, in the use of ‘Mumbai characters’ like corrupt cops, tough-talking detectives, hijras and dance bar girls, and there are forced denouements as well, when a terrorist’s wife meets a victim, or a depressed housewife snaps. But what is true is that this is an unflinching gaze at Mumbai that makes you, sometimes, flinch. The themes are predictable: drugs, sex, prostitution, eunuch-cop nexuses, confused sexuality and the casualness of brutality and crime.
There are two stories about hijras in the collection dealt with the same milieu, albeit from divergent perspectives. Two stories also feature dance bars and two stories deal with persecuted Muslim characters. The scenes conjured are vivid enough though and sure to provoke many a moment of déjà vu for those familiar with the city. Like in Jerry Pinto’s ‘They’, a story of the habits and politics of a neighbourhood gym that are uncovered when a gym trainer is murdered. Or Paromita Vohra’s ‘The Romantic Customer’, a first-person narrative of young love and betrayal, set in the ubiquitous cyber café. Tyrewala’s ‘The Watchman’, about a building watchman waiting for an impending death, captures a sense of the irrational fear that can sometimes swamp us in a city where death is ever-present. And then there’s the horror of the home, like in Namita Devidayal’s ‘The Egg’, a satirical tale on what happens with the discovery of a single egg in a ‘vegetarians-only’ building.
At Leopold Cafe by Kalpish Ratna comes as a disappointment from the credible duo and the narrative seems to be straight out of their another book, Quarantine Papers. Ratan-Ramratan story will be difficult to understand for the readers who have not read their earlier work.
There is variety here but that makes the literary quality somewhat erratic. The anthology does, however, succeed in reflecting the dark side of Mumbai with a great deal of authenticity. Don't read with too many expectations, specially if you have read Delhi Noir before.
March 13, 2015
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Mumbai Noir, edited by Altaf Tyrewala, is one of a series of original anthologies being published by Akashic Books, in which authors from or associated with a given locale write short mystery stories, focusing on the noir end of the spectrum. This volume contains original stories by Riaz Mulla, Paromita Vohra, Devashish Makhija, Abbas Tyrewala, Ahmed Bunglowala, Smita Harish Jain, Annie Zaidi, R. Raj Rao, Avtar Singh, Altaf Tyrewala, Sonia Faleiro, Namita Devidayal, Kalpish Ratna and Jerry Pinto; I was not familiar with any of these authors, but some are quite well known in India. As always, I preferred some stories to others, but the quality was quite high throughout the volume and several of the stories were up there with anything I've ever read. I was especially taken with Ratna's "At Leopold Cafe," with its mix of past and present such that you're never sure if the characters in the "now" parts are the same as those in the "then" sections; Zaidi's "A Suitable Girl" was quite frightening in its stalker tropes; and "By Two" by Davashish Makhija, about twins, one of whom is mute, just absolutely blew me away. I was a bit surprised by the high percentage of stories dealing with Mumbai's transgender and/or eunich population, which I knew (and know) nothing about. There were also a fair number of stories concerning relations between Hindi and Muslim characters, which is more of an issue in India than appears in Western news media. The book helpfully includes a map of Mumbai with locations of the stories marked, a short glossary of some (but not all) terms used in the book, and brief biographies of the authors, with photos. I very much enjoyed this glimpse into one dark subsection of the vast Mumbai population, and definitely recommend it to readers of mysteries in general and noir in particular.
Mumbai Noir, edited by Altaf Tyrewala, is one of a series of original anthologies being published by Akashic Books, in which authors from or associated with a given locale write short mystery stories, focusing on the noir end of the spectrum. This volume contains original stories by Riaz Mulla, Paromita Vohra, Devashish Makhija, Abbas Tyrewala, Ahmed Bunglowala, Smita Harish Jain, Annie Zaidi, R. Raj Rao, Avtar Singh, Altaf Tyrewala, Sonia Faleiro, Namita Devidayal, Kalpish Ratna and Jerry Pinto; I was not familiar with any of these authors, but some are quite well known in India. As always, I preferred some stories to others, but the quality was quite high throughout the volume and several of the stories were up there with anything I've ever read. I was especially taken with Ratna's "At Leopold Cafe," with its mix of past and present such that you're never sure if the characters in the "now" parts are the same as those in the "then" sections; Zaidi's "A Suitable Girl" was quite frightening in its stalker tropes; and "By Two" by Davashish Makhija, about twins, one of whom is mute, just absolutely blew me away. I was a bit surprised by the high percentage of stories dealing with Mumbai's transgender and/or eunich population, which I knew (and know) nothing about. There were also a fair number of stories concerning relations between Hindi and Muslim characters, which is more of an issue in India than appears in Western news media. The book helpfully includes a map of Mumbai with locations of the stories marked, a short glossary of some (but not all) terms used in the book, and brief biographies of the authors, with photos. I very much enjoyed this glimpse into one dark subsection of the vast Mumbai population, and definitely recommend it to readers of mysteries in general and noir in particular.
September 19, 2012
It's always a challenge to adequately review a short story collection, especially when the stories are each by a different author, because the quality of the stories can vary so widely. That's why I normally don't review them. I made an exception for Mumbai Noir because I am intrigued by all things Indian and try to read as much about that country and its people as I can.
The stories in Mumbai Noir are definitely focused on the darker side of the city, as the title implies. Some are morality tales and some are just melancholy. Overall, I found them entertaining and enlightening. There were a few stories about hirjas, which are sort of like what Westerners think of as transgendered people but not quite. I enjoyed these stories in particular because the hirja culture is both fascinating and confusing to me and I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about it.
There were two stories that I didn't understand at all - At Leopold Cafe and They. At Leopold Cafe is a Twilight Zone type story that has something to do with a fountain of youth elixir that was confusing to me. It jumped back and forth in time and I couldn't follow it. They is a detective story about a murder in a gym. I couldn't follow the detective's logic as far as how he figured out who the killer was.
A lot of the stories reference historical events in India that I don't have a good knowledge in yet. I was still able to enjoy them but probably would have gotten more out of them if I was more familiar with Indian history. There was a glossary of terms in the back which I appreciated. Most of the unfamiliar words could be found there but not all of them.
Overall, I think this is a book worth reading if you like stories about the dark and seedy side of big cities.
The stories in Mumbai Noir are definitely focused on the darker side of the city, as the title implies. Some are morality tales and some are just melancholy. Overall, I found them entertaining and enlightening. There were a few stories about hirjas, which are sort of like what Westerners think of as transgendered people but not quite. I enjoyed these stories in particular because the hirja culture is both fascinating and confusing to me and I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about it.
There were two stories that I didn't understand at all - At Leopold Cafe and They. At Leopold Cafe is a Twilight Zone type story that has something to do with a fountain of youth elixir that was confusing to me. It jumped back and forth in time and I couldn't follow it. They is a detective story about a murder in a gym. I couldn't follow the detective's logic as far as how he figured out who the killer was.
A lot of the stories reference historical events in India that I don't have a good knowledge in yet. I was still able to enjoy them but probably would have gotten more out of them if I was more familiar with Indian history. There was a glossary of terms in the back which I appreciated. Most of the unfamiliar words could be found there but not all of them.
Overall, I think this is a book worth reading if you like stories about the dark and seedy side of big cities.
June 25, 2012
I don't read much noir, so I don't have many expectations as to what it's supposed to be or not supposed to be. My understanding is of a dark, seedy underworld kind of story, usually with a detective lead into a dangerous, possibly deadly, situation by a beautiful and dangerous woman.
There are a certainly a few detectives and a handful of dangerous women in this collection of noir stories set in Mumbai, but the range of seedy underworld stories stretches beyond that trope, many presenting plots and story lines that seem to be unique to India. There are stories about conflict between Muslims and Hindus, of terrorism, of the many layers of justice, of independent women, and much more. I was especially interested in the two hijra (transgender) stories, each with a different take on what it means to be transgender in India.
The stories are entertaining overall, making it a fascinating and readable collection that rarely offers hope or happiness, which is, I suppose, fitting for the dark realm of noir.
(This was an ARC.)
There are a certainly a few detectives and a handful of dangerous women in this collection of noir stories set in Mumbai, but the range of seedy underworld stories stretches beyond that trope, many presenting plots and story lines that seem to be unique to India. There are stories about conflict between Muslims and Hindus, of terrorism, of the many layers of justice, of independent women, and much more. I was especially interested in the two hijra (transgender) stories, each with a different take on what it means to be transgender in India.
The stories are entertaining overall, making it a fascinating and readable collection that rarely offers hope or happiness, which is, I suppose, fitting for the dark realm of noir.
(This was an ARC.)
August 13, 2016
The stories in Mumbai Noir are decent. Like in any anthology, some are better than others. Stand-outs for me were The Watchman by Altaf Tyrewala, The Egg by Namita Devidayal, and Nagpada Blues by Ahmed Bunglowala. Nagpada Blues especially channels the traditional noir story line with a down-on-his-luck PI. However, for a book that markets itself as noir, there's a griminess that's lacking in a lot of the stories. There's a sort of sunshine that pervades throughout - maybe because so many of the stories have daylight components.
So a decent diversion for an afternoon, but if you're looking for a real gritty collection of dark stories, this isn't it.
So a decent diversion for an afternoon, but if you're looking for a real gritty collection of dark stories, this isn't it.
November 19, 2016
Akashic Books publishes a series of anthologies of noir-style short stories, each set in a different locale. I've just read Mumbai Noir, edited by Altaf Tyrewala, and what an excellent, atmospheric collection it was. Ranging from a classic hardboiled tale of a fast talking PI to a gently almost-hopeful story about the family of a convicted bomber, there was a enormous range of styles and subjects for a modestly sized book. Akashic includes a helpful map of where each of the stories take place within Mumbai. This was a good introduction to Indian authors and I've made note of several from whom I'd like to read more.
May 20, 2012
This is the first time I had read noir stories set in India, which I welcomed. I don't generally read noir, but I love gothic novels, could that be similar? With this hope I started the anthology. I mostly enjoyed them. The short stories vary in their quality, of course. However, my favorite part was imagining these characters in some low budget Bollywood movie. Growing up watching Bollywood movies, this was enjoyably easy to do. Fun anthology, as long as you don't take it too seriously.
July 16, 2015
Short story collections are by nature usually a mixed bag, and Mumbai Noir is no exception. There are a couple of gems here, surrounded by quite a bit of fluff -- or should I say, gristle? Not for the faint of heart, this one; beware the castration descriptions. I came to the book for the setting, and it didn't disappoint as a reminder of a place I used to call home.
March 29, 2013
I think relating to the stories is difficult if you haven't experienced Bombay as a city. Otherwise, the collection of stories is versatile and enthralling.
November 2, 2015
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13679065
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13679065
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