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Tel Aviv Noir
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. For Tel Aviv Noir, Etgar Keret and Assaf Gavron have masterfully assembled some of Israel's top contemporary writers into a compulsively readable collection.
From the introduction by Etgar Keret:
"In spite of its outwardly warm and polite exterior, Tel Aviv has quite a bit to hide. At any club, most of the people dancing around you to the sounds of a deep-house hit dedicated to peace and love have undergone extensive automatic-weapons training and a hand-grenade tutorial...The workers washing the dishes in the fluorescent-lit kitchen of that same club are Eritrean refugees who have crossed the Egyptian border illegally, along with a group of bedouins smuggling some high-quality hash, which the deejay will soon be smoking on his little podium, right by the busy dance floor filled with drunks, coked-up lawyers, and Ukrainian call girls whose pimp keeps their passports in a safe two streets away. Don't get me wrong--Tel Aviv is a lovely, safe city. Most of the time, for most of its inhabitants. But the stories in this collection describe what happens the rest of the time, to the rest of its inhabitants. From one last cup of coffee at a café targeted by a suicide bomber, through repeat visits from a Yiddish-speaking ghost, to an organized tour of mythological crime scenes that goes terribly wrong, the stories of Tel Aviv Noir reveal the concealed, scarred face of this city that we love so much."
Featuring brand-new stories by: Etgar Keret, Gadi Taub, Lavie Tidhar, Deakla Keydar, Matan Hermoni, Julia Fermentto, Gon Ben Ari, Shimon Adaf, Alex Epstein, Antonio Ungar, Gai Ad, Assaf Gavron, Silje Bekeng, and Yoav Katz; translated by Yardenne Greenspan.
From the introduction by Etgar Keret:
"In spite of its outwardly warm and polite exterior, Tel Aviv has quite a bit to hide. At any club, most of the people dancing around you to the sounds of a deep-house hit dedicated to peace and love have undergone extensive automatic-weapons training and a hand-grenade tutorial...The workers washing the dishes in the fluorescent-lit kitchen of that same club are Eritrean refugees who have crossed the Egyptian border illegally, along with a group of bedouins smuggling some high-quality hash, which the deejay will soon be smoking on his little podium, right by the busy dance floor filled with drunks, coked-up lawyers, and Ukrainian call girls whose pimp keeps their passports in a safe two streets away. Don't get me wrong--Tel Aviv is a lovely, safe city. Most of the time, for most of its inhabitants. But the stories in this collection describe what happens the rest of the time, to the rest of its inhabitants. From one last cup of coffee at a café targeted by a suicide bomber, through repeat visits from a Yiddish-speaking ghost, to an organized tour of mythological crime scenes that goes terribly wrong, the stories of Tel Aviv Noir reveal the concealed, scarred face of this city that we love so much."
Featuring brand-new stories by: Etgar Keret, Gadi Taub, Lavie Tidhar, Deakla Keydar, Matan Hermoni, Julia Fermentto, Gon Ben Ari, Shimon Adaf, Alex Epstein, Antonio Ungar, Gai Ad, Assaf Gavron, Silje Bekeng, and Yoav Katz; translated by Yardenne Greenspan.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
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718 people want to read
About the author
Assaf Gavron
19 books49 followersAssaf Gavron grew up in Jerusalem, studied in London and Vancouver, and now lives in Tel Aviv. He is the author of four prize-winning novels (Ice, Moving, Almost Dead, and Hydromania), and a short story collection. Gavron is highly regarded for his translations into Hebrew of the work of novelists including Philip Roth, J.D. Salinger and Jonathan Safran Foer.
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June 28, 2016The stories are divided into three sections (not for any real reason I can perceive). I read one from each.
From "Encounters": “The Time-Slip Detective,” by Lavie Tidhar, because I always like Tidhar. Despite being fantasy, this was actually the most noir-appropriate of the stories I read, as it is at least paying homage to noir. For those who read and enjoy this story, I recommend the author's The Violent Century as more similar in tone than the other novel of his I've read, The Bookman.
Bonus: I learned from this story how to say, "Go take a shit on the moon" in Yiddish (Kacken zee ahf deh levanah). I'm sure this knowledge will be useful one day.
I choose "Swirl" by Silje Bekeng because I didn't know any authors in the "Estrangements" section and this story was shortest. It was good, if not noir. A diplomat's wife, home alone day after day, starts noticing small changes in her apartment. Rumors in her small community suggest she is not the first to experience this. I didn't get the significance of the title.
From "Corpses" I read "Allergies" by Etgar Keret because people have been telling me to try Keret and I didn't want to commit to novel. I think this was the right decision -- he's clearly a skilled and unusual author, but despite objectively appreciating the quality of the story, I did not enjoy it. I am, however, willing to try another short story by him, preferably one without dogs.
I also read Gon Ben Ari's "Clear Recent History" because it was nominated for an award. It was quite good. Starts off pretty noir, gets trippier as you go along (and not just because the detective takes some LSD in the middle).
September 15, 2019
The nickname for Tel Aviv...the sunny city is called “Bubble” due to its sense of complete separation from the violent, conflict country in which it is situated.
“Compared to Jerusalem—torn apart, exploding with nationalism, xenophobia, and religious zeal—Tel Aviv has not always been an island of sanity and serenity”.
However in spite of its warmly and polite exterior, Tel Aviv has quite a bit to hide.
“At any club, most of the people dancing around you to the sounds of a deep-house hit dedicated to peace and love have undergone extensive automatic-weapons training and a hand-grenade tutorial. This isn’t a conspiracy, just one of the fringe benefits of a country that institute mandatory military service”.
These stories are a varied eclectic collection of short stories from the Akashic Noir series. Most are ‘not’ by Etgar Keret.
The stories - 14 in this collection - reveal a darker side to Tel Aviv...
with underlying tension.
The first story, “ Sleeping Mask”, by Gadi Taub
is about an escort name Nicky who meets a girl named Shiri - half his age - in a cell phone store where he was buying untraceable phones for his ‘girls’.
Shiri needed money and inquired about prostitution.
After a hot night of sex between them both ...a more serious relationship developed. She started staying over at his house several times a week while at the same time working for him as a prostitute.
Nicky was falling in love with Shiri. He didn’t mind that she was working her ‘shifts’. It turned him on.
Nicky says:
“Our sex was like a tornado, our home was a warm slipper. In her denim cutoff‘s, curled up on the sofa, watching television, eating Häagen-Dazs ice cream straight from the carton. Until one night she said something strange”.
Shiri says:
“If I stopped working you’d break up with me”.
Nicky says:
“she was right”.
This story became oddly- gripping to the end.
“Women” by Matan Hermoni
begins at a funeral.
Nahum Tzobelplatz had an affair with another man’s wife - a famous man in the business world.
In “The Time-Slip Detective”, by Lavie Tidhar, an apartment building was blown up.
“Slow Cooking” by Deakla Keydar:
Refugees ran away from a political war from Ukraine villages to a war of survival in Israel.
I guess it’s not shocking that my favorite story was written by Etgar Keret called “Allergies”.
We meet Seffi -not a puppy- but not done growing.
Seffi developed a strange allergy to dog food. The veterinarian suggested the couple feed him fresh meat instead.
It’s a funny eye-rolling - story where a dog - a pigeon recipe with wine and stuffed rice - brings a couple closer together.
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness”.
At the end of the book I learned a little more about the contributing authors - which I found interesting.
But overall ... for anyone interested in Etgar Keret for the first time - this isn’t the book to choose.
Two stories really stood out for me:
“Sleeping Mask” and “Allergies”....
....the others were a mixed bag.
“Compared to Jerusalem—torn apart, exploding with nationalism, xenophobia, and religious zeal—Tel Aviv has not always been an island of sanity and serenity”.
However in spite of its warmly and polite exterior, Tel Aviv has quite a bit to hide.
“At any club, most of the people dancing around you to the sounds of a deep-house hit dedicated to peace and love have undergone extensive automatic-weapons training and a hand-grenade tutorial. This isn’t a conspiracy, just one of the fringe benefits of a country that institute mandatory military service”.
These stories are a varied eclectic collection of short stories from the Akashic Noir series. Most are ‘not’ by Etgar Keret.
The stories - 14 in this collection - reveal a darker side to Tel Aviv...
with underlying tension.
The first story, “ Sleeping Mask”, by Gadi Taub
is about an escort name Nicky who meets a girl named Shiri - half his age - in a cell phone store where he was buying untraceable phones for his ‘girls’.
Shiri needed money and inquired about prostitution.
After a hot night of sex between them both ...a more serious relationship developed. She started staying over at his house several times a week while at the same time working for him as a prostitute.
Nicky was falling in love with Shiri. He didn’t mind that she was working her ‘shifts’. It turned him on.
Nicky says:
“Our sex was like a tornado, our home was a warm slipper. In her denim cutoff‘s, curled up on the sofa, watching television, eating Häagen-Dazs ice cream straight from the carton. Until one night she said something strange”.
Shiri says:
“If I stopped working you’d break up with me”.
Nicky says:
“she was right”.
This story became oddly- gripping to the end.
“Women” by Matan Hermoni
begins at a funeral.
Nahum Tzobelplatz had an affair with another man’s wife - a famous man in the business world.
In “The Time-Slip Detective”, by Lavie Tidhar, an apartment building was blown up.
“Slow Cooking” by Deakla Keydar:
Refugees ran away from a political war from Ukraine villages to a war of survival in Israel.
I guess it’s not shocking that my favorite story was written by Etgar Keret called “Allergies”.
We meet Seffi -not a puppy- but not done growing.
Seffi developed a strange allergy to dog food. The veterinarian suggested the couple feed him fresh meat instead.
It’s a funny eye-rolling - story where a dog - a pigeon recipe with wine and stuffed rice - brings a couple closer together.
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness”.
At the end of the book I learned a little more about the contributing authors - which I found interesting.
But overall ... for anyone interested in Etgar Keret for the first time - this isn’t the book to choose.
Two stories really stood out for me:
“Sleeping Mask” and “Allergies”....
....the others were a mixed bag.
October 15, 2014
incredibly uneven anthology that suffers from odd editing choices. some stories are very out of place, others borderline unreadable, and a few really shine.
reviewed here: http://www.jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-...
reviewed here: http://www.jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-...
August 7, 2017
As number of previous reviewers have pointed out, this short story compilation was very mixed in interest and quality. I love noir fiction and especially so when it captures the geographic location and makes it an important character in itself (two shining examples would be "The Main" by Trevanian, and James Ellroy's, "L.A. Confidential"). I appreciate that this would be hard to do in the confines of the short story format. Nevertheless, I was disappointed in how little I felt I was learning about the sights and feel of the city of Tel Aviv, but I'm still giving three stars because several of the tales nicely conveyed a sense of what I take to be the modern Israeli mentality/sensibility. I thought the best effort was the last, "Center" by Assaf Gavron. I will certainly be adding one of his award winning novel length efforts to my "Wanna" list.
November 30, 2015
A mixed bag at best, with very few stories containing any semblance of the noir traditions; some entries are excellently-written regardless, while others are borderline-unreadable in terms of their style. All in all, something of a disappointment.
October 19, 2016
I had enjoyed the “Seven Good Years” by Etgar Keret and mistakenly assumed this was another book by the same author. When I got my hands on it, I realized it was a set of short stories by several up and coming Israeli authors. Etgar had one story in there and I didn’t care much for that one. However, there were many others that were outstanding. All of the stories are set in and around Tel Aviv and bring out the vibrancy and excitement of the city life. Interestingly the stories are listed in the contents with the street names or area in Tel Aviv that they are set in.
The first story “Sleeping Mask” by Gadi Taub had me riveted and holding my breath as I flipped the page to see what comes next. One is about playing detective at a startup, another is about the boring life of a person who works in grocery store and a third is about a tour guide. Every single one of them brings out a facet of the culture that is unique to Israel. When you have a few moments of spare time, pick up a random story in this book and give it a read.
The first story “Sleeping Mask” by Gadi Taub had me riveted and holding my breath as I flipped the page to see what comes next. One is about playing detective at a startup, another is about the boring life of a person who works in grocery store and a third is about a tour guide. Every single one of them brings out a facet of the culture that is unique to Israel. When you have a few moments of spare time, pick up a random story in this book and give it a read.
July 3, 2017
I really enjoyed and liked this book. One of the stories literally gave me goosebumps, it was called Clear Recent history and then another I super liked for some passages was called My Father's Kingdom. The rest of the stories were good too. Not one bad story. Recommend.
November 23, 2017
It took me a hot second to get into this book and it is definitely dark look at Tel Aviv. The stories are uneven and I thought some of the stories at the end were better than those at the beginning of the anthology. Perhaps I was more used to the topic?
January 23, 2016
A very dark collection of stories, as you'd expect. Some are outstanding, some are okay, some could be better. All in all a great read.
November 17, 2017
This marks my 100th book of CY2017, thus completing my Reading Challenge!
It was a decent read, although the stories seemed more like Dark Brown or Very Dark Brown than Noir. I have been to Tel Aviv & thoroughly enjoyed myself. It did not seem to have the "Noirness" of other cities & this anthology kind of bore out that idea. There were a couple of really good ones, but in sum, it was one of the lesser entries in this ongoing series.
It was a decent read, although the stories seemed more like Dark Brown or Very Dark Brown than Noir. I have been to Tel Aviv & thoroughly enjoyed myself. It did not seem to have the "Noirness" of other cities & this anthology kind of bore out that idea. There were a couple of really good ones, but in sum, it was one of the lesser entries in this ongoing series.
September 25, 2016
A good collection of stories, three were translations. Not all hits, but mostly good and mostly by authors I had not heard of. I really liked Etgar Keret's story but was disappointed in the one by Assaf Gavron. A couple were incomprehensible to me but that was part of the fun.
November 11, 2014
Always up for reading stuff set in a place I know (and I love Etgar Keret), but these stories are really mixed.
April 11, 2015
A fine addition to the Akashic noir collection.
March 10, 2025
Not strictly noir, but a sharp collection.
June 15, 2017
”As applied to individual stories, ‘noir’ can be reduced to ‘tough’ or ‘gritty’ or just ‘not cozy.’ But the fierce regional pride that runs through this collection does capture the characters’ fatalistic sense of alienation, even in their own hometowns.” from “You Wouldn’t Want to Live There: ‘USA Noir,’ and More” by Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times, January 3, 2014.
I have known about the Akashic Noir series for a long time. If you had asked me, I would have said that I was planning to read Richmond Noir first, since I live near there. However, I needed a book that I could interrupt if necessary and this one appeared on my library’s sell shelf.
My biggest problem with this collection prompted the quotation above. What is noir? I thought that noir usually included murder. Most of these stories do not. They are more likely to fit Stasio’s definition that I have above. The stories in this volume are undeniably not cozy.
However, the reason I liked most of these tales is that the authors seemed to know the community that they were writing about. I have only been to Tel Aviv once, but now I feel like I have visited there multiple times. These are dark short stories and if alienation is part of being noir, the works in this volume are most definitely noir.
I don’t know if you have any interest in short stories or noir fiction. However, if you do, I recommend you find the Akashic volume set closest to your hometown. I suspect you will find some stories to your liking in that volume.
I have known about the Akashic Noir series for a long time. If you had asked me, I would have said that I was planning to read Richmond Noir first, since I live near there. However, I needed a book that I could interrupt if necessary and this one appeared on my library’s sell shelf.
My biggest problem with this collection prompted the quotation above. What is noir? I thought that noir usually included murder. Most of these stories do not. They are more likely to fit Stasio’s definition that I have above. The stories in this volume are undeniably not cozy.
However, the reason I liked most of these tales is that the authors seemed to know the community that they were writing about. I have only been to Tel Aviv once, but now I feel like I have visited there multiple times. These are dark short stories and if alienation is part of being noir, the works in this volume are most definitely noir.
I don’t know if you have any interest in short stories or noir fiction. However, if you do, I recommend you find the Akashic volume set closest to your hometown. I suspect you will find some stories to your liking in that volume.
May 19, 2017
There are many problems with this book, especially towards the end where reading turns into a slog and some of the stories don't quite stick as they should. I've read very little noire elsewhere, however in Tel Aviv Noir the "noir" feels more absurd, as if its playing with our expectations. For better or for worse, there are some truly great stories in here especially in the first half: "Sleeping Mask" by Gadi Taub and "Who's A Good Boy" by Julia Fermentto stand out in my mind. Apparently "Clear Recent History" By Gon Ben Ari got an award which it deserves in my humble opinion. There are other stories in here and most of them are decent, through this whole book I only skipped Gai Ad, among other forgettable titles. Etgar Keret has a story in here, and he is a phenomenal and quirky writer, I'd recommend his other titles though, "Allergies" just doesn't stand up to par.
Overall, Tel Aviv Noir gives a nice glimpse into some Israeli writers, perhaps not their best works are compiled here, but there are some stories worth reading. Maybe three stars are too generous, but the stories I pointed out I'd read again.
Overall, Tel Aviv Noir gives a nice glimpse into some Israeli writers, perhaps not their best works are compiled here, but there are some stories worth reading. Maybe three stars are too generous, but the stories I pointed out I'd read again.
March 1, 2017
As many of the other reviewers have said, the stories in this collection vary quite a bit in quality. I enjoyed a couple of them, couldn't finish several, and slogged through the rest. It even took me two tries to start this book because I couldn't get through the first story. The stories were variously intriguing, interesting, sad, pretentious, and ridiculous. If you do choose to read this collection, don't feel bad about skipping a few stories.
I received this book as a Goodreads First Read.
I received this book as a Goodreads First Read.
February 2, 2015
A collection of short stories, all based in a particular location in Tel Aviv. I assume the location is important to the story, but since I am not familiar with Tel Aviv, I missed that aspect. I liked some of the tales better than others, not surprising for any collection, and overall thought the editors did a good job of showing the noir side of the city. This is part of a series each book focusing on a different city. Intriguing idea.
July 5, 2024
I really enjoyed this collection of Tel-Aviv dark stories.
The "Noir" title of this book may be a little misleading, leading one to expect cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity. Instead, this is pure gutter darkness. I especially liked how this is so very local. Like every collection, this has some better stories than other, but I found them all enjoyable, and I think the editors did a good job, four stars out of five.
The "Noir" title of this book may be a little misleading, leading one to expect cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity. Instead, this is pure gutter darkness. I especially liked how this is so very local. Like every collection, this has some better stories than other, but I found them all enjoyable, and I think the editors did a good job, four stars out of five.
December 8, 2016
It was fun to read a noir book set in Tel Aviv and to find jewish references in a type of story I don't usually find them. I liked some of the stories more than others. A few were very forgettable but some were just amazing and had such unique plots that I keep thinking about them. I loved taking a darker look at this city and seeing what the shadows hide. Very recommended!
December 12, 2014
An interesting collection of stories that all take place in Tel Aviv but there were only a few that really grabbed me: Slow Cooking by Deakla Keydar, Swirl by Silje Bekeng, and Allergies by Etgar Keret.
January 8, 2015
More of an Etgar Keret vibe than "noir" in terms of style. Well written and enjoyable. It doesn't really have much to do with Tel Aviv but I enjoyed it anyways. Like most short story collection stories differ in degrees of quality although I could recommend most of the stories in this volume.
April 6, 2016
Stories of very mixed quality, some I enjoyed quite a bit. Felt handicapped by not knowing the city or the culture particularly well. It seemed like a lot of the stories had sub-text and layering in them that I could not understand or appreciate. Took me forever to finish reading.
September 14, 2017
This is an excellent anthology. I don't know Tel Aviv, but I like these stories. I'm not even that much for noir, though I certainly enjoy it from time to time. Gritty, compelling, varied, and interesting though. Good stuff.
February 5, 2018
I have read many books in the Akashic Noir series, and this is one of the better ones. That may be because I am fond of the style of writing and the subject matter, but the stories were interesting and engaging.
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September 22, 2014Included in my season preview for the Jewish Journal: http://www.erikadreifus.com/2014/09/s...
November 21, 2014
Really inconsistent. A couple of great stories, but the rest are just ok.
December 31, 2014
See my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...
January 28, 2015
As with most anthologies, several outstanding stories, others kept my interest but just OK, and a few didn't grab me at all.
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