Moisson Noire

by James Ellroy, François Guérif (Series Editor)

Chaque année un grand maître du roman noir américain choisit, parmi une ample sélection, les vingt fictions courtes qu’il juge les meilleures de l’année. Voici le choix de James Ellroy, qui nous livre également dans une préface décapante sa conception de la nouvelle : « Pour le lecteur, une bonne nouvelle, c’est un sprint effréné vers la ligne d’arrivée, c’est un verre d’alcool vidé cul sec. C’est une sacrée secousse, c’est vite expédié, ça vous réchauffe le cœur, et les sensations persistent après consommation. »Qu’elles soient signées par des écrivains renommés ou des débutants, ces nouvelles réservent leur lot de surprises et d’émotions. Certaines sont carrément mémorables.Cette édition comprend, entre autres, des textes de Thomas H. Cook, Joe Gores, James Grady, Clark Howard, Suart Kaminsky, Michael Malone et Joyce Carol Oates.« Trois pages, en avant-propos de ce fort volume, justifient à elles seules son acquisition. [...] Parmi tant de diamants noirs, on retiendra notamment une jolie dérive nocturne dans Harlem signée Robert B. Parker. » Le Figaro Magazine

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Short Story Collection

640 pages, Pocket Book

First published October 15, 2002

About the author

Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black Dahlia (1987) and L.A. Confidential (1990).

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought only 4 of these stories were worth reading.

[Jules Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compilation dates back to 2002 and I picked it up because it was edited by one of my favourite authors, James Ellroy, and contained a story by another of my favourite authors, Michael Connelly, he of Harry Bosch fame. However, it was a few other stories that really stood out for me.

The first was A Family Game, by Brendan Dubois, which really worked as a short story and had a neat pay-off. According to the endnotes, Dubois has done most of his fiction writing in short stories and it really shows in his efficient storytelling. I would definitely look out for his work in future.

The second was Midnight Emissions by F X Toole. This tells the story of a boxer reluctantly returning to the ring. It’s a well-worn tale but Toole creates some fantastic characters and writes dialogue that really brings them to life. This is not a tale with a twist as such; you can see the ending coming from a mile away, but the writing makes you enjoy getting there.

Finally I got to read Joyce Carol Oates for the first time. Her confessional piece, The High School Sweetheart really impressed me, being written in a beautifully elliptical style; I would definitely read more of her work.

[Gu Kun · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Read only the stories liked in the other reviews, plus one -the first.)

"It is Raining in Bejucal" (2.5 stars); "Two-bagger" (3); "A Family Game" (3.5); "Inscrutable" (4)*; "Maniac Loose" (3.5); "The Highschool Sweetheart" (2 - saw that one coming); "Harlem Nocturne" (2 - irritatingly politically hip; should have been written well over half a century ago); "Midnight Emissions" (3.5)°

*' "Why is sex like insurance?" asked Rosenkrantz.
"The older you are, the more it costs," said Guildenstern.
("Rosenkrantz" and "Guildenstern" are cops - K. Kop)

Rosenkrantz said, "What's the most important question to ask a woman if you're interested in safe sex?"
"What time does your husband get home?" said Guildenstern.

Rosenkrantz spoke first.
"Hear about the blonde who got an AM radio?"
"It took her a month to figure out she could play it at night," said his partner. '

° 'This is not a tale with a twist as such; you can see the ending coming from a mile away, but the writing makes you enjoy getting there' (from Jules Lewis' review)

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spending as much time in hospitals as I have been lately, you have hours and hours to read. Short stories are perfect for hospital reading because you don't lose your train of thought with the constant interruptions of doctors and nurses. This collection of short stories really grabbed my attention. Some of my favorite authors were included in the anthology and I was introduced to some new writers. Some of the stories definitely stood out for me. Brendan DuBois wrote "A Family Game" in which a bullying baseball dad gets payback for his behavior. Michael Malone contributed a story called "Maniac Loose" about a widow in Alabama who takes revenge on her husband's mistress which was both delicious and disturbing. And my favorite was Robert T. Parker's "Halem Nocture" which took a look at Jackie Robinson's rookie year off the field. A good selection of stories.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Couverture un peu trompeuse parce que je pensais qu’il s’agissait d’un livre de James Ellroy et pas de nouvelles sélectionnées par lui.
Le format de la nouvelle est intéressant, parce qu’on est tout de suite dans l’ambiance, mais parfois un peu frustrant : on s’est a peine attachés aux personnages qu’ils sont morts et la nouvelle est finie.
Globalement bien aimé les différentes nouvelles mais thématiques un peu récurrentes : alcool, flingues, boxe (souvent des irlandais ??), racisme, moto, accent texan

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not great. I expected more from a book that featured mystery stories by such a diverse group of authors as Stephan King and Joyce Carol Oates. But I found that rather then push the author's limits to write in a new genre, the definition of "mystery" was expanded to include any story that was even remotely about a crime. It's difficult to write really good short mysteries, and many of these stories succeeded remarkably (I loved Bet on Red) but most of the works just weren't mysteries. Big named authors were particularly bad in this way- King's story was a shallow thriller and Oates' contribution was a crime-related account of a terribly dysfunctional and sexually abusive family. In all, the stories in this book were worth the read, but don't expect real mysteries. Also, don't sit down and read the whole book at once the way I did, or you'll get incredibly sick of the whole crime genre.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come December, I head for Vrooman's and look for the latest installment in the series. Every year's collection is put together by publisher Otto Penzler and new guest editor (James Ellroy, one of my favorites, in this case). Some years are better than others, but none are dogs. These are great books to bring along while traveling — because they're easier to put down.

[Mick Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a hit and a miss; the introduction by James Ellroy is interesting, and I like his brief discussion of the difference between a short story and a novel. But the collection itself smacks of the literary snobbery that permeates ALL of The Best American Series.

[Hidayat Karim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection! "Lean, mean and to the point" and "a change of pace" as Michael Connelly said in the introduction of the 2003 book of the same title which I've started to read.

Most notable for me in the 2002 collection are "A Family Game" and "Inscrutable" with their twists in the stories.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought there were more OK and just plain not good stories in this collection. I normally like reading these mystery short story collections, but this time was an exception.

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

non ho letto questo libro anche se, visti gli autori, forse dovrei: ma ho intervistato james ellroy quando lo presentava e ho una sua dedica autografa. nell'intervista mi ha detto che nemmeno lui aveva letto i racconti, e la dedica recita "lose your cell phone!" dopo una lunga discussione sull'essenziale e la tecnologia. un tipo interessante, ellroy.

----------------
alla fine, dopo un'attesa di 6 anni, ho letto il libro, e i racconti mi sono piaciuti quasi tutti. non so perché non mi attirasse ed è stata una sorpresa. howard, malone e oates i preferiti.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I've said about other short story collections I've read, it's hard to rate books of this type. Most of the stories had great plots and characters while others fell a little flat. I still think it's a very book for people who enjoy mysteries.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some I liked, some I didn’t. But that’s normal I think, when you’re dealing with collections. But worth reading.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a mixed bag. I like the revenge ones the best. The Joyce Carol Oates one was practically unreadable. I especially liked Maniac on the Loose and The Blue Mirror.

[Kurt Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some excellent stories in this one. The Championship of Nowhere is an incredible story.

[Atef Attia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le principe de cette collection "Moisson Noire'' c'est que chaque année, un auteur reconnu du polar choisit ce qu'il considère comme les meilleures nouvelles du genre pour un même recueil. Si c'est le cas, j'ai été doublement déçu par le choix de James Ellroy, ces nouvelles étant terriblement inégales allant du juste bien au vraiment nul. J'en retiens quelques unes spécialement celle de Michael Connelly, toujours aussi efficace et celle de FX Tool, un vrai noir comme on les aime. Sinon le reste se lit avec un intérêt poli sans plus.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was abridged, so there were only 8 (I think) stories on the 4 tapes; the book itself probably has 20 or so. still, they were good driving material. Only one of them made me laugh out loud inappropriately -- the reader needed some serious help.

"Blah blah blah blah," [PAUSE:] he said.
"Blah blah blah blah," [PAUSE:] he said.

repeat FAR too many times and you'll get the idea. :)

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about half the stories before I had to return it to the library. I enjoyed the ones I had a chance to read.

[Levi · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories were okay, but the overall book could not keep me occupied. So much so that I lost the book and now have no idea where it is. So yeah, not the best read.

[Drew]

The Best American Mystery Stories 2002 (Best American) (2002)

[J.C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

like always some good stories some not so... lots of boxing stories for some reason.

[Leslie]

Ehh... maybe I'll come back to this later (probably not).