Marseille Noir

by Cédric Fabre, Christian Garcin, René Frégni

Guide de voyage alternatif, Marseille Noir permet de (re)découvrir la cité phocéenne sous la plume de 14 auteurs locaux, chacun livrant une nouvelle noire inédite sur le quartier qu’il a choisi.Vous découvrirez ainsi :la Belle du Mai vue par François Beaunela Cayolle vue par Philippe Carresele Panier vu par Patrick Coulombla Joliette vue par Cédric FabreChâteau-Gombert vu par René FregniEndoume vu par Christian Garcinla Solidarité vue par Salim HatubouLongchamp vu par Rebecca Ligheril’Estaque vu par Emmanuel Loile Frioul vu par Marie Neuserle Vieux-Port vu par Pia Petersenla Plaine vue par Serge ScottoBelsunce vu par Minna Sifle Stade Vélodrome vu par François Thomazeau

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

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I visited Marseille – a city I had dreamed of for as long as I could remember, thanks to Pagnol’s novels – a couple of years ago, and fell in love with it much more than I had anticipated. It’s the oldest, and second largest city in France, and it’s beautiful in a gritty, wild sort of way. People there are colorful and loud, outspoken, kind and incredibly alive. I ate delicious food, visited the most beautiful neighborhood I had ever seen (the Cours Julien) and went to a coop punk bar to see a psychobilly band play, among other things, a cover of “Jolene”. I could have spent the rest of my life there.

Sometimes I miss that city very sharply, which is funny considering I barely spent a week there. I was in that nostalgic mood when I found this little collection of short stories and I immediately picked it up. The Marseille portrayed in the books I had read growing up is a boisterous and sunny place – and it absolutely is. But it’s also a maze of small crooked streets, strange shops and plazas, filled people from all walks of life; and it’s that Marseille the writers of this “anti-tour-guide” focused on.

I loved being transported back to places I visited when familiar spots were mentioned: my wandering in the Panier had little to do with hiding murder weapons, chopping exes into little pieces or dealing drugs. But the stories do such a wonderful job of transporting you to their setting that I would see Marseille with very different eyes if I went back there today. The Palais Longchamp would still be magnificent, but it would also make me think of Rebecca Lighieri’s tragic story.

Now the real question is: would I have liked these stories as much if I hadn't already been in love with their setting? Sadly, probably not. They aren't bad stories, by any stretch of the imagination, but they lack a little something to be really satisfying. Most anthologies are a mixed bag, and this one is no exception. Some are really good, but others are rushed and might have been better as longer stories. To cap it off, all these stories were translated from French, so I can't be sure if the translation is to blame for my feeling underwhelmed about it... Sigh.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

True review: 3.5. Hit or miss collection, but there were a few strong stories, and I did get a good sense of the city of Marseilles. I will review it in greater detail on Episode 33 of Point Blank Noir: A Crime Fiction Podcast. (pointblankpodcast.com).

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une bonne surprise, tiens !

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of fictional stories about Marseille is diverse, dark, macabre, quirky and totally irresistible. Each story has a unique voice about crime and the dark side of the city. By far my favorite was “I'll go away with the first man who says I love you” by Marie Neuser. I also really liked “The Warehouse of People from Before” by Salim Hatubou.

In this selection of stories Marseille comes across as a hard, tough, masculine city full of crime but also full of life and interesting characters. It will make you realize that Marseille is more than just an old, picturesque city by the sea. This is my first book in the Noir series and I found it so enjoyable that I definitely want to read more.

Thanks to Library Thing and Akashic Books for providing me with a review copy of the book.

[Thomas Getsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciated that these short stories each treat the city as a character itself, often taking small departures from the story to describe it and how it’s affecting the people living in it. In almost all of these stories, Marseille is depicted as a city fallen from glory that now is ridden with crime, gangs, and violence. The city is “frequently reduced to the capital of delinquency and corruption in France,” as editor Cédric Fabre describes in the introduction.

Marseille Noir takes the term “noir” pretty loosely. The main criteria I use when evaluating whether a story is noir are a noir world, noir protagonist, noirscape, and a crime; many of the stories in Marseille Noir have only one of them and at least one doesn’t have any of them at all, as far as I can see.

My favorite piece of the bunch was “Silence is Your Best Friend.” This story has everything: the noir protagonist, noir world, the crime, and a really strong noirscape. One of my favorite lines is, “I walk in the blood of the past and the walls and cobblestones speak to me and scream violence, violence, violence.” The whole piece has a very unique flow to it and is presented through conversational ravings of a madman. I loved it!

Another piece that I really enjoyed was “The Problem With the Rotary.” This one follows a lot of characters so it doesn’t really have a noir protagonist, but each character adds to the noir world. My favorite thing about this one was how all of the different small characters and storylines intertwined perfectly towards the very end.

One of my least favorite pieces was “Extreme Unction.” I wouldn’t even classify this as noir, which is probably why I disliked it so much. It’s also quite repetitive and ends up feeling pretty pointless in the end, which didn’t help matters. I was just kind of bored by the rambly nature of this one.

Another one of my least favorite stories was “The Red Mule.” This one was just too over the top for my taste. The only thing that’s noir about this one is that we are seeing the world through the eyes of a murderous, hateful man who despises everything he sees. It definitely checks the “noir world” box, but it feels so repetitive, over the top, and pointless that it got old really quick and ended up losing my attention.

Overall, I liked this collection, but didn't love it. I think it suffers from being a bit too long and not being "noir enough". Some of these stories just barely fit the noir bill and feel out of place in the collection. Additionally, some of the pieces were too repetitive and their shtick got old quick, which lessened my enjoyment for those particular pieces. But as a whole, the collection does a good job of showing what noir looks like when it’s set in Marseille.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the "Noir" series. They are a good introduction to writers I probably would not be aware of otherwise. I read "Marseille Noir" with the desire to acquaint myself a little with the city in my heart of hearts I want to visit. Wanted some travel tips I guess one could say. And I like a good story. Individually some of these earned a 3 star, others earned a 4. Going with the 4.

[Ella Daniels-Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun concept: a collection of short stories, each taking place in a different Marseillais neighborhood. Extremely hit-or-miss. My favorite was about a woman who slaughtered her adulterous husband before he had the chance to divorce her. The entire chapter was a conversation between her and his rotting corpse, stuffed in a suitcase. I got nightmares. Ultimately was burnt out on reading in French…

[Woody Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally like the books in Akashic's Noir series & this was no exception. It paints a bleaker picture of Marseille than what I remember from my visit, but so be it. Lots of compelling stories in this collection, making it another quick read.

[Ray Kluender · Rating 3 out of 5]

A high-variance collection of noir short stories set in Marseille.

[Bryan Spellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll preface this review by noting that I have never been to Marseille, or anywhere in the south of France, but it is on my bucket list. That said, this is a tremendous collection of stories that paint a very grim picture of life in the Phocaean City. Admittedly the "noir" series centers on crime fiction, but at this point I need to read at least another one of the "noir" books--say San Francisco Noir, or Portland Noir, or even Paris Noir--cities of which I have some personal knowledge. I also feel the need to reread some Pagnol, just to get a lighter taste in my mouth (well, as light as Gauloises and Pastis allow). The fourteen stories in this collection are definitely crime-ridden: murder, drugs, smuggling, theft. Sometimes all of the above. Collected this way, the city they depict seems like a place to avoid. And yet, Marseille was chosen to be the European Capital of Culture in 2013, a fact to which many of the stories allude. Many of the stories also suggest that Marseille, rather than being a city, is a collection of villages, and each story is set in one or another of these "villages." There is even a map to give the reader a sense of where the stories take place. My first venture into the "noir" series, I have nothing with which to compare this, but I can say that the individual stories are captivating, if very dark in tone, and the work of the translators extraordinary. Kudos to David and Nicole Ball who turned the work of these fourteen authors into very readable English. I do want to read more by several of the authors, and in the original French. (And I have to grab some more Pagnol, just to clear the palate.)

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marseille Noir ed. By Cedric Fabre


For me, this is a solid 4 ½ star read. One of the things I love about the “Noir” series is that selections are edited by individuals from that city so the stories are very representative of that place. The second thing I love is that the stories were originally written in the language of that city and country and then translated into English.

The variety is there: stories by both men and women. Stories from the point of view of natives of both the city and France as well as immigrants to those cities and that country. It is worth noting that Marseille, as a port city on the Mediterranean, has been influenced by Corsicans, Italians, Greek, French, Africans of all persuasions and Middle Easterners.

I loved the stories that showed the “seamy underside” the most. I guess that appeals to my interest in the stories of gangsters and underworld figures. There are plenty of great dark undertones that readers of noir will be expecting.

I had several favorites. My top ones were probably “Extreme Unction” by Francois Thomazeau; “Silence Is Your Best Friend” by Patrick Coulomb; “What Can I Say?” by Rebecca Lighieri; The Problem With the Rotary” by Phillipe Carrese and “Green, Slightly Gray” by Serge Scotto. But in so saying those were my picks, I can say with confidence that every entry was strong.

Loved this edition. Great set of short stories and don't leave out the forward on any of these books because they are fantastic at setting the scene. Likewise, at the end of each volume is a profile of each writer so that you can seek out those you might like to follow.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ended up on my reading list because I noticed that I might have been neglecting great books that had been written in other languages. Since I'm strictly monolingual that left me hunting for great books written in other languages that had also been translated into English. After some digging around on Goodreads and Amazon I eventually ended up adding this and a few others that may or may not have met the original criteria to my list of things to read.

This was a pretty good book in it's own right and a decent collection of short stories compared to many of them that are out there. I have not read much in the way of Noir previously and this was my first in Akashic Books Noir series set around the world that I've read at all. I can definitely see myself reading more from the series and reading more from the seedier European cities featured in the series as opposed to the American ones.

I'd recommend this for fans of short stories, French culture, crime novels, and the blending of the three.

[Jenna Billington · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of but not the last in the noir series that I️ will read. A collections of short stories from a collection of authors who have really painted a picture of the dark, crime filled, grungy side of Marseille. I️ enjoyed reading the stories translated into in English and pick out a few that I️ would like to read again the original French.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

One in the series of noir short story anthologies set in different cities. This collection gives good picture of underbelly of life in Marseille. Great read for noir fans.