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Copenhagen Noir
"The latest entry in the publisher's series (41 and counting) proves the resilience of, and market for, these locale noirs. Editor Michaëlis, a Danish book critic, is both scholarly and insightful in the introduction and outlines how the stories reflect the greed and ennui of modern Denmark in contrast to the Danish idyll depicted in tourist brochures . . . Although some stories veer from noir orthodoxy, there are fine examples of lyrical writing, noir sensibilities, and insight into the current Danish psyche. Overall, a very impressive anthology."
-- Library Journal
"The indefatigable noir series of anthologies ( Orange County Noir, Trinidad Noir, Brooklyn Noir 3 , etc.) focuses in its 43rd volume on the home of Hans Christian Andersen . . . Based on this collection, Copenhagen may be a great place to visit, but nobody seems to live there, at least not well or long."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"Fans used to the watered-down noir now prevalent in America will notice immediately the much harder edge of these stories, which are much closer to the noir of the 1940s and '50s."
-- Booklist
"[This] volume has grim, uncomfortable power."
-- Publishers Weekly
Joining Rome, Paris, Istanbul, London, and Dublin as European hosts for the Akashic Noir series, Copenhagen Noir features brand-new stories from a top-notch crew of Danish writers, with several Swedish and Norwegian writers thrown into the mix. This volume definitively reveals why Scandinavian crime fiction has come to be so popular across the world.
Includes brand-new stories Naja Marie Aidt, Jonas T. Bengtsson, Helle Helle, Christian Dorph and Simon Pasternak, Susanne Staun, Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis, Klaus Rifbjerg, Gretelise Holm, Georg Ursin, Kristian Lundberg, Kristina Stoltz, Seyit Öztürk, Benn Q. Holm, and Gunnar Staalesen.
Bo Tao Michaëlis is a book critic and editor living in Copenhagen, Denmark.
-- Library Journal
"The indefatigable noir series of anthologies ( Orange County Noir, Trinidad Noir, Brooklyn Noir 3 , etc.) focuses in its 43rd volume on the home of Hans Christian Andersen . . . Based on this collection, Copenhagen may be a great place to visit, but nobody seems to live there, at least not well or long."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"Fans used to the watered-down noir now prevalent in America will notice immediately the much harder edge of these stories, which are much closer to the noir of the 1940s and '50s."
-- Booklist
"[This] volume has grim, uncomfortable power."
-- Publishers Weekly
Joining Rome, Paris, Istanbul, London, and Dublin as European hosts for the Akashic Noir series, Copenhagen Noir features brand-new stories from a top-notch crew of Danish writers, with several Swedish and Norwegian writers thrown into the mix. This volume definitively reveals why Scandinavian crime fiction has come to be so popular across the world.
Includes brand-new stories Naja Marie Aidt, Jonas T. Bengtsson, Helle Helle, Christian Dorph and Simon Pasternak, Susanne Staun, Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis, Klaus Rifbjerg, Gretelise Holm, Georg Ursin, Kristian Lundberg, Kristina Stoltz, Seyit Öztürk, Benn Q. Holm, and Gunnar Staalesen.
Bo Tao Michaëlis is a book critic and editor living in Copenhagen, Denmark.
256 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 14, 2012
Published review on Three Percent website, here: http://www.rochester.edu/College/tran...
I'm reviewing this collection this month and am hopping around among the various sections/stories (there are actually a lot of big name authors included), so I'm just going to list some brief impressions of the stories as I read them so as to not totally muddle them in my head.
Part I: (Men and) Women
*Women in Copenhagen: Decent. Fairly good atmosphere, and an interesting enough back story, but little comes of it. Credibility is somewhat stretched in the very first paragraph of the story, with the lines, "You have arrived in Scandinavia. You have just entered a long, bitter winter. Here there are no free rides. Here you are left to your own fate." I'll give you that the winter's are cold, but c'mon with the abandonment bit. Me thinks the welfare state doth protest too much.
*One of the Rough Ones: Bleh. Very harsh story, very violent. Young women/sexual abuse/etc. It would be hard for me to determine honestly if this is a good story. It's just not for me. I skimmed.
*Australia: Pretty good. Yet another example of scary immigrants in Denmark (this time, Polish/Eastern European sex traffickers and drug dealers), which is irritating, and it does veer into a more visceral sort of violence at the end, which again, I'm just not a fan of. But I actually thought a lot of the characterizations were strong. There are multiple characters who all get some form of narration from their points of view--a small time 'clean-up man' and member of the prostitution syndicate who's saved up a great deal of money so that he can run away and start over; a Polish prostitute named Adina who has escaped and is hiding out in the apartment of one of her Danish patrons; a young Moldavian girl who has been sold in prostitution by her parents (but not yet actually handed over to the prostitution ring); a brutal pimp searching for Adina. And everyone looking for an escape route. The ending resolves well, although I actually suspect that there was a misprint of two characters' names. There's a change-of-heart twist at the end that doesn't really make sense given the men in question. But either way, it's got a good ending.
*All I Want Is My Baby, Whoah Whoah, Woah Woah Woah Woah: Inner monologue of a would-be psychopath. Slightly more interesting because the narrator is a woman, incensed because of an insulting pick up attempt--someone tells her that she looks like Keith Richards and she just loses it. Lots of dramatic language, but not actually much here.
*A Fine Boy: Okay? Not much here, but again, some good atmosphere. Also a fine bit of 'real Denmark' detail: a major plot point hinges on a character leaving her child outside in a stroller while she's working inside at a restaurant. This is a thing--really. Scandinavians leave their babies outside, unattended, in their prams all the time. Even when it's cold or rainy. They just tuck them under their blankets and cover them with little plastic wind guards and don't fuss about it.
Part Two: Mammon
*When the Time Came: Pretty darn good, with some flaws. More good atmosphere, localized and relevant immigration/racial tension and themes, and a nicely contained story with decently drawn characters. The immigrant characters get perhaps a more surface-level treatment and/or motives, but there's still some sincere empathy throughout.
*Sleipner's Assignment: Very good. So far, my favorite in the collection. Love the rundown, shady PI and the fact that he scales gothic-style apartment buildings--like climbs straight up the side of a building in the name of surveillance. Good tension and allusion to possible violence without needing to actually get brutal. Bears noting that the author, Georg Ursin, published his first (crime) novel at the age of 71.
*Debt of Honor: I started this one and stalled--it was a bit muddled. But then again, it's a story by Klaus Rifbjerg and he is, firstly, kinda a big deal, and secondly, not the most straightforward of authors, so I need to go back and try it again.
*When It's Tough Out There: Oh boy. Full veto. This one is really, really bad. Woman seeks revenge on her husband, who she has discovered is a brothel owner, by becoming a prostitute in his brothel. Oh, and her mom was a prostitute and died from an overdose when she (the narrator) was a child. Also, weird racial undertones. Also, terrible dialog. No. Just no.
Part Three: Corpses
*Savage City, Cruel City: This story was actually written in Swedish, and takes place in Malmö, which is actually the third largest city in Sweden (by population), but is kind of considered a suburb of Copenhagen because of its strong ties to Denmark, both culturally (it was, back in the day, a Danish territory) and economically. Malmö and Copenhagen are also connected by one of the longest bridges in Europe, so there is a lot more cross-over between it and Copenhagen now than there even used to be. All of this is very interesting context, and there is a sort of prose poem quality to the language and the pacing. Also, one of the main characters, a drunk detective named Nils Forsberg who is going through something of a spiritual crisis, has a lot of potential. I'm not sure that it really came together as well as it might have, but not a bad effort.
*The Elephant's Tusks: Meh. Starts with a lot of potential, and more good atmosphere. But nothing comes of it, and the ending is not only strange and a little gross, but kind of irrelevant and pointless.
*The Booster Station: Very Good--my second favorite in the collection after "Sleipner's Assignment." The author's bio reveals that the story was written by a "New Dane" (the incredibly loaded Danish term for immigrants or Danes of different ethnicities)of Turkish descent, although it doesn't have any of the racial or ethnic signifiers that carry so much weight and dread in the rest of the collection. It's very much like Stand By Me: two teenagers find the body of a young woman by some train tracks and convince themselves (briefly) that they are going to be heroes by catching the culprit themselves. As one boy becomes more obsessed with this plan, the other begins to have doubts about not reporting the crime immediately. Tautly paced, good characterization, lots of dramatic developments--some of them very unpleasant, but not gratuitous.
That's all but the last two. I'll probably finish those shortly, but will also have an overall review shortly.
I'm reviewing this collection this month and am hopping around among the various sections/stories (there are actually a lot of big name authors included), so I'm just going to list some brief impressions of the stories as I read them so as to not totally muddle them in my head.
Part I: (Men and) Women
*Women in Copenhagen: Decent. Fairly good atmosphere, and an interesting enough back story, but little comes of it. Credibility is somewhat stretched in the very first paragraph of the story, with the lines, "You have arrived in Scandinavia. You have just entered a long, bitter winter. Here there are no free rides. Here you are left to your own fate." I'll give you that the winter's are cold, but c'mon with the abandonment bit. Me thinks the welfare state doth protest too much.
*One of the Rough Ones: Bleh. Very harsh story, very violent. Young women/sexual abuse/etc. It would be hard for me to determine honestly if this is a good story. It's just not for me. I skimmed.
*Australia: Pretty good. Yet another example of scary immigrants in Denmark (this time, Polish/Eastern European sex traffickers and drug dealers), which is irritating, and it does veer into a more visceral sort of violence at the end, which again, I'm just not a fan of. But I actually thought a lot of the characterizations were strong. There are multiple characters who all get some form of narration from their points of view--a small time 'clean-up man' and member of the prostitution syndicate who's saved up a great deal of money so that he can run away and start over; a Polish prostitute named Adina who has escaped and is hiding out in the apartment of one of her Danish patrons; a young Moldavian girl who has been sold in prostitution by her parents (but not yet actually handed over to the prostitution ring); a brutal pimp searching for Adina. And everyone looking for an escape route. The ending resolves well, although I actually suspect that there was a misprint of two characters' names. There's a change-of-heart twist at the end that doesn't really make sense given the men in question. But either way, it's got a good ending.
*All I Want Is My Baby, Whoah Whoah, Woah Woah Woah Woah: Inner monologue of a would-be psychopath. Slightly more interesting because the narrator is a woman, incensed because of an insulting pick up attempt--someone tells her that she looks like Keith Richards and she just loses it. Lots of dramatic language, but not actually much here.
*A Fine Boy: Okay? Not much here, but again, some good atmosphere. Also a fine bit of 'real Denmark' detail: a major plot point hinges on a character leaving her child outside in a stroller while she's working inside at a restaurant. This is a thing--really. Scandinavians leave their babies outside, unattended, in their prams all the time. Even when it's cold or rainy. They just tuck them under their blankets and cover them with little plastic wind guards and don't fuss about it.
Part Two: Mammon
*When the Time Came: Pretty darn good, with some flaws. More good atmosphere, localized and relevant immigration/racial tension and themes, and a nicely contained story with decently drawn characters. The immigrant characters get perhaps a more surface-level treatment and/or motives, but there's still some sincere empathy throughout.
*Sleipner's Assignment: Very good. So far, my favorite in the collection. Love the rundown, shady PI and the fact that he scales gothic-style apartment buildings--like climbs straight up the side of a building in the name of surveillance. Good tension and allusion to possible violence without needing to actually get brutal. Bears noting that the author, Georg Ursin, published his first (crime) novel at the age of 71.
*Debt of Honor: I started this one and stalled--it was a bit muddled. But then again, it's a story by Klaus Rifbjerg and he is, firstly, kinda a big deal, and secondly, not the most straightforward of authors, so I need to go back and try it again.
*When It's Tough Out There: Oh boy. Full veto. This one is really, really bad. Woman seeks revenge on her husband, who she has discovered is a brothel owner, by becoming a prostitute in his brothel. Oh, and her mom was a prostitute and died from an overdose when she (the narrator) was a child. Also, weird racial undertones. Also, terrible dialog. No. Just no.
Part Three: Corpses
*Savage City, Cruel City: This story was actually written in Swedish, and takes place in Malmö, which is actually the third largest city in Sweden (by population), but is kind of considered a suburb of Copenhagen because of its strong ties to Denmark, both culturally (it was, back in the day, a Danish territory) and economically. Malmö and Copenhagen are also connected by one of the longest bridges in Europe, so there is a lot more cross-over between it and Copenhagen now than there even used to be. All of this is very interesting context, and there is a sort of prose poem quality to the language and the pacing. Also, one of the main characters, a drunk detective named Nils Forsberg who is going through something of a spiritual crisis, has a lot of potential. I'm not sure that it really came together as well as it might have, but not a bad effort.
*The Elephant's Tusks: Meh. Starts with a lot of potential, and more good atmosphere. But nothing comes of it, and the ending is not only strange and a little gross, but kind of irrelevant and pointless.
*The Booster Station: Very Good--my second favorite in the collection after "Sleipner's Assignment." The author's bio reveals that the story was written by a "New Dane" (the incredibly loaded Danish term for immigrants or Danes of different ethnicities)of Turkish descent, although it doesn't have any of the racial or ethnic signifiers that carry so much weight and dread in the rest of the collection. It's very much like Stand By Me: two teenagers find the body of a young woman by some train tracks and convince themselves (briefly) that they are going to be heroes by catching the culprit themselves. As one boy becomes more obsessed with this plan, the other begins to have doubts about not reporting the crime immediately. Tautly paced, good characterization, lots of dramatic developments--some of them very unpleasant, but not gratuitous.
That's all but the last two. I'll probably finish those shortly, but will also have an overall review shortly.
October 3, 2012
Another collection of weird, strange stories that make Copenhagen sound like NYC. A few good stories here and some others that are ok. The best part of the book was the introduction which is a great description of what noir is all about.
February 6, 2011
2.5 stars. The stories in Copenhagen Noir meld together into a portrait of an uneasy city populated by sex traffickers, willing and hesitant murderers, and kind people. Though it suffers if compared with the excellent Moscow Noir collection, the Copenhagen book contains some decent stories.
(There's more on my blog here.)
(There's more on my blog here.)
December 6, 2014
I have read noir/mystery novels that took place in all Scandinavia so I was looking forward to this. About half way through I got tired of reading about hookers, pimps, drug dealers, Russian mafia, etc. These stories could be anywhere in the world. Oh and I forgot to mention - the stories are not very well written. Don't waste your time with this book - there is so much better waiting to be read.
August 4, 2012
I picked out this book as I normally like short stories, and I am interested in Copenhagen settings. However, this was far too dark a shade of noir for me, and also I found nearly all of the stories to be pointless. The only possible exception was the story by Kaaberbol and Friis.
May 17, 2011
A collection of short stories set in Copenhagen. I read only a couple. Moral of stories: Even Denmark has lowlife scum.
May 7, 2011
Utterly mediocre anthology that only revels that Danes have a penchant for being guilty about patronizing Arican prostitutes
September 30, 2024
This book contained 14 short stories. Each was written to represent an area of Copenhagen. Of these., I rated three stories with two stars, six stories with three stars, and five stories with five stars. My favorites were the second, third, sixth, ninth and twelfth stories! Recommended for those who like gritty noir stories.
Want to read
July 29, 2015
From Booklist
Akashic’s Noir series, which began in 2004, turns to Denmark. Edited by Danish book critic and editor Michaëlis, this volume features stories by authors whose names may be unfamiliar to American readers but whose themes are universal. The stories are organized into three broad categories: (Men and) Women, Mammon, and Corpses, all essential motifs in the noir world. Fans used to the watered-down noir now prevalent in America will notice immediately the much harder edge of these stories, which are much closer to the noir of the 1940s and ’50s. Translations effectively render the text in North American idiom while keeping the flavor of the original. --David Pitt
Review"The indefatigable noir series of anthologies (Orange County Noir, Trinidad Noir, Brooklyn Noir 3, etc.) focuses in its 43rd volume on the home of Hans Christian Andersen. [...] Based on this collection, Copenhagen may be a great place to visit, but nobody seems to live there, at least not well or long." --Kirkus Reviews
"Fans used to the watered-down noir now prevalent in America will notice immediately the much harder edge of these stories, which are much closer to the noir of the 1940s and '50s." --Booklist
"[This] volume has grim, uncomfortable power." --Publishers Weekly
"The latest entry in the publisher's series (41 and counting) proves the resilience of, and market for, these locale noirs. Editor Michaëlis, a Danish book critic, is both scholarly and insightful in the introduction and outlines how the stories reflect the greed and ennui of modern Denmark in contrast to the Danish idyll depicted in tourist brochures. [...] Although some stories veer from noir orthodoxy, there are fine examples of lyrical writing, noir sensibilities, and insight into the current Danish psyche. Overall, a very impressive anthology." --Library Journal
"The latest entry in the publisher's series (41 and counting) proves the resilience of, and market for, these locale noirs. Editor Michaëlis, a Danish book critic, is both scholarly and insightful in the introduction and outlines how the stories reflect the greed and ennui of modern Denmark in contrast to the Danish idyll depicted in tourist brochures . . . Although some stories veer from noir orthodoxy, there are fine examples of lyrical writing, noir sensibilities, and insight into the current Danish psyche. Overall, a very impressive anthology."
--Library Journal
"The indefatigable noir series of anthologies (Orange County Noir, Trinidad Noir, Brooklyn Noir 3, etc.) focuses in its 43rd volume on the home of Hans Christian Andersen . . . Based on this collection, Copenhagen may be a great place to visit, but nobody seems to live there, at least not well or long."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Fans used to the watered-down noir now prevalent in America will notice immediately the much harder edge of these stories, which are much closer to the noir of the 1940s and '50s."
--Booklist
"[This] volume has grim, uncomfortable power."
--Publishers Weekly
Joining Rome, Paris, Istanbul, London, and Dublin as European hosts for the Akashic Noir series, Copenhagen Noir features brand-new stories from a top-notch crew of Danish writers, with several Swedish and Norwegian writers thrown into the mix. This volume definitively reveals why Scandinavian crime fiction has come to be so popular across the world.
Includes brand-new stories by: Naja Marie Aidt, Jonas T. Bengtsson, Helle Helle, Christian Dorph and Simon Pasternak, Susanne Staun, Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis, Klaus Rifbjerg, Gretelise Holm, Georg Ursin, Kristian Lundberg, Kristina Stoltz, Seyit Öztürk, Benn Q. Holm, and Gunnar Staalesen.
Bo Tao Michaëlis is a book critic and editor living in Copenhagen, Denmark.
**
October 22, 2017
"I open the door with these luminous black eyes I always get when someone crosses me, and there it is: laughter, loneliness, and sex and sex and sex, fucked all night and sucked all night and taste that pussy till it taste just right, look at me, I’m finished, I’m totalled, Look at me! I’m in tatters, and well suited for the absolute armpit of the city, the final cockroach left alive in the debris, and I notice that I sway while I search the place for you, and fumble in my pocket for my scrap of metal. Almost no women, almost only men, but then again: there’s pussy at the bottom of every single beer glass, it’s just a matter of getting down in there." Susanne Staun
ALL I WANT IS MY BABY, WOAH WOAH, WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH
ALL I WANT IS MY BABY, WOAH WOAH, WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH
July 12, 2011
Bleah. A couple of the stories were okay, not great, but some were truly, genuinely terrible. The kind of bad that makes you wonder, "How did this writing-group-101 exercise get published?"
April 7, 2012
Kristian Lundberg's story the best of the lot. Too bad none of his novels have been translated into English.
April 26, 2012
Good stories. Some better than others. Worth a read if you've been to Copenhagen.
September 17, 2012
I never finished it. Noir brings me down I guess.
January 16, 2015
Another tour de monde with at least one unforgettable story. Keep massaging those feet!
June 3, 2014
Kind of a mixed bag, but some of the stories were excellent.
May 24, 2012
A disappointment
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews