Short stories help figure out what to read next and which authors are interesting.

As a Lagosian I could relate to the stories written in this book. I honestly didn't want to pick this up because the cover didn't really attract me(silly I know) but I am glad I did. It was a short and good read with themes such as police brutality, robbery, corruption, false prophets and many more.

When I was first selected to read a book about Lagos, Nigeria I was a bit skeptical about getting a good picture of a country I know nothing about and will probably never visit because I am not a world traveler by any stretch of the imagination. I am the slowest reader on the planet and apologize to Akashic for the delay in this review. That being said, Akashic delivered another winner in this Noir series. I am sure I've said it before, but I'll say it again about the Lagos collection; there wa

Lagos Noir is the noir armchair traveler’s guide to Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria and in Africa. I have been pronounced it wrong my entire life, it’s not a homonym for the Spanish lake, but for the Danish toy that 10 million parents have stepped on in the middle of the night. Speaking of the middle of the night, there is far more danger in the dark in Lagos than stray pieces of pointy plastic.There are thirteen stories in Lagos Noir that are presented in three sections. The first is “Cops &...

LAGOS NOIR is one of the latest additions (June 2018) to Akashic Books’ Noir Series.The short story anthology is edited by Chris Abani and the anthology highlights important noir elements - a genre of crime fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism and moral ambiguity. Most stories feature hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak, sleazy settings.Each title in the Noir Series includes a Map; a Table of Contents; an Introduction by the editor(s) and About The Contributors which showcases the va...

This anthology of short stories offers a noir theme of life in Nigeria. A variety of characters (from drug dealers and cops to children and office workers) provides the reader with insight into the darker side of Lagos. Some of the stories seem a little too similar, but overall, the dark tone is suspenseful and captivating.

From the introduction: “Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria and its former capital. It is the largest megacity on the African continent, with a population approximating 21 million and is the 4th largest economy in Africa.”“Underneath the government-sponsored billboard that says, Keep Lagos Clean, a city of trash, like the work of a crazy artist, grows exponentially.”“Lagos never sleeps. Ever. It stays awake long after New York has faded in a long drawn-out yawn.”“Each story totally captures the...

This book reminded quite a bit of Gratitude in Low Voices, but the characters were not engaging.. The stories just reflected the squalor in Lagos, and just made make a mental note not to ever visit there.

Lagos Noir is a compilation of short stories, from several contributors, that are situated in Lagos- for the most part. This is the first book from the Noir Series by Akashic Books, an independent publisher based in Brooklyn, that I have read. Prior to learning about Lagos Noir's release, I did not know about the other books in this series- books based in other cities around the world, from Tel Aviv to Brooklyn (the first book in this noir series). Lagos Noir was edited by Chris Abani, whose hea...

A good book to pass the time or in between other reads. Most of the stories we're generally good, but in the end fell flat. My favorites were:Heavens Gate: Chika UnigweShowloho: Nnedi Okorafor Joy: Wale Lawal

I enjoyed all the stories but I wanted more darkness.

My expectations were higher but it’s worth the read.

Each story in this collection captures the gritty nature of life in Lagos, Nigeria, the most populous city on the African continent. Most are unremarkable and in my opinion, veer closer to slice of life than noir. Killer Ape by the book's editor Chris Abani is one of only two actual murder mysteries. In that story, the name of the victim's wife is Dorothy Parker which raised a questioning eyebrow on my part. The collection also includes a variation of the Nigerian Prince scam called Uncle Sam by...

I've read a number of the Akashic Noir books, and while some of them have been hit and miss, this is one I'm certainly glad to have read. The trick is this: although the stories here are more varied than those I've seen in some of the other anthologies, some of them also aren't quite as traditionally noir as a reader might expect. I'm happy to have that trade-off, though. The beauty of these books is how they bring location to life and let a reader fall into the space, and where some of the othe...

The cool thing about anthologies is unfortunately the flip side of the crap thing about anthologies. You get to meet a variety of writers, who do not always reveal the same motivations when crafting their submissions. There are some stellar stories, beautifully crafted that introduce memorable characters and absolutely take you there. Not all the stories are like this.The collection works ok on average but there are a host of the writers I will be asking for their portion of my money back if eve...

Good but not for me...This is a well-curated short story collection featuring dark, gritty, “noir” selections. The stories are diverse with different themes and each one set in a different Lagos neighborhood. The common thread is that all the stories are pretty grim and almost universally depressing as one would expect with this genre. There are some dark stories redeemed by dark humor and to me, that’s where this collection shines and those were the parts I found most enjoyable. I think this wa...

What They Did That Night by Jude Dibia ☆☆Heaven’s Gates by Chika Unigwe ☆☆☆Showlogo by Nnedi Okorafor ☆☆☆The Swimming Pool by Sarah Ladipo Manyika ☆☆☆☆What Are You Going to Do? by Adebola Rayo ☆☆☆☆☆For Baby, for Three by Onyinye Ihezukwu ☆☆Eden by Uche Okonkwo ☆☆☆Joy by Wale Lawal ☆Choir Boy by ‘Pume Aguda ☆☆☆The Walking Stick by E. C. Osondu ☆☆Uncle Sam by Leye Adenle ☆☆☆Killer Ape by Chris Abani ☆☆☆

3.75 starsThe introduction to this book is wack, I didn't like it at all, and it almost put me off reading the book entirely, but once you get past it (honestly you can skip it and it wouldn't make a difference!) the stories are absolutely worth your time. I loved how the stories varied in content, every narrative seemed fresh and introduced me to amoral characters who I couldn't help rooting for. Of course in every anthology there are some stories that stand out more than others, but that is to...

I've been a fan of the Noir Series by Akashic Books for a while, so I was thrilled to see an new set of stories focusing on one of Africa's largest cities. Frankly, when I think of Lagos, Nigeria I think of teeming chaos, a city full of life, bustling commerce and more recently email scams. This book incorporates all that and so much more. The stories in this volume were so enjoyable it made me wish there had been more. I particularly liked Showlogo, which had a terrific ending which just linger...

Read my full review here: http://mimi-cyberlibrarian.blogspot.c...Another three Noir short story collections came to me from Akashic Books, the publisher that has specialized in noir collections from places all over the world. Each collection is edited by a native of that area, and feature stories by authors from the region. They are: Lagos Noir, Santa Cruz Noir, and Sao Paulo Noir.I picked Lagos Noir to read first from this new batch of books because I had never read anything from Nigeria, alth...