The Best American Noir of the Century by James Ellroy

The Best American Noir of the Century

by James Ellroy

A magisterial anthology of American noir writing in the 20th century by the best-selling author of the LA Quartet: The Black Dahlia. The Big Nowhere , LA Confidential and White Jazz. In his intoduction to The Best American Noir of the Century, James Ellroy writes, "noir is the most scrutinised offshoot of the hard-boiled school of fiction. It's the long drop off the short pier and the wrong man and the wrong woman in perfect misalliance. It's the nightmare of flawed souls with big dreams and the precise how and why of the all-time sure thing that goes bad." Offering the best examples of literary sure things gone bad, this collection ensures that nowhere else can readers find a darker, more thorough distillation of American noir fiction.

James Ellroy and Otto Penzler, series editor of the annual The Best American Mystery Stories, mined one hundred years of writing - 1910-2010 - to find this treasure trove of thirty-nine stories. From noir's twenties-era infancy come gems like James M. Cain's "Pastorale," and its post-war heyday boasts giants like Mickey Spillane and Evan Hunter. Packing an undeniable punch, diverse contemporary incarnations include Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, Patricia Highsmith and William Gay, with many page-turners appearing in the last decade.

Reviewed by Michael @ Knowledge Lost on

3 of 5 stars

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It is hard to review a collection of short stories (do you rate based on the average ratings of all the stories or how you felt of the book as a whole?). This collection of Noir short stories, is well worth reading for all Noir and Hard-Boiled fans. Full of grittiness, vengeance, murder and macabre; I loved every minute of this book.

Individual Breakdown of the Short Stories
Spurs by Tod Robbins (1923) -- 3/5
Pastorale by James M. Cain (1928) -- 4/5
You'll Always Remember Me by Steve Fisher (1938) -- 5/5
Gun Crazy by Mackinlay Kantor (1940) -- 4/5
Nothing to Worry About by Day Keene (1945) -- 5/5
The Homecoming by Dorothy B. Hughes (1946) -- 3/5
Man in the Dark by Howard Browne (1952) -- 5/5
The Lady Says Die! by Mickey Spillane (1953) -- 4/5
Professional Man by David Goodis (1953) -- 5/5
The Gesture by Gil Brewer (1956) -- 3/5
The Last Spin by Evan Hunter (1956) -- 4/5
Forever After by Jim Thompson (1960) -- 3/5
For the Rest of Her Life by Cornell Woulrich (1968) -- 4/5
The Dripping by David Morrell (1972) -- 4/5
Slowly, Slowly in the Wind by Patricia Highsmith (1979) -- 5/5
Iris by Stephen Greenleaf (1984) -- 4/5
A Ticket Out by Brendan Dubois (1987) -- 4/5
Since I Don't Have You by James Ellroy (1988) -- 4/5
Texas City, 1947 by James Lee Burke (1991) -- 3/5
Mefisto in Onyx by Harlan Ellison (1993) -- 4/5
Out There in the Darkness by Ed Gorman (1995) -- 4/5
Hot Springs by James Crumley (1996) -- 4/5
The Weekend by Jeffery Deaver (1996) -- 4/5
Like a Bone in the Throat by Lawrence Block (1998) -- 5/5
Crack by James W. Hall (1999) -- 4/5
Running Out of Dog by Dennis Lehane (1999) -- 3/5
The Paperhanger by William Gay (2000) -- 3/5
Midnight Emissions by F. X. Toole (2001) -- 4/5
When the Women come Out to Dance by Elmore Leonard (2002) -- 4/5
Controlled Burn by Scott Wolven (2002) -- 3/5
What She Offered by Thomas H. Cook (2005) -- 4/5
Her Lord and Master by Andrew Klavan (2005) -- 4/5
Stab by Chris Adrian (2006) -- 3/5
The Hoarder by Bradford Morrow (2006) -- 3/5
Missing the Morning Bus by Lorenzo Carcaterra (2007) --3/5

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  • Started reading
  • 23 March, 2011: Finished reading
  • 23 March, 2011: Reviewed