The Best American Noir of the Century - Softcover

Penzler, Otto; Ellroy, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0547577443 ISBN 13: 9780547577449

Publisher: Mariner Books, 2011

Synopsis

"Well worth its impressive weight in gold, it would be a crime not to have this seminal masterpiece in your collection."--New York Journal of Books

In his introduction to The Best American Noir of the Century, James Ellroy writes, "Noir is the most scrutinized 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 mined writings of the past century 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 postwar heyday boasts giants like Mickey Spillane and Evan Hunter. Packing an undeniable punch, diverse contemporary incarnations include Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith, Joyce Carol Oates, Dennis Lehane, and William Gay, with many page-turners appearing from the past decade.

"Delightfully devilish . . . A strange trek through the years that includes stories from household names in the hard-boiled genre to lesser-known authors who nonetheless can hold their own with the legends."--Associated Press
James Ellroy is the author of the Underworld U.S.A. trilogy--American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand, and Blood's a Rover--and the L.A. Quartet novels, The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz. He is also the author of The Hillicker Curse, a memoir.

Otto Penzler is the founder of the Mysterious Bookshop and Mysterious Press, has won two Edgar Allan Poe Awards, and is series editor of The Best American Mystery Stories.

About this title

Review:

`This magnificent compendium of seedy stories for sick minds... Over 35 queasily compelling stories Ellroy and Penzler barely put a foot wrong...' --Time Out

Book Description:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0547577443
• ISBN 13: 9780547577449
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 752