Meri Nana-Ama DanquahBesprekingen

Over the last few years, I've become a huge fan of the Akashic Noir series, and Accra Noir is no exception to the series' quality. Maybe more than any other collection I've read, it brings its focus city to life, so that Accra becomes a real place and character explored through the pages of the stories collected here. The voices are so varied, there's a lot to be admired here, and my only complaint is that many of the authors represented here seem to be new voices...which means I can't find more of their work so soon as I'd like! Truly, though, that speaks to the quality of this wonderful collection.

My favorites in the collection included works by: Kwame Dawes, Ernest Kwame Nkrumah Addo, Anne Sackey, Nana-Ama Danquah, Eibhlin Ni Chleirigh, and Anna Bossman.

Absolutely recommended.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this series from Akashic Books. Even if an individual story doesn't work for me, the immersion in a new city is a fascinating journey.

I have read several of the volumes of short stories in the Akashic "Noir" series, and this was the first one I really didn't like. The stories are very similar. There is very little character development or plot development in most of the thirteen stories. I would not call them "noir" stories at all. A very disappointing volume.

Though I've long been aware of the Akashic Noir series, this is the first title in the series that I've actually picked up. So I can't tell you how Accra Noir compares to any of those other Noirs. But I can tell you this won't be my last Akashic Noir.

I liked more of the stories than I didn't. I appreciated the context provided by maps and the very interesting introduction. As I'd hoped, I learned some things about Ghana: more than enough to make me want to read more from and about Ghana.

I haven’t read any noir fiction before, but was looking for something a bit different than I usually read. This really delivered. I felt I really learned about life in Ghana, at least this fascinating city. As in any collection of short fiction, some stories are stronger than others, but overall this was an incredibly strong collection. I like how most of the authors not only gave incredible visuals of the markets, streets and homes, but also descriptions of smells and sounds. This made for a wonderfully immersive reading experience. I will look for more international ‘noir’ from this publisher.

What can I say that I haven't said before? Accra Noir is another worthy entry into the Akashic collection.

I felt like I experienced more culturally than I had in some of the past collections (being that many were U.S. places) but I've read four or five international installments prior and I think the sense of culture here was stronger even than those.

There are, as usual, some stories that are difficult to read and haunting, but everything here is stellar.

4 stars

Most fans of noir fiction approach a new book with anticipation. I was especially interested because I lived in Ghana over 40 years ago and looked forward to reading about changes in the country. Frankly, the changes noted, and there are many, did not surprise me as much as my own nostalgia about small details like the descriptions of the market places, the foods, the languages. I particularly liked that each of the books sections are marked by aphorisms such as one finds in English and various Ghanaian languages on buses, trucks and other means of transportation. The stories each reflect aspects of Ghana that caught my attention when I lived there: the cosmopolitanism of Ghanaians, the leadership roles and the dynamism of women in this matrilineal society, the tension between development and tradition. Another great entry in the Akashic Noir series!½

My favorite story in this collection was Intentional Consequences. My least favorites were Moon Over Aburi and Fantasia in Fans and Flat Screens. In fact I hated both of these stories so much I bailed on them. Overall I found this collection alternated between boring and confusing.

I think it was the pacing and feel of the stories I didn't care for. The themes of the stories are familiar enough. A jilted lover, drug deals, etc. It was the writing style that I didn't care for. I read Columbus Noir earlier in the year and really enjoyed it. I had high hopes for Accra Noir but was very disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It had a slight, but refreshing, difference in tone from the noir I am used to reading. The editor did a great job in the introduction of preparing me for the nuances of the culture I was about to encounter and I found differences and yet people aren't that different, where ever they are found. But the stories were unique and exciting, and the endings, surprising as they were, were very satisfying. Unique people, unique atmosphere, and an education about how big the world really is. Great! reviewed for LibraryThing Early Readers by Thom

This book is a compilation of a lot of interesting essays about many aspects of the black body. I enjoyed the inclusion of essays written by white people, as I know that many white people fear writing about race issues for fear of coming off as racist, or displaying too much unrealized white privilege.