Nairobi Noir (Akashic Noir)

Peter Kimani (Editor)

$15.95

Publication Date: February 4th, 2020

Publisher:

Akashic Books, Ltd.

ISBN:

9781617757549

Pages:

256

Description

Ngugi wa Thiong’o anchors this truly fascinating first East African installment in the Akashic Noir Series.

"Racial, religious, and class divides are acutely observed in the 14 new stories from Kenyan writers . . . Crime fiction fans will find much to savor.” —Publishers Weekly

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.

Brand-new stories by: Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Stanley Gazemba, Ngumi Kibera, Peter Kimani, Winfred Kiunga, Kinyanjui Kombani, Caroline Mose, Kevin Mwachiro, Wanjiku wa Ngugi, Faith Oneya, Makena Onjerika, Troy Onyango, J.E. Sibi-Okumu, and Rasna Warah.

About the Author

PETER KIMANI is a leading Kenyan journalist and the author of, most recently, Dance of the Jakaranda, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. The novel was nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in the US and long-listed for the inaugural Big Book Awards in the UK. He has taught at Amherst College and the University of Houston and is presently based at Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications in Nairobi. Nairobi Noir is his latest work.

Praise for Nairobi Noir (Akashic Noir)

The teeming diversity of Nairobi, a metropolis of more than 3 million people, is reflected in this anthology, illustrated by a map of the city that shows a different neighborhood location for each story, the neighborhood’s name mischievously overlaying the white silhouette of a corpse. The highlights are as diverse as the city itself.
— Kirkus Reviews

A book that leaves an indelible impression on you from just the opening sentences of the very first story.
— Exclusive Magazine

This collection of short stories features some of Kenya’s best writers and manages to capture the beauty, horror, and mystique of Nairobi. Everyone has a story and pulsating through the collection are the role of colonialism, the experience of women, the class divide, and the power of language.
— African Arguments, One of the Top African Books of 2020

Nairobi Noir takes readers into the enigmas that haunt Kenya’s most populous city through the deft storytelling of a stellar cast of writers, which includes Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Stanley Gazemba, Makena Onjerika, Troy Onyango, and others.

— Brittle Paper, one of 50 Notable African Books of 2020

Nairobi is a city of 3 million souls, so it makes sense as a setting Akashic Books’ famed noir series. 14 new stories fill a collection with Nairobi old and new; authors range in age from 24 to 81, and many layers of the city and its complex subcultures will be revealed as the reader makes their way through. Perfect for the armchair traveler!
— CrimeReads, included in CrimeReads’ Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2020