The 15 stories in Chicago Noir: The Classics (Akashic Books), selected by local literary notable Joe Meno (whose novel Marvel and a Wonder we wrote about earlier today), can be called noir in the sense that they generally examine the less illuminated sides of humanity, but they’re not all of the hard-boiled variety and some aren’t even all that crime-y. But the noirishness ranges from very dark to shady to just a bit shadowy—sometimes even a little light peeks through. Here follow mini reviews of all the pieces in the collection.
“Brothers” by Sherwood Anderson (Douglas, 1921)
Wright’s story, set in a medical research institute in Chicago where whites run the show and blacks are relegated to lesser, menial jobs, shows racial division and inequality in metaphorical and actual ways. The dogs who are experimented on there, in the interest of medical science, have their vocal cords cut so that their howling won’t disturb patients in other parts of the hospital. “Later, when the dogs came to, they would lift their heads to the ceiling and gape in a soundless wail. The sight became lodged in my imagination as a symbol of silent suffering.” A very powerful piece and an interesting choice for this collection.
A popular jazz musician is in a mental hospital. From what he’s been told, he’s there because he slit his wife’s throat and then tried to kill himself afterward by slicing his wrists. But he doesn’t remember a damn thing about any of it. Until he gets back home. This story makes me want to read everything Fredric Brown ever wrote.
“Blue Note by Stuart M. Kaminsky (Woodlawn, 1997)
“Skin Deep” by Sara Paretsky (Michigan Avenue, 1987)
V.I. Warshawksi is on the case. A guy dies after having a poison-filled facial in a Michigan Avenue boutique, and the cosmetician who administered the facial is pegged for the murder. Poison. Clear-cut case. Eh, no. V.I. digs a little deeper, and while the digging is pretty interesting, the resolution happens so fast it’s like hey, let’s drag this out a little longer, OK? Not so noirish. It ends with “I hastily poured a drink and changed the subject.” Same here.
