Lagos Noir

The African megalopolis of Lagos, Nigeria, makes a perfect setting for mystery stories with a noir bent. Urban anonymity and alienation are key to noir, as are femmes fatales, con men, heist crews, crooked cops, and nave newcomers from the sticks. The sights, sounds, and equatorial heat of the big city heighten the tensions inherent in tales of robbery, murder, and other desperate acts. Crime is no respecter of class either, with stories set in the wealthiest, gated enclaves and the poorest of the poor shantytowns. The smell of local street food cooking over fires on every street corner is omnipresent With its breadth of contributors, this latest volume in the publishers city noir series will satisfy both the fan of contemporary African fiction and the newcomer interested in discovering some new voices. Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green

Chris Abani, a Nigerian-born, award-winning poet and novelist, currently teaches at Northwestern University in Chicago. He is the recipient of a PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond Margins Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award, and a Guggenheim Award. He is the coeditor of New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Tano) and editor of Lagos Noir.

Introduction PART I: COPS & ROBBERS What They Did That Night Heavens Gate Showlogo Just Ignore and Try to Endure PART II: IN A FAMILY WAY The Swimming Pool What Are You Going To Do? For Baby, For Three Eden Joy PART III: ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES Choir Boy The Walking Stick Uncle Sam International Airport Killer Ape About the Contributors