What do you think?
Rate this book
Bangkok Noir
Bangkok is one of the great cities in the world, but unlike other great metropolises it has no noir tales to its name. Bangkok Noir puts that to right.In this first ever noir anthology of Bangkok, twelve seasoned and internationally known—Thai and Western—writers have come together to make a powerful collection of crime fiction short stories that portray the dark side of this Asian metropolis where the lives of most citizens seem as far away from heaven as its Thai name Krungthep is distant from its meaning—City of Angels.In Bangkok Noir, the twelve short stories of various shades of black involve gangsters and hitmen, love and betrayal, the supernatural, the possessed and the dispossessed, and the far distant future. Titles in this collection John Burdett’s Gone East, Stephen Leather’s Inspector Zhang and the Dead Thai Gangster, Tew Bunnag’s The Mistress Wants Her Freedom, Colin Cotterill’s Halfhead, Pico Iyer’s Thousand and One Nights, Vasit Dejkunjorn's The Sword, Alex Kerr's Daylight, Timothy Hallinan's Hansum Man, Eric Stone's The Lunch That Got Away, Dean Barrett's Death of a Legend, Collin Piprell's Hot Enough to Kill, and Christopher G. Moore’s Dolphin Inc.The authors and publisher will donate half of their earnings from this book to selected charity organizations which provide education to needy children in Thailand.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2011
About the author
Christopher G. Moore
93 books63 followersChristopher G. Moore is a Canadian author who has lived in Thailand since 1988. Formerly a law professor at the University of British Columbia and a practicing lawyer, Moore has become a public figure in Southeast Asia, known for his novels and essays that have captured the spirit and social transformation of Southeast Asia over the past three decades.
Moore has written over 30 fiction and non-fiction books, including the Vincent Calvino novels which have won including the Shamus Award and German Critics Award and have been translated to over a dozen languages. Moore’s books and essays are a study of human nature, culture, power, justice, technological change and its implications on society and human rights.
Starting in 2017, the London-based Christopher G. Moore Foundation awards an annual literary prize to books advancing awareness on human rights. He’s also the founder of Changing Climate, Changing Lives Film Festival 2020.
Moore has written over 30 fiction and non-fiction books, including the Vincent Calvino novels which have won including the Shamus Award and German Critics Award and have been translated to over a dozen languages. Moore’s books and essays are a study of human nature, culture, power, justice, technological change and its implications on society and human rights.
Starting in 2017, the London-based Christopher G. Moore Foundation awards an annual literary prize to books advancing awareness on human rights. He’s also the founder of Changing Climate, Changing Lives Film Festival 2020.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 22, 2016
I wanted to read stories set in Bangkok on my way there for a business meeting. Having never been to Thailand I was looking forward to a little taste of the Thai culture, and the heartbeat of the capital. "Bangkok Noir" seemed like a good choice.
Unfortunately most of the stories in this collection were uninspiring.
Only two stories did appeal to me:
- The Sword, by Vasit Dejkunjorn, is a very short story about police corruption.
- The lunch that got away, by Eric Stone, about helping a street vendor recover her stolen cart. This one is a bit unlikely but it is a nice feel-good story.
(Based on those 2 stories I am adding one star to my original rating of 2 out of 5.)
Unfortunately most of the stories in this collection were uninspiring.
Only two stories did appeal to me:
- The Sword, by Vasit Dejkunjorn, is a very short story about police corruption.
- The lunch that got away, by Eric Stone, about helping a street vendor recover her stolen cart. This one is a bit unlikely but it is a nice feel-good story.
(Based on those 2 stories I am adding one star to my original rating of 2 out of 5.)
May 17, 2013
If I could unread the train wreck that is this book, I would do so in a heartbeat...
September 2, 2015
Nice collection of Noir stories from famous authors, and most of the stories were good
October 29, 2017
Last story is the best one. The title is "Hot enough to kill". It compressed everything, all of the main modern issues - westernization, moral depravity, faux values, aspiration for so-called "democrazy". I especially enjoyed the comparison of a shopping mall and a temple, pointing out that mall is bigger. What a symbol, eh?
February 1, 2019
Engaging selection of stories from a diverse group of writers, incl. Timothy Hallinan. Recommend!
January 22, 2019
Bangkok Noir (2011) was the first of this series of hard-boiled stories set in a particular location. But for some reason I had started withe the second volume set in Phnom Penh, which includes many of the same author from this initial volume. It was uneven, but generally speaking I enjoyed most of them. Some of the standouts for me were: "Gone East"-Johne Burdett, "Inspector Zang and the Dead"-Stephen Leather, "The MIstress Wants Her Freedom"-Tew Bunnag, "Hansum Man"-Timothy Hallman, "Death of a Legend"-Dean Barett, "The Lunch That Got Away"-Eric Stone, and "Hot Enough to Kill"-Collin Diprell. Oneo fthe more bizarre stories, ""Dolphins Inc." by Christopher G. Moore (also the editor of this volume as well as the Phnom Penh one), features the Dolphins of Taiji, Wakayama as main characters. II read this after a trip to Bangkok, and it does provide lots of local color and background information about Bangkok, in particular, and Thailand, in general. So I recommend it as background reading for a trip there.
November 11, 2022
I thought this would be an engaging and fast read, but it was just meh. Every single author was male and nearly all were white. I think there were only two, maybe three Thais. Are these stories even noir? Maybe some of them. Some were confusing and others even boring. I really expected more!
January 26, 2019
I find that the stories in here are "aloof" . Not engaging enough for me.
September 11, 2022
For a crime novel, it disposes of facts rather than secrets.
October 27, 2013
Quite an enjoyable collection of short stories, except for one howler (who edits the editor?). Some of my favourite crime authors are in here writing about one of my favourite cities and there are a couple of stories which make me want to check out the rest of the writers work. If you have been to Bangkok, you'll appreciate the descriptions here and funnily enough the common thread in most of the stories is police corruption. Who would of guessed?
August 11, 2012
Interesting collection of stories, including ones by Colin Cotterill and John Burdett. I am not normally a fan of short stories, nor have I read much "noir" fiction. I would classify this as a nice diversion - but not much more.
May 13, 2016
Short stories across the range of evils associated with Bangkok – corruption, greed, sex trade, drugs, violence, etc. Gangsters, hit men, businessmen, police, politicians, prostitutes, mistresses, etc., abound.
August 5, 2012
A very interesting collection of stories written by different authors from all over the world. Weird, believable, unbelievable. If you have any interest in Bangkok as a city this is a good read.
March 9, 2013
Clearly A good selection of short stories, this book features different takes on the underworld of the City of Angels from veteran writers.
June 27, 2013
A lot of these stories are very dark (hence the 'Noir' in the title) but they all have a beauty to them. Really excellent writers (including a current favorite of mine: Colin Cotterill).
July 29, 2013
I liked this book, as well as Phnom Penh Noir. It wasn't as disturbing as Phnom Penh Noir. There were some humourous moments in Bangkok Noir, something that didn't occur in the Phnom Penh version.
February 1, 2014
Mooie bundel met verhalen waarin vooral de zelfkant van Bangkok naar voren komt.
July 30, 2014
Enjoyable collection of short stories. Held my attention. Most have a welcome twist in the tale. Cool to read about Bangkok noire. Tinman
October 25, 2014
Ok anthology. Most stories were average or below, with one or two that I would consider quality tales.
May 19, 2015
There was a nice range of western and Thai writers and I enjoyed some of the darker stories.
July 15, 2016
A very nice collection of Noir stories. I shall have to check out novels by some of the authors.
August 28, 2023
Short stories set in a city perfect for noir crime. Written by both Thai and western authors.
July 17, 2015
There are a couple of decent stories, but the collection was a disappointment.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews