Haiti Noir

 

One of the latest installments in the Akashic Books noir series doesn't look at just one city, as the other books have, but at an entire nation — one where just getting through the day is an exercise in life-as-noir. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck not far from Port-au-Prince almost a year ago, on January 12, 2010, with an estimated 230,000 people killed, 300,000 injured and 1,000,000 made homeless. Since then, over 1,000 people have died from cholera, and violent protests have broken out, shutting down schools, businesses and the international airport.

Award-winning novelist Edwidge Danticat had been working for a year as editor on Akashic's Haiti Noir anthology when the earthquake struck, and she was worried some of the stories would become irrelevant or not ring true, but ultimately felt that didn't happen. In fact, she solicited three earthquake-related stories that found their way into the book. She tried to get a mixture of literary styles, adding she "was glad reading the other books in the series to see that noir did not only mean detective stories. We have many variations on the detective story here; however each writer defined noir for him- or herself and came up with something powerful. The stories are dark in that bad things happen in them. There is of course a Haitian sensibility because the stories are set in Haiti or in the Haitian diaspora. They are about both individuals and the larger society."

As Publishers Weekly noted, the anthology contains several stories that feature the practice of Vodou including Kettly Mars's supernatural thriller "Paradise Inn," in which a detective investigating police corruption is transferred to a remote village and falls under the seductive power of a fearsome innkeeper and her succubus-like daughter, and Gary Victor's "The Finger," where a criminal's trophy of an expensive ring, with its dead former owner's finger still attached, comes back to haunt him.

The launch party featuring Danticat and other contributors will take place at Symphony Space in New York City on January 26. Ten percent of the profits from sales of Haiti Noir will be donated to an organization Danticat chose, the Lambi Fund of Haiti, a nonprofit that helps fund Haitian community-based groups promoting economic justice, democracy and sustainable development. 

 

 

That is to say, I challenge you to look through the following reading challenges for 2011 and not be able to find a single one that interests you. There's quite a variety to choose from, and most don't require a huge time commitment (some even have as few as one to two books to read).

CRIME FICTION

Criminal Plot Challenge
This is the first-ever such challenge from Jen Forbus, in which she asks you to read 6 books in 2011, one from six different categories such as a book by a new-to-you-author who's blurbed a book you enjoyed.

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction 2011
Kerrie Smith is once again holding her crime alphabet challenge, which does require a time commitment, but it will help you read quite a few books next year, a worthwhile endeavor. She asks that you read one book each week starting in January that's related to the letter of the week, either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.

Mystery and Suspense Challenge
Book Chick City challenges you to read 12 mystery and suspense novels and upload your reviews to the blog. She'll also have a monthly drawing for a book prize, and all participants receive a free ARC of The Survivor by Sean Slater.

Cruisin' thru the Cozies
Socrates' Book Review Blog theme, as the title suggests, is the "cozy" mystery, and even one book will put you in the "Snoop" category.

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge
If you're a fan of the Golden Age, this challenge is for you. Read mystery books published prior to 1960, with a prize for everyone who completes the challenge. You can review or not, blog or not, it's up to you.

INTERNATIONAL

Carrie Kitzmiller is holding her second annual Ireland Reading Challenge, and any book written by an Irish author, set in Ireland, or involving Irish history or Irish characters, counts for the challenge; fiction, non-fiction, poetry, audiobooks, children's books, whatever suits your fancy. All participants will be entered for a prize giveaway of a copy of Tipperary by Frank Delaney.

If you're a fan of fiction down under, join the  2011 Aussie Author Challenge. It helps if you have a blog, so you can review and link back.

S. Krishna's Books is hosting the South Asian Challenge 2011, where you read at least one book by a South Asian author or about South Asia (i.e. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives).

If you've been inspired by the recent wave of Scandinavian fiction to hit the U.S., you might want to try the Nordic Challenge, including any book by any author born in a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and/or Sweden) or a book set in a Nordic country.

Speaking of things north, Canada isn't left out — John Mutford's 4th annual Canadian Book Challenge started in July 2010, but it continues through to July 1st, 2011, which happens to be Canada Day. You'll need to hurry, though, because you'll need to read 13 books.

If you'd prefer to think more, well, globally, sign up for the 2011 Global Reading Challenge, and choose at least one novel each from Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America, South America and a "Seventh" continent (Antarctica or your own "seventh" setting, e.g. the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it).

MISCELLANEOUS

The Book Vixen's challenge is relatively simple — it's the Outdo Yourself Challenge, in which you read more books in 2011 than you did in 2010 (in any format).

Here's another easy one — the Off the Shelf Challenge. Go to that To Be Read pile of yours and read those books you own copies of, but have never got around to reading.

The What's in a Name Challenge has more rules than most, but it's intriguing. You pick a pick in 6 different categories with themes such as a book with a number in the title and a book with evil in the title.

If you enjoy reading the adventures of V.I. Warshawski, Stephanie Plum, Sharon McCone or Tess Monaghan, sign up for the  Strong Heroine Reading Challenge.

Want to read more local authors or books set in your local environs? Try the Hometown Challenge.

Like you novels dark with crumbling castles, and a little horror and romance? If so, the Gothic Reading Challenge is for you.

If you haven't jumped on one of the newer literary trends, then you here's your chance to Get Steampunked (think Jules Verne meets Terry Gilliam).

Speaking of trends, if you get a Kindle or Nook for Christmas, hurry on over to the 2011 E-Book Challenge.

Want more? The blog A Novel Challenge has dozens for you (past, present and future). 

Fortified Serials

 

If you're a fan of forensic and psychological dramas à la Dexter and Criminal Minds, you might be interested in a couple of nonfiction books released this fall. Both deal with serial killers, one tied to the birth of forensic science and the other a contemporary story of redemption.

The Killer of Little Shepherds is from the pen of Douglas Starr, co-director of the Center for Science and Medical Journalism and a professor of journalism at Boston University. Starr's book neatly dovetails the story of French serial killer Joseph Vacher and the achievements of groundbreaking criminologist Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne. Vacher is thought to have raped, killed, and mutilated at least 25 people between 1894 and 1897, while Lacassagne helped pioneer crime scene analysis, body decomposition and early profiling and testified during Vacher's trial. Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review and Kirkus called it a "well-documented mix of forensic science, narrative nonfiction, and criminal psychology." That fits the book nicely, following as it does the determination of one man trying to bring criminal justice into the modern age, even as autopsies were still taking place on the kitchen table of a victim's home.

 

The second true-crime book, In with the Devil, tells the story of Jimmy Keene, who grew up outside Chicago as the son of a former police officer and went from promising high-school football player to convicted drug dealer. One year into his 10-year sentence, he was approached by the same prosecutor who had handled his case, with an interesting proposition in hand: go inside one of the most dangerous prisons in the U.S., befriend murderer Larry Hall, whom the prosecutor had also sent to prison, and get Hall to confess to the murder of two young women and tell where the body of one missing victim was buried. If he succeeded, Keene would get an unconditional release, but if he failed, he'd have to complete his term. If found out, he could be killed. Keene's story is co-written by investigative reporter Hillel Levin and is being developed into a movie with Martin Scorsese as director.