Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai + Author Interview [in AsianWeek]
18 Nov, by in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Repost, South Asian, Sri Lankan, Young Adult Readers
Shyam Selvadurai’s ‘Swimming’ Debut
While “home” today for Shyam Selvadurai is undoubtedly Toronto, Canada, the “home” that he plumbs for his books remains Sri Lanka, where he was born, and lived there until the age of 19....
Lam’s keen journalistic experience as NPR commentator and Pacific News Service editor comes through clearly in this collection of noteworthy essays. He weaves personal story and reports from the Vietnamese American community of which...
As her husband recovered from cancer treatments, Grace Lin wrote Robert’s Snow, the delightful adventures of a tiny mouse, to celebrate their good fortune. But just months later, Lin and her husband – also...
BFI’s fabulous “World Director” series focuses on lauded Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, auteur of international successes Chungking Express, In the Mood For Love and, most recently, 2046.
Review: 
Another book version of one of my all-time favorite listservs, AWAD (A Word A Day), which highlights the ‘who, what and why’ of some amazing words: The facinorous yegg who imprested the...
The turbulent mother-daughter relationship between world-renowned filmmaker Deepa Mehta and her photographer/journalist daughter is interwoven into a fascinating account of how Mehta’s latest film, Water, came to be. As the final installment of Mehta’s...
Cho starts with “haven’t we heard enough from these ancient white guys?” and ends with “Choosing to stay and fight for ourselves in the...
From the bestselling author of Wild Swans (together with a well-known academic), comes an unflinching look at one of the most powerful, influential figures of the 20th-century, not to mention one of the most...
Oh my gawd: “the secret to life in america” will rip through your soul. A first collection from Korean American poetry slam artist, writer, and playwright infuses new energy into the APA...
If you’ve got half an hour, you’ve got a meal. Now hurry up and feed me!
Review: 
A self-absorbed Chinese American arts patron, Bibi Chen, is murdered just before she was to lead a group of 12 friends through Burma. Even though she’s dead, she goes along...
If you loved his films, check out the screenplays for more detailed nuance. Undoubtedly, Pak is one of the most original, talented, imaginative young filmmakers out there.
Review: 
What first-time teacher Fumi Kotani lacks in experience, she makes up with unflagging devotion to her first-grade students, taking special interest in a misunderstood, silent boy who raises flies. With the guidance of an...
When Lina is bombarded by relatives who want to marry her off at her sister’s Indian wedding, she unthinkingly wards off the well-wishers by making up the perfect fiancé supposedly waiting for her back...
From X to PG-13 – ‘Sexuality Activist’ Mohanraj Goes Mainstream
In eight years, Mary Ann Mohanraj’s 10 books have established her as a master — or should that be mistress? — of erotica. With titles like Wet:...
Award-winning Haitian American writer 
An APA chick lit title, starring Lindsey Owyang, a Chinese American San Franciscan who has the boyfriend too good to be true – even if he’s only one-quarter Chinese. Her chance encounter with a...
As Najwa loses everything important in her life – her country, her father, her mother, her brother, her lover – she finds solace by embracing the strict tenets of fundamental Islam. While the book offers insight...
Although death is prominent in every story, this is one fabulous collection of short stories – even as it’s filled with some of the most desperate, grasping characters this side...
A remarkable, diverse collection of short stories, written between 1924 when Korea was still a colonized nation, and 1997 when a story can begin with an epithet from Jim Morrison.
Review: <a href="http://bookdragonreviews.wordpress.com/files/2009/08/asianweek-2005-09-29-new-and-notable.pdf"...