Children of a Fireland: A Novel by Gary Pak [in AsianWeek]
07 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Hawaiian, Repost
In the small, conservative town of Kanewai, on Oahu, Hawaii, mischievous messages start mysteriously appearing on the walls of the old town movie theater slotted for demolition. Tensions rise as...
A collection of 10 inventive stories that capture a glimpse of contemporary life in a Vietnamese village where the writer, actress, director, and painter Doan Le lived for 30 years...
Not exactly one of the newest titles (it arrived later than sooner on my desk), but certainly noteworthy because of its subject matter. It opens with the Pakistani birth of Sadika – an unwanted...
Another tale of Pakistan (finally, multiple entries in this area!), this one a lyrically written love story – with all sorts of obstacles, of course – about a modern daughter running an inherited silk factory, and...
Call me old, but who really wants to read about a promiscuous 16-year-old school girl who uses her so-called charm to seduce an older divorcée, her societal power to seduce her servant, and her academic prowess...
The discovery of an illicit link between the murder of a middle-aged salaryman and a college student is just the beginning. What the police find is a fantasy family the murdered man formed online,...
My husband started out a philosophy major until his father declared in no uncertain terms was he never going to pay that kind of money for his son to sit around talking...
Novelist and essayist (and frequent New York Review of Books contributor) Mishra adds to what seems to be a growing hybrid genre of memoir infused with history, philosophy, and politics. What begins...
If you understand the word “otaku” (and if you don’t, you’ll have to read this to find out), then this book’s for you: the first insider’s guide in English to...
In this updated 25th-anniversary edition of how to read your personal horoscope, you’ll find a lot of “Uh-huh,” and “Oh, wow – that’s so true!” going on. Lau even cross-tabulates...
Everything you ever needed to know about celebrating the good life like a real Chinese American – from the New Year to dragon boats to weddings and even funerals. And just in...
The detailed, illustrated chapters on Kabuki, Bunraku, Nō, Kyōgen, and contemporary theater (with even a theater listings guide), make me wish this book was around when I was...
Billed for “the general reader and student alike,” this compilation is a noteworthy introduction to “the essence of Chinese poetry.” Beginning with the Book of Songs (allegedly collected...
This is one of those perfect little books that fit right in your pocket, to whip out when you have a few minutes to daydream. This slim volume offers bite-size portions of...
In the wake of the devastation caused by the Cultural Revolution and the government corruptions of the Open Door Policy, the Chinese people can do little more than just survive – and some are...
Undoubtedly, this 29-year-old author can write. His story is a little too convoluted, but it’s well worth the read. Gabriel Guttman (in German, ‘Gutmann’ is literally “good man”), a grisled Korean War veteran...
With all the endless shelves of parenting titles, why not tout one that champions Asian influences? One major diversion, however, from traditional discipline tactics attributed to Confucius: While...
A lively sourcebook filled with compelling essays that look at the Asian Pacific American experience through the experiences of APA youth – a group marked more by diversity than easy-to-define labels.
Review: <a...
Discovered over the last quarter-century in China and posited as the foundational text for early Taoism, Inward Training is composed of compact poetic verses written on silk and bamboo that were entombed for over...
WOW! A gorgeous photographic essay of the world’s second-largest economy that captures its ultimately high-tech contemporary achievements, sharply juxtaposed with striking images of a strongly traditional society of timeless beauty.
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