The Magpie Bridge by Liu Hong [in AsianWeek]
30 Jul, by in Adult Readers, British Asian, Chinese, Fiction, Repost
Written by a British Chinese author, Bridge pulls the reader in bit by bit, almost like unraveling a mystery. At the book’s core is the relationship between a young Chinese student living in London...
A powerful collection of prose and poetry by a talented not-yet-30 Korean American writer, named the poet laureate of Queens, New York. In quick snapshots made of words, Park captures...
Say you’re allergic to dairy products (like me, boo hoo), but you still crave sweets like crème brulee or mocha cappuccino or ice cream or even tiramisu … crave no more in vain because...
It’s no wonder that Chinese film auteur Zhang Yimou chose the title novella for his film of the same name, about four desperate women vying for the attention of their...
This is one of those perfectly sized, well-designed books that add that something extra to an already enlightening reading experience. Perhaps the most powerful section of Uyehara’s slim volume is...
Don’t be put off by the tacky cover with the bare chest of a necklaced young man. The story within, with all its rawness and shock, is hard to put down. Five Dragons, an...
These days, the many health benefits of green tea are well-known … now here’s a book to tell you why it’s so good for you, as well as...
A Yellow 'Country of Origin'
Technically, writer Don Lee is a third-generation Korean American. But he was born in Tokyo where his father was working for the U.S. State Department. Then after moving...
Sabina Murray’s PEN/Faulkner Follow-Up: ‘A Carnivore’s Inquiry’
With last year’s prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for her stunning short story collection, The Caprices, in hand, Sabina Murray is looking at her career through new eyes:...
After debuting his comics regularly via website (available in color online!) and then self-publishing this first collection which sold out ever so quickly, 
In post-Tian’anmen China, Ni Niuniu refers to herself as “a fragment in a fragmented age.” Indeed, at almost 30, she is a young woman who has lost all the important people in her life,...
If you don’t feel like dealing with planes, trains, and automobiles this summer, grab a lawn chair and this book instead. Head to far-flung areas around the globe and experience the surreal...
With way too many viruses trying to get into my inbox every day, reading Transmission has been something of a voyeuristic romp.
Arjun Mehta can’t believe his good luck when he lands a job in Silicon...
An engaging memoir by the adopted son of a famed Vietnamese doctor and spiritual master. Growing up in a country devastated by war, the mischievous son eventually learns...
While the tidbits of personal narratives are the most interesting, Louie’s extensively researched treatise explores the ever-changing Chinese American identity. Drawing on the experiences of a group of American-born Chinese (including herself)...
Two Korean American twin sisters – one scarred from a tragic childhood accident, and the other untouched – have become estranged in adulthood. Now in their late 20s, they find themselves traveling...
Flying 'Aloft' with Chang-rae Lee
Speaking in superlatives about Chang-rae Lee or his work seems somewhat cliché these days. All three of his novels, Native Speaker, A Gesture Life, and his latest, Aloft, have been so lavishly...
More than three decades after ‘Orientals' claimed their identities as Asian Americans in the late 1960s, the said moniker no longer encompasses this growing group of Americans whose one commonality...
Okay, so I've been known to get on a soapbox more often than not about inauthentic voices usurping other people's identities, i.e. white men writing as Asian women, especially sets me off – oh,...
I confess I have no idea what really happened in this wacky novel, but it was nonetheless entertaining, if only because it's so totally indescribably unpredictable. From what I gathered, there's a love story...