The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic by Ramesh Menon [in AsianWeek]
30 May, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Repost
A brand new rendition of the 300 B.C.E epic poem – one of South Asia’s most important literary texts – about the perfect man, Rama, and the perfect woman, Sita, his wife.
Review: "New and...
A resonating, breathtaking first novel that chronicles the relationship of two boys, born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan – both motherless, both nursed by the same woman and both lives inextricably linked, even in...
A debut collection of nine elliptical stories about lost souls in Los Angeles.
Review: 
Living With War
When Sabina Murray heard she had won the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for her short story collection The Caprices, she was so surprised that she hardly believed it. Not until the house began to rapidly...
The first-ever bilingual English-Tagalog story set in the United States, this book takes readers on a magical adventure through the streets of San Francisco's Manilatown to the San...
Touching remembrances of a little girl's mother when she herself was a little girl. And yes, it's one of those books that puts a real lump in the...
A young boy's special relationship with Chachaji, his father's old uncle, teaches him important lessons about family bonds and his rich Indian heritage.
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A memorable debut novel (big month for debuts, no?) about the Vietnamese live-in cook for the legendary American expats Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, a young man with a complicated past...
A touching story (and, yes, another debut novel!) about the age-old generation gap, this time set in postcolonial India, focusing on the relationship between Dr. Dam, a veterinary surgeon, and his hapless...
A fabulous collection of 66 poems and stories by diverse APA women, from young girls struggling with identity to long-established voices searching for truth.
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Debut novel about a djinn – a spirit or sprite, sometimes known as a genie (notice author's name) – and a certain, searching "I" who the djinn watches and, shall...
A toothsome tale set in L.A.'s richly diverse Arab American community, interspersing a love story about a hapa-Iraqi American chef who falls in love with
an exiled Iraqi professor. What a major relief to read something about...
The immigration story, told through the metaphor of planting a garden on rich new soil, captured in brilliant color and poignant text.
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Oda, known for his outspoken anti-war sentiments, captures a group of loyal, patriotic Japanese soldiers on a South Pacific island during the final days of World War II, who are mere pawns of a...
A landmark collection of vibrant prose and haunting poetry from a not-so-well-known, relatively new segment of the country’s growing APA community.
Review: 
The Creation of Fiction
Time for true confessions: When I read Ruth Ozeki's first novel, My Year of Meats, a quirky, rollicking, memorable adventure about a documentary filmmaker who exposes the abuses in...
Another quirky tale – a love story of sorts – from Japan’s favorite Gen-Xer, this time about two extremely different cousins who spend a summer together by the seashore.
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Catch a Tiger by Its Tales: Celebrating 100 Years of Korean American Literature
HONOLULU — Aesthetically, Century of the Tiger: One Hundred Years of Korean Culture in America 1903-2003 is one...
Interpreting the Immigrant's Life: Urban girl Suki Kim makes her literary debut
NEW YORK CITY — Suki Kim has a fantasy about “meeting all the many Asian Americans across the country.” She’s heard rumors that there are...
Another debut novel, this time about a married math teacher, his illicit affair with his teenage tutee, and what happens when he confesses all to his wife. Be ready to be surprised…
Review:...