Fiction Archives - Page 59 of 172

Meeting with My Brother by Yi Mun-yol, translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl and Yoosup Chang [in Booklist]

30 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, North Korean, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW “The Korean War displaced and fragmented more than ten million families,” writes Heinz Insu Fenkl in his introduction to his new translation of Yi’s novella about the first meeting between two adult brothers. Yi, one of Korea’s most prominent literary figures, and his family were...

A Trans* and Gender Nonconforming Reading List for All Ages [in The Booklist Reader]

28 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Lists, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

News about the transgender community – including banned books, bathroom laws, hockey, wrestlers, models, parades, Jackie and Juliet Evancho, and, most tragically, a horrifying murder caught on cellphone video – have all made recent headlines. Books can be helpful, entertaining, illuminating portals into the trans*/gender nonconforming (GNC)...

Author Interview: Min Jin Lee [in Bloom]

21 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Japanese, Korean, Korean American, Repost

On History, Survival & Intimacy Becoming a bestselling author took Min Jin Lee 11 years – and so much more of her life. She quit lawyering, but without that income, tuition for an MFA proved impossible. So she found every bargain opportunity in New York City to...

Augustown by Kei Miller [in Booklist]

16 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, British, Caribbean, Caribbean American, Fiction, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW As both the introductory note and epithet doubly insist, August Town, divided into two words, is a real town in Jamaica, made (in)famous for being the founding home of Bedwardism, a short-lived, early twentieth-century religion. Fast-forward to 1982 when teary Kaia comes home to his...

Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan [in Christian Science Monitor]

14 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Arab, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, Short Stories, South Asian, South Asian American

'Temporary People' depicts the lives of guest workers in the UAE The sense of displacement, of disconnect begins on the cover: The words “A Novel” written sideways, unobtrusively stamped along the left side under the title Temporary People, might be considered misleading. Made up of three...

Secret Coders: Paths & Portals (Volume 2) by Gene Luen Yang & Mike Holmes

10 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Black/African American, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hapa/Mixed-race, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

Seventh graders Hopper, Eni, and Josh have managed to "get with the program" since Volume 1, but they still haven't learned how not to get stuck in places they shouldn't be. Volume 2 opens with a test of their burgeoning skills, which – failed attempts notwithstanding...

Frontier by Can Xue, translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping [in Booklist]

07 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese, Fiction, Repost, Translation

“It will be interesting what people make of this one,” novelist-essayist Porochista Khakpour (The Last Illusion, 2014) reveals in her introduction, something she admiringly says about every Can Xue (The Last Lover, 2014) title. “Can Xue,” Khakpour explains, is both pseudonymous disguise and “synonymous with...

The Delight of Being Ordinary: A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama by Roland Merullo [in Booklist]

05 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Italian, Repost, Tibetan

Once adventurous Paolo de Padova has aged into the cautious first assistant to his cousin, the pope. Just before the Dalai Lama’s Vatican visit, His Holiness asks Paolo for a nearly impossible favor: to plan “an unofficial vacation” that includes the Dalai Lama. Initially Paolo thinks...

what did you eat yesterday? (vol. 11) by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Jocelyne Allen

03 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Oh, how I've missed my favorite Tokyo lovebirds! Not to mention the chance to salivate over their too-toothsome meals. If only they'd invite me over! If you're just tuning in to this tasty domestic drama, make sure to click here to catch up. Shiro's already well-stocked...

The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley [in Shelf Awareness]

28 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Black/African American, Fiction, Korean American, Middle Grade Readers, Repost

Twelve-year-old Jin Yi records "interesting moments and details" in her memory notebook while watching customers shop in her Korean American family's Harlem bodega: "[P]eople will tell you their stories in the way that they move, how their faces look, how they speak." Observing turns to...

The Impossible Fairy Tale by Han Yujoo, translated by Janet Hong [in Booklist]

27 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Korean American, Repost, Translation

Making her American debut in translation, Korean writer Han presents a spare novel in two distinct parts seemingly set 15 years apart. Part 1 focuses on two children among 35 fifth-grade students as a new year begins in March 1998 (Korean schools restart in spring). Mia...

Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel [in Library Journal]

24 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

Once upon a time, Fern and Edgar were impoverished young rebels in love, proving their independence from the vast wealth of their respective families. Eventually, as their own children arrived, they settled into their roles as a "son and daughter of ease and plenty" in...

American Street by Ibi Zoboi [in Shelf Awareness]

23 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Black/African American, Caribbean, Caribbean American, Fiction, Haitian, Haitian American, Repost, Young Adult Readers

Arriving with her mother from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, at Kennedy Airport, "holding hands for courage," 17-year-old Fabiola Toussaint, a U.S. citizen by birth, is ushered through Customs while immigration officials detain Manman. Fabiola is forced to leave her behind in New York, and lands alone in...

White Tears by Hari Kunzru [in Booklist]

22 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, British Asian, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

Two young white men from disparate, dysfunctional family backgrounds meet in college, bond over an obsessive devotion to black music, and create an in-demand production studio in Brooklyn. Their pièce de résistance is a clever hoax: an outdoor recording of a singer that’s remixed to...

Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang + Author Interview [in Bloom]

21 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Repost

Ever since she was a child, Janie Chang was steeped in family tales she inherited from her parents about the generations that came before. For decades, she remained the family’s repository until, at age 53, she presented the world with her debut novel, Three Souls,...

The Accusation by Bandi, translated by Deborah Smith [in Booklist]

15 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, North Korean, Repost, Short Stories, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW Initially published in South Korea in 2014, The Accusation continues to make international history as the first literary work smuggled out of repressive North Korea, now headed for shelves around the world. Bandi – whose pseudonym is derived from firefly, an obvious nod to...

The Glorious Heresies by Gloria McInerney [in Library Journal]

14 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Irish, Repost

This may be Lisa McInerney’s debut novel, but the author has had plenty of practice chronicling daily life in her lauded blog, "Arse End of Ireland." Arriving stateside, already impressively awarded (2016 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction), Heresies melds wrenching reality with bitter comedy, taking...

The Devourers by Indra Das [in Library Journal]

13 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

Equal parts romance, fairy tale, horror, history, travelog, and treatise on the transformative power of storytelling, Indra Das’s debut combines a dual narrative about the developing relationship between two strangers with a fantastical tale set seemingly long ago. One December evening in Kolkata, Alok, a history...

Ladivine by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump [in Library Journal]

10 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Repost, Translation

Race, class, and identity all loom large in Marie NDiaye's (Three Strong Women) latest superb title as generations of mothers and daughters attempt to deny and reclaim one another with onerous consequences. The original Ladivine immigrates to France from an unnamed country, cleaning houses to...

BookDragon Fiction