Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600 edited by Haruo Shirane [in Bloomsbury Review]
01 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Poetry, Repost, Short Stories, Translation
This is a heavy tome, but it’s one of those impressive, erudite, must-have titles for anyone interested in Asian literature or literature in general. The Japanese were writing novels centuries before Don Quixote even chased his...
Forget pastoral countryside and quaint village life – this is post-Tiananmen China in which money rules and reinvention is the answer to survival in a new society defined by unleashed capitalism and greed. Six stories capture...
Su Qi, a sensitive Chinese Malaysian youth, comes of age in the magical jungles of Borneo, shaped by the cruelty he witnesses at the hands of his abusive father and his loving but withdrawn mother. He...
If I were to make my mother the happiest mother in the world, I’d finish at least one of my PhDs by writing that elusive dissertation on Yoko Tawada and her fantastical, enigmatic, revisionist, ambiguous short...
The latest from one of Japan’s leading novelists is another signature piece in which the unexpected should be anticipated. It’s just before midnight and teenaged Mari reads a thick, unnamed book in a well-lit Denny’s in...
“Beat” Takeshi Kitano, most widely known as an acclaimed filmmaker, is indeed a Renaissance man. Besides making films, he’s an actor, comedian, major TV personality, poet, painter, and novelist – and most likely more. While he...
Making the playground rounds in hopes of finding a community among stay-at-home moms and their children has left Sayoko lonelier than ever. When she gets a job offer from single, brash, energetic Aoi, she immediately signs...
Four short stories and a longer novella are linked together to create a mosaic of disparate voices that share a visceral longing for a time – and place – forever past. Chu adroitly leads readers through...
Considered to be one of the great writers of 20th-century China since she hit the literary scene in the 1940s with a mighty bang, Chang died in obscurity in Los Angeles in 1995. Recently rediscovered thanks...
This single-story novella, to be released simultaneously with the eponymous film by Ang Lee, was undoubtedly inspired by Chang’s own relationship with a Japanese collaborator during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and Hong Kong. As part...
Volume 1: From Restoration to Occupation, 1868-1945
Volume 2: From 1945 to the Present
The two volumes together offer the most comprehensive overview of modern Japanese literature available in translation. Capturing the most turbulent period of Japan –...
Ruffling Feathers: An Interview with Novelist Sabina Murray
Sabina Murray’s published output over the past five years has been substantial by anyone’s standards: three books, five screenplays, umpteen short stories, and winning the prestigious 2003 PEN/Faulkner Award....
Schadenfreude, of German origin, means joy at someone's distress or misfortune – surely not the best of human reactions. But publishers have turned misery into a veritable gold mine with an endless array of voyeuristic best-sellers....
A little boy visits a remote village with this library grandfather, bringing his little red fish along. Boy and fish have a rollicking adventure with books – literally – captured in full movement on wordless pages...
Ideally composed short poems in homage to various yoga poses for the youngest practitioner to recite, enjoy, and practice. Grand fun for yoginis of all ages!
Review: "In Celebration of Asian Pacific American Month: New & Notable...
A little girl insists on her seventh birthday that she is finally old enough to wear one of her mother’s gorgeous saris. One by one, each magical sari tells a story of the last special occasion...
From the creative team that brought you the bestselling I Love You Like Crazy Cakes comes a memorable new title that celebrates the growing bond – year after year – between a mother and her adopted...
A delightful double tale about a little girl’s adventures at the zoo, so very cleverly told through black-and-white pages that show one alarming story about the fearful parents searching for their child, and an imaginative parallel...
To cure his grandmother’s “bad case of sadness” one year after his grandfather’s death, young Daysha collects special treasures that bring back the loving experiences and memories of his much-missed grandfather. When he shares the treasures...
Written for an older audience of grade-school children, the recent sequel to Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (February 2006) continues the inspiring story through fabulous photographs that follow the remarkable relationship...