*STARRED REVIEW Before A Wild Sheep Chase made Murakami an international sensation, he wrote these “kitchen-table novels,” so named for where his composition efforts took place after he wrapped up managing his Tokyo jazz bar for the day. Both Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973...
In case you initially peruse this manga the Western way (flip pages from the right side to left), here's what you'll see a few pages in: "We used to fanatically watch reruns of Ultraman as kids," the creators Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi confess. "We never dreamed...
While this summer's Justice League and Fantastic Four make for great celluloid entertainment, for true inspiration, Mister Doctor – as Dr. Janucz Korczak was called by his beloved children – is a real life superhero to be admired and emulated. His accomplishments beyond doctoring included also being a scholar,...
OH. MY. MY. MY. Dare I say ...
Okay, I admit it: Master Keaton is my favorite new series. Luckily, Naoki Urasawa’s manga tend to go lonnnggggg (24 volumes of 20th-into-21st Century Boys, 18 volumes of Monster, and the shortest, eight-volumes of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka) so hopefully the good Master will keep me mightily satisfied for a...
Full disclosure: I'm an utter Mies van Hout groupie! When I see her name on a cover, I barely need to open the book to know that I'll be getting some giddy glee. Uh-Oh Octopus! authors Elle van Lieshout & Erik van Os provide van Hout just...
The Meursault Investigation cleverly builds on The Stranger by Camus In a New Yorker interview this March, Algerian journalist Kamel Daoud spoke of reading the iconic 1942 classic, The Stranger by Albert Camus – in which a man arbitrarily commits murder and is tried and sentenced...
New readers, take note: Prophecy is a three-part series that needs to be read in order. No shortcuts, no interruptions. To catch up, go back here before continuing further. The final volume begins in the midst of an emergency call that should never have been made: “There...
"This is the first time I'm taking the bus by myself," Clara announces. With basket in hand – which holds her snack and a red sweater at the insistence of her mother in case she gets cold – Clara is off to visit her grandmother. The number 18...
If these Tokyo lovebirds don't steal your heart, they'll certainly inspire you to feed your growling belly. As you slobber your way through this latest volume of Shiro and Kenji's culinary delights, you might even be inspired to create something tasty of your own. The step-by-step panels...
Xiao Le – whose name means "little joy" –hasn't seen his grandmother in "a long time." When his mother announces an impending visit, Xiao Le is happy at the thought of riding a train, and the chance to share his toy truck with his grandmother. When mother...
While most teenagers his age are assiduously studying for college entrance exams, the narrator instead plots the eponymous perfect crime. Sent away by his widowed mother, for whom he has little respect, he lives with his Auntie, a woman he "hates." She could have been...
Found in Translation For a nation of immigrants, our literary preferences surely seem to lean toward xenophobic. Among American presses, translated titles make up a mere 3% of published titles. The statistics aren’t too different in the United Kingdom: “Some call it the two percent problem,...
How much do you know about French literature? Try our quiz! From Anatole France to Émile Zola, French writers are among the most esteemed on the planet. But how well do you know la littérature française? Take our quiz and find out. Published: Christian Science Monitor, April...
What do you know about Asian literature? So you love haiku, can quote from "The Art of War," and have read at least a couple of novels by Salman Rushdie. But do you know enough to ace our Asian lit quiz? Try it and see. Published: Christian...
Hungry? Stop and get something to quell those belly rumbles. Save yourself the slobber before reading! And, in case you didn't notice, we're starting here with volume 6 ...
In Latin, Deo gratias, means 'thanks be to God.' And yet in Belgian graphic artist/author J.P. Stassen’s arresting title of the same name, gratitude and God have all but disappeared. The titular Deogratias here was once a teenage boy – mischievous, a little desperate, in love with...
An Indian fakir gets in an old red Mercedes cab at Terminal 2 of Charles de Gaulle Airport and utters his first word – in Swedish – to the driver: "Ikea." Have you heard this one before? Well, no, most probably not ...
