Japanese Archives - Page 7 of 32

Sweet Blue Flowers (vol. 1) by Takako Shimura, translated and adapted by John Werry

22 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

While we groupies wait for the next volume-in-translation of Shimura Takako's internationally-lauded and mega-awarded Wandering Son series (one of my personal favorites ever) from Fantagraphics, take a look at this endearing new (in English) series from manga powerhouse Viz Media about complex relationships between high...

Favorite Adult Books 2017 [in The Booklist Reader]

11 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, African, Black/African American, British Asian, Caribbean, Caribbean American, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Japanese, Korean, Korean American, Lists, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Pakistani, Repost, South Asian, Translation

What sweet agony to have so many fantabulous, freakin’ spectacular books from which to cull. I’ve got my 2017 favorite adult titles down to a baker’s dozen, chosen under great duress. They’re presented in alphabetical order – opposed to actually ranked, a feat which just might...

Penance by Kanae Minato, translated by Philip Gabriel [in Library Journal]

04 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

Kanae Minato is two for two for twisted psychological Japanese noir. What she did with deadly milk cartons in Confessions made quite the debut splash. She goes back to school in Penance (expertly rendered into English by lauded translator Philip Gabriel) in which 10-year-old Emily is raped...

A Bride’s Story (vols. 8-9) by Kaoru Mori, translated by William Flanagan

24 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Central Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Without a doubt, A Bride's Story is the most intricately detailed, magnificently exquisite graphic series currently on my shelves. Every volume is a lavish gift to pore over, to enthusiastically applaud, to be gobsmackingly impressed by again and again and again. Superlatives just aren't enough. To...

Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama, translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies [in Library Journal]

26 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

Six Four, the first available-in-English-translation novel from Japanese phenomenon Hideo Yokoyama, requires serious commitments of time and memory space. It runs over 24 audible hours, with so many pertinent players that the print version includes a densely-populated “Cast of Characters.” Dead and missing daughters populate this exquisitely...

13 Terrifying Tales of Diverse Hauntings [in The Booklist Reader]

25 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Black/African American, British, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Indian, Indian American, Japanese, Japanese American, Lists, Malaysian, Repost, Short Stories, Singaporean, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Translation, Vietnamese, Vietnamese American, Young Adult Readers

It’s the time of the year to be scared witless – and by choice, egads! Gluttons for fear, unite. And brace yourselves for the following 13 diverse hauntings. The Black Isle by Sandi Tan The protagonist begins her life as Ling, the first-born twin in a well-to-do Shanghai clan. Half...

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa, translated by Alison Watts [in Library Journal]

10 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

Making and selling dorayaki – a pancake-like pastry filled with the eponymous "sweet bean paste" – was not supposed to define Sentaro's life. His someday-dreams of becoming a writer got waylaid by bad decisions that resulted in a two-year prison sentence. Since getting out, he's...

what did you eat yesterday? (vol. 12) by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Jocelyne Allen

25 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

"[D]ecidedly catholic" tastes aside, The Manga Critic is oh so right: I DOOOOOOOOOOOO "religiously" review every issue of this toothsome series! How could I ever ignore such delicious delights, I tell you! So what's the latest for our favorite Tokyo lovebirds? While Shiro takes his parents...

Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki, translated by Eriko Sugita [in Library Journal]

21 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Japanese, Nonfiction, Repost, Translation

Think Marie Kondo (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up) on steroids: fellow Japanese lifestyle (albeit reluctant) guru Fumio Sasaki shed 95 percent of his stuff. "There's happiness in having less," his here's-why-and-how primer begins. "That's why it's time to say good-bye to all our extra things."...

Beasts Head for Home by Kōbō Abe, translated by Richard F. Calichman [in Booklist]

17 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

Japan’s defeat in WWII not only meant decimation at home but also resulted in the postwar repatriation of Japan’s colonial diaspora of more than four million citizens from throughout Asia. Among the dispossessed in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, China’s Manchuria, is Kuki Kyūzō,...

Favorite Manga Series, Part 2: Bakuman through What Did You Eat Yesterday? [in The Booklist Reader]

01 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Lists, Repost, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Ready to get graphic? If you’re new to the genre, might I suggest you go directly to the godfather of manga, the late Osamu Tezuka (1928–1989). Astro Boy ring a bell? Speed Racer? Kimba the White Lion? “There’s a reason why the Japanese call [him] the God of Comics,”...

Favorite Manga Series, Part I: 20th Century Boys through Ultraman [in The Booklist Reader]

28 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Lists, Repost, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Favorite Manga Series, Part I: 20th Century Boys through Ultraman Graphic titles are big news. Even if you’re not a pop-culture connoisseur, you can’t have missed the graphic titles regularly popping up on bestseller lists—not to mention their various incarnations on film and even the stage! When...

The Great Passage by Shion Miura, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter [in Booklist]

20 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW At 27, Majime – whose very name means “serious, diligent” – is recruited from sales by the Dictionary Editorial Department of Gembu Books to help compile The Great Passage, an überdictionary destined to guide users across the vast sea of words. Socially awkward Majime embarks...

14 Japanese Thrillers in Translation [in The Booklist Reader]

31 May, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Lists, Repost, Translation

Mysteries and thrillers make up a sizable portion of the Japanese literary market. Thanks to the international success of Keigo Higashino, Natsuo Kirino, and Miyuki Miyabe – and, just as importantly, their translators – contemporary Japanese crime fiction proliferates on Western shelves. Below is a list...

ME by Tomoyuki Hoshino, translated by Charles De Wolf [in Booklist]

29 May, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

The back cover insists ME “centers on the ‘It’s me’ telephone scam” in which a caller often targets the elderly, seeking funds to cover a false emergency. The ploy is more a brief narrative catalyst here; McDonald’s, in comparison, gets enough pagetime to make the novel occasionally...

Murakami in the Details: What to Read After Men Without Women [in The Booklist Reader]

18 May, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Lists, Repost, Short Stories, Translation

The wait is over: Haruki Murakami's latest collection of short stories hit shelves last week and yes, indeed – Men Without Women is a definitive seven-part delight. But once you've finished, the waiting begins yet again, oh sigh, for Maestro Murakami's next book. In the meantime, we've prepared a...

Men Without Women: Stories by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen [in Christian Science Monitor]

08 May, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Short Stories, Translation

'Men Without Women' is Murakami at his whimsical best For Haruki Murakami aficionados, reading Men Without Women, Murakami's 20th book to be translated into English, is a whimsical delight. The seven stories in his fourth story collection present another captivating treasure hunt of familiar Murakami motifs...

Inheritance from Mother by Minae Mizumura, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter [in Booklist]

01 May, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

Death brings “excitement ...

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...

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...

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