Christian Science Monitor Archives - Page 2 of 5

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo [in Christian Science Monitor]

'Reading with Patrick' tells of a teacher's extraordinary journey Pontificating with superlatives only halfway through the calendar year might prove short-sighted, but risking humiliated inaccuracy seems to be a negligible consequence for claiming that Reading with Patrick could be the most affecting book you’ll read this...

The Windfall by Diksha Basu [in Christian Science Monitor]

26 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

'The Windfall' adroitly probes questions of money and true worth Mr. Jha, who not so long ago comfortably supported his family on a monthly salary equivalent to $200, sells his website for $20 million. That titular “windfall” transforms his life – and, of course, that of...

Adua by Igiabo Scego, translated by Jamie Richards [in Christian Science Monitor]

19 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, European, Fiction, Italian, Repost, Translation

'Adua' explores the relationship between colonizer and colonized Before Igiaba Scego’s novel, Adua, even begins, what’s instantly striking is the “Contents” page, which reveals a trio of chapter titles – “Adua,” “Talking-To,” “Zoppe” – that repeat over 30 chapters. Adua is the daughter, Zoppe the father,...

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

08 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center 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...

The Leavers by Lisa Ko [in Christian Science Monitor]

04 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Repost

'The Leavers,' inspired by a real story, confronts transracial adoption “Everyone had stories they told themselves to get through the days,” Deming Guo muses the evening of his 22nd birthday, summing up a lifetime of leaving – and being left – that has defined his short...

The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam [in Christian Science Monitor]

24 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, British Asian, Fiction, Indian, Pakistani, Repost, South Asian

'The Golden Legend' tells a magnificent story of terror and dignity I must confess: I missed my deadline. I simply didn’t want to finish this book. Letting go of Nargis, Lily, Helen, and Imran felt like a visceral cleaving. While Nadeem Aslam’s previous novels, including Maps...

Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan [in Christian Science Monitor]

14 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center 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...

Olive Witch by Abeer Y. Hoque [in Christian Science Monitor]

09 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

'Olive Witch' is the memoir of an outsider on a quest for belonging “bow echo,” the very first words of Abeer Y. Hoque’s raw, unblinking, urgent-in-these-times memoir, Olive Witch, is an easy-to-miss clue. Followed by a temperature (73°F) and what looks like a diary entry, the...

The Translation of Love by Lynne Kutsukake [in Christian Science Monitor]

12 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Japanese, Japanese American, Repost

'The Translation of Love' seeks meaning amid the heartache of post-war Tokyo World War II is over, but the struggle to survive remains a daily battle for too many residents of 1947 Tokyo. Debut novelist Lynne Kutsukake gathers a remarkable cast from three countries in The...

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee [in Christian Science Monitor]

22 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Korean American, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

'The Queen of the Night' blends opera and mystery into a grandiose read Fourteen-plus years after his Whiting Award-ed debut, Edinburgh, hit shelves in late 2001, literary social media-darling Alexander Chee returns with The Queen of the Night, in which another – albeit very different –...

In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri [in Christian Science Monitor]

17 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audience, European, Indian American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost, South Asian American

‘In Other Words’ traces Jhumpa Lahiri's love affair with the Italian language A few days before Christmas 1994, Jhumpa Lahiri made her first trip to Italy. She left a week later, in “[l]ove at first sight” not with a person, but with the Italian language. Over...

The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee [in Christian Science Monitor]

13 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Hong Kongese, Korean American, Repost

'The Expatriates' explores three overlapping lives in Hong Kong While Janice Y.K. Lee’s The Expatriates might be one of your first reads of this new year, you will not be allowed to forget this book as 2016 draws to a close. Mark my words: The Expatriates...

Death by Water by Kenzaburō Ōe, translated by [in Christian Science Monitor]

06 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

Death by Water takes readers on a wild ride of epic proportions In addition to being noted for his prodigious literary accomplishments, 1994 Nobel Prize-winning Kenzaburō Ōe is known for being politically outspoken. He made international headlines again during this year’s 70th anniversary of the Nagasaki/Hiroshima...

Flood of Fire [Ibis Trilogy, Book 3] by Amitav Ghosh [in Christian Science Monitor]

04 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Chinese, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

Flood of Fire brings the astounding, exceptional Ibis Trilogy to a close Readers of this review will fall into two categories: (1) Those who are already two-thirds invested in the Ibis Trilogy, and (2) Newbies who might be wondering if continuing the perusal of this review...

How much do you know about literature by and about immigrants? [in Christian Science Monitor]

07 Jul, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Lists, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost

How much do you know about literature by and about immigrants? Try our quiz! How much do you know about literature by and about immigrants, old and new? Test your melting pot, tossed salad, multi-culti, all-American literary knowledge here … from A to Z! Published: Christian Science...

How much do you know about women’s literature? [in Christian Science Monitor]

22 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Lists, Nonfiction, Repost

How much do you know about women's literature? From the oldest novel to the youngest Booker Prize-winner, from poetry to twitterature, from Alabama to Zimbabwe, women writers have added immeasurable diversity and enhanced the quality of what can be found on bookshelves worldwide. How much do...

The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan [in Christian Science Monitor]

15 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian American

The Ever After of Ashwin Rao explores grief that lingers long after the bombing of an airliner Two weeks short of the 19th anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182 – which disintegrated off the Irish coast on June 23,1985 – psychologist Ashwin Rao...

The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, translated by John Cullen [in Christian Science Monitor]

04 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, Arab, European, Fiction, French, Repost, Translation

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...

Re Jane by Patricia Park [in Christian Science Monitor]

13 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Korean American, Repost

Re Jane cleverly recasts Jane Eyre as a Korean American from Queens If nothing else, choosing to retell a revered classic as a first novel requires either supreme spunk or reckless fatuity. For Patricia Park – who happens to be a thesis-advisee and protégée of National...

Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back by Janice P. Nimura [in Christian Science Monitor]

06 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Biography, Japanese, Japanese American, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

Daughters of the Samurai profiles three remarkable women who influenced modern Japanese history Set aside ample time: You won’t welcome intrusions while reading this unprecedented, true story featuring young Japanese girls who arrived stateside without language or cultural training, and matured into three of the most...

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