Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid
18 Mar, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Pakistani
Let's work ourselves from the outside in ...
BookDragon Murder Tag
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
17 Feb, by in Adult Readers, Armenian American, Audio, Fiction
I think at least a decade has passed since I read a Chris Bohjalian title (Midwives remains my favorite). Two shocks came with this, his latest: 1. He's got 15 books out already; and 2. He's of Armenian descent (yes, I should have connected that '-ian'...
Message to Adolf (Part 2) by Osamu Tezuka, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian
15 Feb, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation
Official word of warning: this is NOT your kiddies' manga. Both in subject matter and graphics, Message is definitely for mature audiences. So if you have younger ones in the house, be careful not to leave the book lying around. The "godfather of manga" has...
Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder
13 Feb, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Short Stories, Translation
What are the chances ...
The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork
10 Feb, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Young Adult Readers
When Pancho Sanchez arrives at St. Anthony's Home, his 17-year-old self has already survived too much death, and yet he's planning on more. The last of his family – his mentally challenged 20-year-old sister – was found dead in a motel room. While the police insist what...
Little Century by Anna Keesey
31 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers
On this final day of 2012, this could easily be me (replacing 'Esther' with my name and 'her journey' with this year): "Though she would not have admitted to any fixed expectations, Esther is still confounded by what meets her at the end of her...
Equal of the Sun by Anita Amirrezvani
27 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Iranian, Iranian American, Persian, Persian American
"Based on the life of Princess Pari Khan Khanoom" seems to be the dominant short-hand description (even on its own back cover) of Anita Amirrezvani's historical novel set in 16th-century Persia, now modern Iran. Some might find that description misleading, and expect this to be...
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
17 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples
"Just yesterday a white guy asked me if I was a real Indian. No, I said, Columbus made a mistake. The Indians are in India." Presented as humor during a community festival, the deep irony remains striking throughout Louise Erdrich's award-winning, bestselling books that explore...
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (vol. 13) by Eiji Otsuka, art by Housui Yamazaki, translated by Toshifumi Yoshida, edited by Carl Gustav Horn
16 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation
For someone who eschews horror films, I sure am addicted to (certain) scary manga. Devoted groupie that I am for the Kurosagi team, I just hope the series isn't ending anytime soon! For anyone new to the series, rather than starting at (unlucky) #13, might...
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
12 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples
Only when Louise Erdrich won this year's National Book Award for The Round House, did I learn that House is the middle of a planned trilogy that begins with The Plague of Doves which, most serendipitously, was already loaded on my iPod. A bit of...
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
09 Dec, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
OMG. Think gruesome wreck you can't turn away from and you probably won't even get close to the horrors of Gillian Flynn's debut novel, which pubbed six years before her mega-breakout Gone Girl, which is currently turning up on new major 'best-of' lists daily. So freaked out...
The Rose Hotel: A True-Life Novel by Rahimeh Andalibian
29 Nov, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Iranian, Iranian American, Memoir
In the genre of memoirs (which includes based-on-a-true-story, autobiographical novels), I've noticed two distinct categories: the titles you read for the importance of the story, and the memoirs that also turn out to be fabulous examples of great literature. Psychologist Rahimeh Andalibian's writing debut represents the former;...
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken: A Vish Puri Mystery by Tarquin Hall
23 Oct, by in Adult Readers, Audio, British, Fiction, Indian, South Asian
Not being much of a mystery aficionado, I admit my grumbling tummy is what initially drew me to this toothsome series. Earlier this year, one of my various listservs announced the July 2012 publication of this very title, and I diligently decided I had better read Vish...
The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames | Njinga: “The Warrior Queen” by Janie Havemeyer, illustrated by Peter Malone
21 Oct, by in African, Biography, Children/Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction
Those Dastardly Dames are increasing their fold (yippeee!), this time to welcome a 16th-century West African queen named Njinga, meaning "twist," because she was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck! She certainly found her fighting spirit early on: as the eldest daughter...
The Salvation of a Saint [Detective Galileo 2] by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander
05 Oct, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Translation
Just like last year's The Devotion of Suspect X, mega-award winning Keigo Higashino will expertly manipulate you, making you constantly rethink your suspicions. While the final exposition might not be as drop-jaw shocking as Devotion, Salvation is still unquestionably an addictive page-turner, enticingly paced to keep you reading...
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng [in Library Journal]
17 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Malaysian, Repost, Southeast Asian
* STARRED REVIEW Like his debut, The Gift of Rain (2007), Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng's second novel is exquisite and, like Gift, arrives stateside with Booker Prize longlist approval. Recently retired judge Teoh Yun Ling has at most a year before she will lose all language...
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
15 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction
In case you didn't recognize the dripping blood over the undead peeking through on the cover, I'll warn you immediately that this is a long novel (656 pages in hardcover; 26+ hours stuck in the ears, judiciously read by Justine Eyre and Paul Michael) about a...
Message to Adolf (Part 1) by Osamu Tezuka, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian
12 Sep, by in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation
Considered the "godfather of manga," Osamu Tezuka is internationally renowned for his iconic Astro Boy. Introduced in Japan in 1951 as Tetsuwan Atom (Mighty Atom), Tezuka's signature creation remains an international phenomenon across multiple platforms, rising off the page and landing in television, films, video games, and...
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
01 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
Now that we're in the final weekend of summer, I figured today was the right day to choose what was apparently the title this season (yes, I do open the occasional mega-bestseller, the few times I crawl out from under my rock). Since Reese Witherspoon's production company...
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (vols. 11-12) by Eiji Otsuka, art by Housui Yamazaki, translated by Toshifumi Yoshida, edited by Carl Gustav Horn
21 Aug, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation
I don't know how I never noticed before, but Kurosagi comes with a "Parental Advisory | Explicit Content" warning sticker (volume 11 had it on the outside plastic shrink-wrap; volume 12 got more serious and placed it on the actual book!). True enough that some...