Brick Lane by Monica Ali [in AsianWeek]
A runaway bestseller in its native Britain and quickly climbing the charts on this side of the pond, Ali’s assured debut novel follows the life of Bangladeshi-born Nazneen, who arrives at age 18 in...
A runaway bestseller in its native Britain and quickly climbing the charts on this side of the pond, Ali’s assured debut novel follows the life of Bangladeshi-born Nazneen, who arrives at age 18 in...
Living in the Space of 'In-Between': In any language, author Yoko Tawada is easily understood If I wanted to make my mother truly proud, I would finally complete either of the...
A British graduate student esconsced in a new life based in Santa Barbara, California, embarks on a labyrinthine worldly journey in search of lost ancient Sufi manuscripts believed to have been smuggled out of Iran. Review: <a...
Drawn to Life: Yangsook Choi, when not being a kid, is busy writing and illustrating children's books NEW YORK CITY — By the time Yangsook Choi graduated from art school, she already had her first...
Being a Kid By the time Yangsook Choi graduated from art school, she already had her first book contract for what would become The Sun Girl and Moon Boy, a Korean folktale which Choi adapted...
Family Devotions Da Chen’s late father was supportive of every endeavor his son attempted. Except for becoming a writer. “Writers were always the first to be blamed and punished for any...
Early 20th-century Japanese feminist poet's memorable road trip east. You go, girl! Review: "New and Notable," aMagazine: Inside Asian America, February/March 2002 Readers: Adult Published: 2001 (United States)...
The unpredictable Murakami deftly forays into nonfiction with an eerily unput-downable compilation of eyewitness accounts of what happened on March 20, 1995 when members of a religious cult unleashed deadly sarin gas on a crowded rush-hour...
A master of disturbing, psychologically complex stories, Yoshimura's On Parole chronicles the release of a man from a life sentence for having murdered his wife, wounding her lover, and inadvertently killing the lover’s mother. Also...
One Man's Justice, the third book by bestselling Japanese author Akira Yoshimura to be translated into English, is all about perspective: One man's justice proves to be his condemnation. Takuya, an officer in the Japanese Imperial...
To reveal that the theme song to Meera Syal's novel, Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee is Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” might...
Disguised as a man, Hua Mu Lan takes her elderly father’s place in the Emperor’s army and becomes a legendary warrior. Even after years of fighting, none of her comrades realize her...
A childless, elderly couple long for a child, "even if he were only as big as a plum seed." Indeed, the woman bears Little Plum, who never grows larger than a plum seed. But...
Long ago, Uncle Wu fell in love with and married Shell, a beautiful woman who is able to transform herself into a seashell. The evil king hears about...
A young boy, who has the saddest face in the world, runs away from home to save his parents further embarrassment. He meets up with a band of friendly giants, who take...
A young husband is called off to war, leaving his wife behind. The tree spirit assumes the husband’s image and goes to live with the wife. The real husband returns and must seek the...
When famine strikes northern China in 1871, Lalu Nathoy is sold off at age 13, is eventually taken by a slave merchant to America, and auctioned off to a seedy...
Maibelle Chung, in spite of her last name, is a tall, curly red-haired woman with green eyes. Her father is Chinese-born, her mother from the Midwest. After years of running away, Maibelle returns to her Chinatown...
Haesu Chun, newly arrived in the U.S. from Korea with her husband, struggles to establish a home in a foreign land. Born into a wealthy family, Haesu is initially ill-prepared for the racism, humiliation,...
A collection of 11 short stories about young Indian and Indian American women, some married, some single, in various stages of claiming independence from their well-meaning but suffocating families and their oppressive patriarchal heritage....