A charming novice sleuth who is a middle-aged single mother from Kobe.
Category: Fiction
Review—Life Ceremony, by Sayaka Murata (transl. Takemori)
Review by Tina deBellegarde Sayaka Murata’s Life Ceremony, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori, is a wildly imaginative and chilling short story collection about loners and outcasts. Once again, Murata writes about non-conformity and once again she does it in her unique subversive style. She presents us with a world turned on its head, where what More…
Review—Kanazawa by David Joiner
In Kanazawa, David Joiner delivers a slow-burning family drama reminiscent of a film by Yasujirō Ozu or Hirokazu Koreeda.
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Joiner adds a layer of reading pleasure by intertwining key aspects of Izumi Kyōka’s works into his own narrative.
Review—Heaven, by Mieko Kawakami
A heartbreaking, yet uplifting, story of two outcasts who find and protect each other through a year of school bullying.
A heartbreaking, yet uplifting, story of two outcasts who find and protect each other through a year of school bullying.
Excerpt—The Wedding Party, by Liu Xinwu
Set at a pivotal point after the turmoil of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Liu Xinwu’s tale weaves together a rich tapestry of characters, intertwined lives, and stories within stories.
Set at a pivotal point after the turmoil of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Liu Xinwu’s tale weaves together a rich tapestry of characters, intertwined lives, and stories within stories
First Book—Can Machines Bring Peace?: Hope in a Post-Apocalyptic Age
A young diplomat builds a Thinking Machine to bring peace, but instead, it discovers a plot for war.
“First Book” is a column where we ask first-time authors what inspired them to write their debut book/novel/translation. Books on Asia: What’s your book’s elevator pitch? Floor Kist: The novel is about a young diplomat who builds a Thinking Machine to bring peace, but instead, it discovers a plot for war. BOA: Can you explain More…
Review—Bullet Train, by Kōtarō Isaka
An action-packed thriller with mature themes exploring the nature of evil, loyalty, mankind’s weaknesses and the morality of killing.
Translation Excerpt—Hayashi Fumiko’s “The Tryst”
About the Author Born in 1903, Hayashi Fumiko’s first notable literary work was Hōrōki (“Diary of a Vagabond”), an autobiographical novel describing her life of extreme poverty. Many of her stories focus on urban working-class life, a genre sometimes referred to as proletarian literature. Some important topics touched upon in her stories are free will, More…
E-Book Deal—Strange Weather in Tokyo, by Hiromi Kawakami
Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize, “Strange Weather in Tokyo” is a story of loneliness and love that defies age.
Support BOA by ordering Strange Weather in Tokyo through these links:
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Limited time only deal for US$1.99 (on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple Books) See Where to Buy links to the left. Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize, Strange Weather in Tokyo is a story of loneliness and love that defies age. Book Description: Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living More…
E-Book Deal—The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan
Limited time only Amazon Kindle deal for US$1.99 (Amazon US, Canada) or 150 yen (Amazon Japan) Book Description The Hundred Secret Senses is an exultant novel about China and America, love and loyalty, the identities we invent and the true selves we discover along the way. Olivia Laguni is half-Chinese, but typically American in her More…