Introduction
Issue 8: Short Stories
On the Books on Asia Podcast episode 12: The Art of the Short Story, podcast host Amy Chavez talks with Tina deBellegarde about what makes a good short story, and why certain short story writers are so appealing. They discuss Japanese short story writers such as Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto, Hiromi Kawakami, Aoko Matsuda, More…
Podcast
BOA Podcast 12: The Art of the Short Story with Tina deBellegarde
On the Books on Asia Podcast episode 12: The Art of the Short Story, podcast host Amy Chavez talks with Tina deBellegarde about what makes a good short story, and why certain short story writers are so appealing. Tina has been nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, has a short story published in the Mystery Writers of America anthology called “When a Stranger Comes to Town” and, most recently won the USA Prize in the Writers in Kyoto annual story competition.
They discuss Japanese short story writers such as Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto, Hiromi Kawakami, Aoko Matsuda, Kyoko Nakajima and foreign writers, including Lafcadio Hearn and, more recently, Rebecca Otowa. Amy also mentions two short story collection from China, one by the well-known author Xu Xu called Bird Talk and Other Stories, and an anthology of flash fiction called The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories: Flash Fiction from Contemporary China which prompts a discussion on flash fiction, which Tina defines for us and elaborates upon, including the works of Mieko Kawakami. (Click below to see Show Notes). Go to Issue 8 to see all the books discussed in the Short Story Podcast.
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When a Stranger Comes to Town
Includes the story “Tokyo Stranger” by Tina deBellegarde
Bird Talk and Other Stories by Xu Xu
Xu Xu was one of the most widely read Chinese authors of the 1930s to 1960s
The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories
This collection features 120 short-short stories (from 100 to 300 words each), written by some of China’s most dynamic and versatile authors.
Lizard
Six tales explore themes of time, healing, and fate–and the journeys of self-discovery through which young urbanites come to terms with them
First Person Singular
It is that so-called “insignificant encounter” that Murakami focuses on to develop beautiful short stories.
The Nakano Thrift Shop
This “gentle, humorous novel” follows a young Japanese woman as she yearns for the love of a reluctant coworker (The Wall Street Journal).
Things Remembered and Things Forgotten
A delightful book of short stories from Kyoko Nakajima, author of The Little House, and winner of the Naoki Prize
Where the Wild Ladies Are
Witty and exuberant feminist re-tellings of traditional Japanese folktales
Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch
A modern recasting of stories surrounding Japan’s famous mountain witch.
The Mad Kyoto Shoe Swapper and Other Short Stories
“A series of delightful vignettes of life in Japan”—Ginny Tapley Takemori
At Home in Japan
This book traces a path fromthe essential day to day details of life in a Japanese house and village, through relationships with family, neighbors and the natural and supernatural entities with which the family shares the home.
Kyoto: Seven Paths to the Heart of the City
A walking guide to the historic neighborhoods
Untangling My Chopsticks
Riccardi moved to Kyoto to study kaiseki, the exquisitely refined form of cooking that accompanies the formal Japanese tea ceremony.
The Elephant Vanishes
A collection of 17 short stories written from 1980 to 1991.
Strange Weather in Tokyo
Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize, “Strange Weather in Tokyo” is a story of loneliness and love that defies age.