This week I read Kien Nguyen's haunting memoir, The Unwanted (Little, Brown, 2001). Instead of offering a summary upfront, I thought I'd share an early scene (page 10):Finally, my mother burst into the room with enough exuberance to burn out a lightbulb. Her off-white evening … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Otherland
I first heard of Maria Tumarkin's memoir, Otherland (Random House, 2011) on Stuart Beaton's blog, http://rastous.podomatic.com, when he interviewed her while she was in Beijing for Australian Writers' Week this month. A day or two later, I read about her again when Shannon Young … [Read more...]
Book of the week–The Rules of Inheritance
It's been a difficult week.On Monday, the brother of a good friend passed away at the age of 41 from metastatic melanoma. Feeling sad, the next day I picked up Claire Bidwell Smith's new memoir, The Rules of Inheritance (Hudson Street Press, 2012). I finished it twenty-four … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Woman Islands
I'm a little late for International Women's Day, but better late than never, right? A couple months ago my friend Jean sent me Chung Wenyin's first novel, Woman Islands (Serenity International, 2011), of course in translation.Chung Wenying is one of Taiwan's most popular … [Read more...]
Book of the week–East River Column: Hong Kong Guerrillas in the Second World War and After
I just finished reading Chan Sui-jeung's East River Column: Hong Kong Guerrillas in the Second World War and After (Hong Kong University Press, 2009) and have a new appreciation for the brave men and women of Hong Kong and southern China during and after the war.Hong Kong is … [Read more...]
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