Balestier Press publishes the best and most original voices in Contemporary World Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences.

  • Black DragonflyQuick View
    • Black DragonflyQuick View

    • Black Dragonfly

    • GBP 12.99
    • by Jean Pasley The year is 1890. Western influences are flooding into Japan. A nomadic Irishman arrives to record this unique culture before it vanishes. In this richly imagined novel, late nineteenth century Japan is brought vividly to life. Based on the remarkable experiences of the Irish writer, Lafcadio Hearn, and drawing on his letters, essays and books, Jean Pasley…
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  • More Than One ChildQuick View
    • More Than One ChildQuick View
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    • More Than One Child

    • — Memoirs of an illegal daughter by Shen Yang Translated from Chinese by Nicky Harman   ‘I broke a law simply by being born.’ In the late 1980s, Shen Yang came to this world during the fiercest years of China’s infamous one-child policy. As the second daughter of the family, Shen Yang was a massive liability – she was an…
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  • The Charter: And Thirteen Other Stories about JapanQuick View
  • The Enchanted BellsThe Enchanted BellsQuick View
    • The Enchanted BellsThe Enchanted BellsQuick View

    • The Enchanted Bells

    • Story and Music by April Chung Illustrations by Li-Ling Chen Night has fallen. Silent night. The forest is shimmering with moonlit snow. All of a sudden, Marco Piccolo hears an enchanting melody. It comes from the depths of the forest. There, Marco stumbles across a Treble Clef Tree and seven glittering bells, each representing a musical note. The bells hold…
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  • The Illusions of Self: Tanka by Takuboku Ishikawa, with notes and commentaryQuick View
  • UnrestQuick View
    • UnrestQuick View

    • Unrest

    • GBP 13.99
    • by Yeng Pway Ngon   When the fervour of revolution is gone, what remains? Four leftist teenagers in 1950s Malaya dedicate themselves to overthrowing colonialism and bringing about a better world. With time, their paths diverge — into capitalism, into adultery, into the dark heart of the Cultural Revolution. Disillusioned and middle-aged, they look back at their lives from the…
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  • Wholly Esenin: Poems by Sergei EseninQuick View
    • Wholly Esenin: Poems by Sergei EseninQuick View
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    • Wholly Esenin: Poems by Sergei Esenin

    • GBP 13.99
    • Translated from the Russian, Notes and Commentary by Roger Pulvers. "If you want to know how Russians feel about their country, read the poetry of Sergei Esenin. "The 'old plank bridge' spans not only eras but centuries; not only one Russia with another, but Russia with the rest of the world." So writes acclaimed author and translator Roger Pulvers about…
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  • A Classic Tragedy: Short StoriesQuick View
    • A Classic Tragedy: Short StoriesQuick View

    • A Classic Tragedy: Short Stories

    • GBP 12.99
    • by Xu Xiaobin With her delightfully evocative prose, Xu Xiaobin presents us with a collection of stories crawling with fraught power dynamics, strange events, and unsettling images. Not only does she write about women, but the worlds around them, the fears that dog them, and the histories that haunt them. Xu’s entangled plots sneak up on the reader and make…
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  • Exile or PursuitQuick View
    • Exile or PursuitQuick View

    • Exile or Pursuit

    • GBP 13.99
    • by Chia Joo Ming   Hok Leong only knows one thing about his future: he does not want to become an office boy buying coffee for his superiors. Beyond this, he wants only to roam the streets of Singapore with his rough and tumble gang of boys—that is, until he is assigned to be the Chinese tutor for the new…
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  • Lonely FaceQuick View
    • Lonely FaceQuick View

    • Lonely Face

    • GBP 10.99
    • by Yeng Pway Ngon Singapore, late 1980s. As women gain power and independence, what's an insecure guy to do? Lonely Face is the story of a man on the cusp of middle age, left behind by changing times. Fleeing his crumbling marriage on an overnight bus to Genting Highlands, he tries his luck at slot machines rather than the vagaries…
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  • A Unicorn Named RinQuick View
    • A Unicorn Named RinQuick View

    • A Unicorn Named Rin

    • GBP 13.99
    • Story by Crystal Z. Lee Illustrations by Li Liu Rin is a Chinese unicorn from the Tang Dynasty. When Fan the Royal Phoenix goes missing, Rin and her magical friends have to help Princess Pingyang find her. Can they work together to complete the mission? Ages:   3+ ISBN:  978-1-913891-12-1 Format: Hardcover 216 x 280 mm Pages: 32 pp Colour Publication…
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  • Akbar’s IndiaQuick View
    • Akbar’s IndiaQuick View
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    • Akbar’s India

    • by Marcia Thompson Akbar’s India tells the story of Akbar (emperor of India 1556 -1605) through eight paintings. The paintings were selected from many produced in his workshops to tell the story of his remarkable reign. The book was written and the different exercises were devised to encourage children to give the pictures more than a cursory glance - to help…
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