by Yan Ge English Pen Translates Award Set in a fictional town in West China, this is the story of the Duan-Xue family, owners of the lucrative chilli bean paste factory, and their formidable matriarch. As Gran’s eightieth birthday approaches, her middle-aged children get together to make preparations. Family secrets are revealed and long-time sibling rivalries flare up with renewed…
by Zhang Tianyi Translated from the Chinese by David Hull “Satiric brilliance and unusual comic verve.” — C. T. Hsia, A History of Modern Chinese Fiction In the 1930s, wartime Shanghai is a cosmopolitan metropolis where conmen and dance-hall girls mingle with refugees streaming in from the occupied areas. One of those refugees is Shi Zhaochang. Having read…
by Lin Man-Chiu Found in Translation Anthology 2015 After the tragic death of Liur's mother, her father, a thwarted artist working as a doctor in the family hospital, is overcome with grief. He goes to study in America, leaving six-year-old Liur in the care of her grandparents, promising to return with a special doll for her. But instead of…
by Ruth Finnegan ``A tale for young readers draws on the enchantments of sea travel. Inspired variously by the Odyssey, William Blake’s cosmologies, Rumi’s poems, and Charles Kingsley’s stories for youngsters, this novel embraces the magic of childhood imagining. Kate and Chris, along with Kate’s loyal dog, Holly, swim and frolic on a summer shore. A ship built from driftwood…
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…
by Li Tong Winner of the 1986 Hong Chien-Chuan Children's Literature Award and the 1989 Yang Huan Literature Award Through misunderstanding, sympathy, reconciliation and love, seven schoolchildren forged an abiding friendship in their hometown Penghu, a cluster of islands in the Taiwan Strait. Brought together by their Arts and Crafts teacher, the children learned to cherish their friendship and…
by Crystal Z. Lee “This heartfelt, transporting story sparkles with a constellation of characters who call this city home while pursuing their China dream. As multifaceted as Shanghai itself, this novel follows overlapping narratives about the complexities of adulting, of parenting, of the urban quest for love and finding one’s place in the world.” —Emily Ting, film director of Go…
by A.K. Kulshreshth In World War II Singapore (1942-1945), many people went through unimaginable suffering. Siew Chin was forced to become a “comfort woman” in a Japanese military brothel. Her husband Tiong was taken away to be massacred. Ah Ding collaborated with the Japanese occupiers. And yet, as is always the case with the moral complexities of war, Ah Ding…
Author: Shih Chiung-Yu "Masked Dolls is one of those rare books which after reading reveals itself to be greater than the sum of its parts. Brutal, intense, fascinating." - The Writes of Woman "Set in turn-of-the-century Seoul and Taipei, Shih Chiung-yu’s novel depicts what it means to be a woman reconciling the scars of a tortured past with living in…
by Roger Pulvers Eric is a black American soldier stationed in Japan at the height of the Vietnam War. Karen is a white American student who falls in love with him. Eric is about to be sent to the front line in Vietnam. But he refuses to kill … and the two go into hiding in Tokyo, pursued by both…
Witness poems and Essays from Burma/Myanmar (1988-2021) edited by Ko Ko Thett and Brian Haman Fallen innocents on blood-stained streets. The defiant banging of pots and pans echoing in the darkness. The birth of a springtime revolution amidst the interrupted lives of a country and its people. On the morning of 1 February 2021, a coup d’état was initiated by…
edited by Sim Wai Chew and Yow Cheun Hoe Singapore Comparative Literature Compendium presents an array of essential readings from the local canon. A compelling argument for the comparative study of Singapore’s multilingual literature, the compendium aims to encourage inter-ethnic, inter-lingual, and inter-cultural transfer through the study of cultural expression across language and cultural divides within Singapore’s literary scene. Apart…
