Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the world’s most revered and beloved living authors. His books have been adapted to the big screen, have established him as king of the unreliable narrator, and have explored complex but relatable and human themes. The Japanese-born British author has never written a bad book. Every one …
Year after year, we are treated to more incredible Japanese books in translation. After the fantastic turn-out of Japanese books in 2020 — especially Mieko Kawakami’s breakaway hit Breasts and Eggs — 2021 has a lot to live up to. Luckily, all signs point to 2021 being an even better year for new Japanese books …
Arab literature is a world that contains multitudes. From a Western perspective, you might expect Arab stories to provide you religious or political perspective on a world you know little about. Sometimes that’s true and sometimes it isn’t. While the Arab world is home to revered classic novels and modern works of brilliance, one of …
2020 was a really excellent year for literature in translation, with some stand-out new Korean books that included the spectacular Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo (tr. Jamie Chang). 2021, however, is looking to top last year’s offering of Korean books by offering us a refreshing selection of genre fiction and queer fiction. Until …
Indonesia, Asia’s largest archipelago, is one of the world’s most ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse countries. It is a place called home by every kind of human being. As soon, Indonesian novels, stories, and poems offer readers that same kind of diversity and excitement. The Indonesian novels, stories, and poems found here do not encompass …
Of all the most beloved, best-selling manga — the ones with the biggest legacies; the staunchest fanbases; the biggest numbers — most of them are shonen manga. But many of those shonen manga are now finished and aging. Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach. These names are being replaced, but by what? By these fantastic modern shonen …
Nobody does horror like Junji Ito, and there is no manga quite like a Junji Ito manga. While scary stories have been told for as long as we’ve had stories, and mythologies across the world are filled with creatures and tales of terror, it’s only within the last century that horror has become cemented as …
African food represents one of the most underappreciated culinary regions of them all and, by even glancing across the cuisine of each country — from north to west, to sub-Saharan Africa — you’ll find dramatically different cooking styles, traditions, and ingredients. Not to mention the huge African-American cuisine that has influenced modern cooking across the …
There are books ideal for reading at Christmas and there are books set at Christmas. The two don’t always cross over, but we wanted to guarantee here that they do. Every one of these books is perfect Christmas reading for the holiday season and they are all, of course, books set at Christmas. Some are …
Ask anyone with at least one eye on world literature in translation which countries are putting out the most groundbreaking novels, and they will likely mention South Korea. Korean novels frequently bend and break genres, explore often untouched social and political themes, and speak to our very souls. Outstanding Korean Novels in Translation If you’re …
