A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa

December 23, 2018 by Christina

Nonfiction – Kindle edition. Translated from the Japanese by Risa Kobayashi and Martin Brown. Amazon Crossing, 2018. 174 pgs. Free download from Amazon. Subtitled “One Man’s Escape from North Korea”, Ishikawa’s memoir is quite short – five chapters plus an epilogue – but it comprises one of the more moving and informative first-hand accounts of life in North Korea that I’ve encountered. I want to highlight the label of Informative because this the only book I’ve encountered that looks at […]

Categories: 2018 Reads, Asia, Japan, Japanese, Nonfiction, ReadDiverse, Translated • Tags: Masaji Ishikawa

A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori (Volume Seven)

February 22, 2016 by Christina

Fiction — print. Translated from the Japanese by William Flanagan. Yen Press, 2015. 191 pgs. Library copy. On his journey from present-day Mongola to India, the British wannabe anthropologist Mr. Smith stays for a period of time with a wealthy trader and his beautiful, young wife named Anis. As a Muslim woman, Anis is required to remain hidden from Mr. Smith and other male, non-family visitors to the home. Therefore, she often passes her days in complete solitude save for the […]

Categories: 2016 Reads, Asia, Comics, Fiction, Japanese, ReadDiverse, Translated • Tags: Kaoru Mori

A Personal Matter by Kenzaburō Ōe

July 27, 2011 by Christina

Fiction — print. Translated from the Japanese by John Nathan. Grove Press, 1969. First published 1964. 165 pgs. Library copy. Ōe won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994 and, according to the back of this book, is “known for his powerful accounts of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and his own struggle to come to terms with a mentally handicapped son”. Presumably drawing from his own experiences, Ōe’s novel tells the story of a man named Bird who dreams of […]

Categories: 2011 Reads, Asia, Awards and Prizes, Fiction, Japan, Japanese, Nobel Prize, Translated • Tags: Kenzaburō Ōe