'Just Enough' offers ideas for a modern crisis
Azby Brown's comprehensive survey of Japan during the Edo Period serves up lessons that could aid in efforts to promote sustainability as the climate crisis grows more dire.
A new life is born from a lie in Emi Yagi's 'Diary of a Void'
Emi Yagi's debut novel, which won the prestigious Osamu Dazai Prize in 2020, offers a penetrating look at the pressures of Japan's work culture and gender expectations.
‘Mika in Real Life’: Emiko Jean tackles parenthood, love and self-acceptance
A woman looking to connect with her long-lost daughter (with a very attractive adoptive father) may sound like a rom-com premise, but the author delves into heavy themes in her ...
'Trinity, Trinity, Trinity': A commendable exploration of nuclear power
Erika Kobayashi delves into the history of nuclear warfare and its consequences in a speculative thriller that appears to be a literary riff of her "My Body, Your Voice" exhibition.
'Daring to Struggle': A nation's pursuit of the 'China dream'
"Daring to Struggle" is the capstone of Bates Gill’s 40 years of watching Beijing and his new book assesses Chinese leader Xi Jinping's rise to power and its consequences.
The 'private rebellion' of Hong Kong's poets
Anglophone writers such as Eric Yip and Nicholas Wong are gaining recognition abroad for challenging society's norms and tackling issues of race, sex and migration.
Female writers win top Japan book awards after dominating shortlists
Junko Takase's short novel "Oishii Gohan ga Taberaremasuyoni" won the Akutagawa Prize for up-and-coming authors after women took all five spots on the prize's shortlist for the first time.
Independent publisher gives short stories their due with 'Storybook ND' series
New Directions spotlights short fiction with a new translated series featuring Yoko Tawada and Osamu Dazai.
‘Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight’: Riku Onda's layered novel deftly juggles genres
Riku Onda’s novel shifts from murder mystery to psychological thriller to philosophical dialogue, examining ideas of attraction, truth and memory.
Banana Yoshimoto’s ‘Dead-End Memories’ is the literary equivalent of a lo-fi playlist
The award-winning author's collection of short stories is a comfort read that will transport readers to a melancholy world for an hour or two.
‘Life Ceremony’: Sayaka Murata dishes out the grotesque with humor
Sayaka Murata’s collection of hilarious and macabre short stories ask readers to take a hard look at humanity and reassess what is "normal."
The oddities and pleasures of a bygone Japan come to life in 'Kyoto Stories'
Author Steve Alpert mines his personal experiences in his novel about the escapades of a young American student in the old capital.
