Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1981)
1041.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami EN
JapanDescription:
Haruki Murakami's highly anticipated first novel in six years follows the narrator as his enduring memory of his formative teenage relationship leads him to the mysterious City, and a disruption to the barriers between the real and shadow worlds.[Bokinfo].
1042.
Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino EN
Description:
When a man is found murdered in an abandoned building in Osaka in 1973, unflappable detective Sasagaki is assigned to the case. He begins to piece together the connection of two young people who are inextricably linked to the crime; the dark, taciturn son of the victim and the unexpectedly captivating daughter of the main suspect. Over the next 20 years we follow their lives as Sasagaki pursues the case - which remains unsolved - to the point of obsession.
1043.
Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyonagi EN
Description:
This engaging series of childhood recollections tells about an ideal school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. This unusual school had old railroad cars for classrooms, and it was run by an extraordinary man-its founder and headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi--who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity. In real life, the Totto-chan of the book has become one of Japan's most popular television personalities--Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. She attributes her success in life to this wonderful school and its headmaster. The charm of this account has w... continue
1044.
Uzumaki (3-in-1 Deluxe Edition) by Junji Ito EN
Description:
A masterpiece of horror manga, now available in a deluxe hardcover edition! Kurouzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but a pattern: UZUMAKI, the spiral—the hypnotic secret shape of the world. The bizarre masterpiece horror manga is now available all in a single volume. Fall into a whirlpool of terror!
1045.
The Life of a Stupid Man by Ryunosuke Akutagawa EN
Description:
'What is the life of a human being - a drop of dew, a flash of lightning? This is so sad, so sad.' Autobiographical stories from one of Japan's masters of modernist story-telling. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems e... continue
1046.
The Box Man: A Novel by Kobo Abe EN
Description:
Kobo Abe, the internationally acclaimed author of Woman in the Dunes, combines wildly imaginative fantasies and naturalistic prose to create narratives reminiscent of the work of Kafka and Beckett. In this eerie and evocative masterpiece, the nameless protagonist gives up his identity and the trappings of a normal life to live in a large cardboard box he wears over his head. Wandering the streets of Tokyo and scribbling madly on the interior walls of his box, he describes the world outside as he sees or perhaps imagines it, a tenuous reality that seems to include a mysterious rifleman determin... continue
1047.
Ring by Koji Suzuki EN
Description:
The Inspiration for the New Major Motion Picture RINGS A mysterious videotape warns that the viewer will die in one week unless a certain, unspecified act is performed. Exactly one week after watching the tape, four teenagers die one after another of heart failure. Asakawa, a hardworking journalist, is intrigued by his niece's inexplicable death. His investigation leads him from a metropolitan tokyo teeming with modern society's fears to a rural Japan—a mountain resort, a volcanic island, and a countryside clinic—haunted by the past. His attempt to solve the tape's mystery before it's too late... continue
1048.
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada EN
Description:
One of The Guardian’s “Top 10 Locked Room Mysteries” An amateur detective races to solve a decades-old murder mystery in this “bloody and bizarre” Japanese crime novel with a twist hailed as “one of the most original” (Daily Mail). Astrologer, fortune teller, and self-styled detective Kiyoshi Mitarai must solve a macabre murder mystery that has baffled Japan for 40 years—in just one week. With the help of his freelance illustrator friend, Kiyoshi sets out to answer the questions that have haunted the country ever since: Who murdered the artist Umezawa, raped and killed his daughter, and then c... continue
1049.
Colorful : A Novel by Eto Mori EN
Description:
A beloved and bestselling classic in Japan, this groundbreaking tale of a dead soul who gets a second chance is perfect for readers of The Midnight Library. "Congratulations, you've won the lottery!" shouts the angel Prapura to a formless soul. The soul hasn't been kicked out of the cycle of rebirth just yet—he's been given a second chance. He must recall the biggest mistake of his past life while on 'homestay' in the body of fourteen-year-old Makoto Kobayashi, who has just committed suicide. It looks like Makoto doesn't have a single friend, and his family don't seem to care about him at all.... continue
1050.
O gato que amava livros by Sosuke Natsukawa PT
Description:
A livraria Natsuke era uma loja de livros usados quase fora da cidade. Quem passava por lá via estantes que iam do chão até o teto, abarrotadas das mais maravilhosas obras literárias. Rintaro Natsuki amava aquele lugar, erguido pelo trabalho do avô que o criou, com todo o seu coração – passou muitas horas felizes lendo o que desejava por aqueles corredores. A livraria era o refúgio perfeito para o garoto doce, porém recluso. Depois que o avô morre, Rintaro percebe-se só e arrasado: tudo indica que ele precisará fechar a livraria. É quando surge um misterioso gato malhado, de nome Tigre, que pe... continue