Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1981)
981.
Record of a Night too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami EN
JapanDescription:
Akutagawa Prize-winning stories about unsettling loss and romance from one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary writers—for fans of Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto In a dreamlike adventure, one woman travels through an apparently unending night with a porcelain girlfriend, mist-monsters and villainous monkeys; a sister mourns her invisible brother whom only she can still see, while the rest of her family welcome his would-be wife into their home; and an accident with a snake leads a shop girl to discover the snake-families everyone else seems to be concealing. Sensual, yearning, and fi... continue
982.
Parade: A Folktale by Hiromi Kawakami EN
Description:
"A parable about memory, mythic characters, and confessional regrets . . . An ethereal, resonating literary gift" (Booklist, starred review) from the internationally bestselling author of Strange Weather in Tokyo. "On a summer afternoon, Tsukiko and her former high school teacher have prepared and eaten somen noodles together. “Tell me a story from long ago,” Sensei says. “I wasn’t alive long ago,” Tsukiko says, “but should I tell you a story from when I was little?” “Please do,” Sensei replies, and so Tsukiko tells him that, when she was a child, she awakened one day to find something with a ... continue
983.
The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami EN
Description:
Over the course of his life, Mr Nishino falls hopelessly in love again and again. One woman is a colleague, another a chance encounter; one is the girlfriend of a classmate, another the best friend of Nishino's latest conquest. Some are entranced by Nishino, others care more for their freedom, their children (or their cats). As we come to learn of the torments, desires and delights of each woman, a portrait emerges of a complicated man whose great capacity for love may well be the cause of his downfall.
984.
Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami EN
Description:
Hiromi Kawakamiis well known for her many novels and microfiction in translation, and Dragon Palace is her first story collection to be published in English. These eight stories are masterpieces of metamorphosis and transformation, infused with Kawakami's unique brand of humor and beauty. Moles, octopuses, and hippopotamuses interact with humans in a revelatory dance.
985.
Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki EN
Description:
Winner of the Akutagawa Prize A sharp, photo-realistic novella of memory and thwarted hope set in modern-day Tokyo—an “unflinching . . . powerful” showcase of the best in contemporary Japanese literature (Shelf Awareness) Divorced and cut off from his family, Taro lives alone in one of the few occupied apartments in his block, a block that is to be torn down as soon as the remaining tenants leave. Since the death of his father, Taro keeps to himself, but is soon drawn into an unusual relationship with the woman upstairs, Nishi, as she passes on the strange tale of the sky-blue house next door.... continue
987.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (light novel) by Nagaru Tanigawa EN
Description:
Haruhi holds the fate of the universe in her hands . . . lucky for you she doesn't know it! Meet Haruhi - a cute, determined girl, starting high school in a city where nothing exciting happens and absolutely no one understands her. Meet Kyon - the sarcastic guy who sits behind Haruhi in homeroom and the only boy Haruhi has ever opened up to. His fate is now tied to hers. Meet the S.O.S. Brigade - an after-school club organized by Haruhi with a mission to seek out the extraordinary. Oh, and their second mission? Keeping Haruhi happy . . . because even though she doesn't know it, Haruhi has the ... continue
988.
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (light Novel) by Nagaru Tanigawa EN
Description:
"First published in Japan in 2004 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.,"
989.
Battle Royale by Kōshun Takami EN
Description:
This classic yet controversial Japanese novel is available for the first time in English--a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence that is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today's dog-eat-dog world.
990.
Restaurant of Love Regained, The by Ito Ogawa EN
Description:
Returning home from work, Rinko is shocked to find that her flat is totally empty. Gone are her TV set, fridge and furniture, gone are all her kitchen tools, including the old Meiji mortar she has inherited from her grandmother and the Le Creuset casserole she has bought with her first salary. Gone, above all, is her Indian boyfriend, the maitre d' of the restaurant next door to the one she works in. She has no choice but to go back to her native village and her mother, on which she turned her back ten years ago as a fifteen-year-old girl. There she decides to open a very special restaurant, o... continue