Synopsis: Englishwoman moves to Chengdu, China for post-graduate study only to end up as the first Westerner to train at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. The author’s following 14 years of Chinese culinary exploration is recounted in this memoir/travelogue/cookbook.
My Take: While I love Chinese food, I’ve always approached it from a the perspective of [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Asian'
"Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China", Fuchsia Dunlop
June 9th, 2009 · No Comments · Asian, Chinese, Non-Fiction, Travel
Tags:Fuchsia Dunlop
"The Girl Who Played Go", Shan Sa
June 1st, 2009 · No Comments · Asian, Chinese, Fiction
Synopsis: Chinese teenager and Japanese soldier develop a bond while playing Go in a small town in occupied Manchuria.
My Take: A common theme in the ex-pat Chinese authors I’ve read to date (eg Ha Jin, Yiyun Li) is melodrama and The Girl Who Played Go is no exception. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but [...]
Tags:Shan Sa
"The Crazed", Ha Jin
May 30th, 2009 · No Comments · Asian, Chinese, Fiction, Literature
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the Tianamen Square uprising, a Chinese literature professor suffers a stroke and relives his suffering in the Cultural Revolution through his dementia. His star pupil and future son in law is tasked with caring for him but is disturbed at what he learns from the old man’s ravings.
My Take: [...]
Tags:Ha Jin
"Confessions of a Mask", Yukio Mishima
May 26th, 2009 · No Comments · Asian, Fiction, Japanese, Literature
Synopsis: The (presumably auto-biographical) story of a young gay boy trying to fit into Japanese society.
My Take: Mishima is one of those authors (like Solzenitzen or Hemmingway) whose work is made even richer by their his extraordinary personal life. A militant Japanese ultra-conservative (fascist really) martial arts aficionado, Mishima isn’t your usual suspect for a [...]
Tags:Yukio Mishima
"The Year of Living Dangerously", Christopher Koch
May 24th, 2009 · No Comments · Asian, Australian, Fiction, History, Literature, Politics
Synopsis: A dashing ABC foreign correspondent based in Indonesia, an earnest Chinese-Australian dwarf cameraman and a beautiful British embassy staffer become entangled in a Communist insurrection against President Sukarno. Ambiguous loyalties – romantic and political – proliferate.
My Take: This book deserves to be a classic of Australian literature. Tense plotting, an exotic setting and some [...]
Tags:Christopher Koch