The novella by Urs Faes, translated from the German by Jamie Lee Searle, is possibly the first German translated fiction that I've read and it's simply b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. Set during the period between Christmas and Twelfth Night, it tells the story of Manfred, returning to his childhood village after 40 years, hoping to seek a reconciliation with his estranged younger brother Sebastian after a huge falling out over the inheritance of the family farm. The festive season is a joyous …
Book Recommendations | Reviews
Review: Singa-Pura-Pura
I love speculative fiction for its not-real-but-still-real vibes and the stark contrast of a futuristic world grounded in current reality makes the issues feel even more sombre. Some things in human communities would never change. I particularly enjoy spec fiction that are satire or social commentary; a challenge or reimagination of the status quo, steeped in cultural associations or based on a particular society. I’m pretty new to the genre, having (re-)discovered it through a couple of …
[Review] Like Spilled Water
I picked up this book by Jennie Liu because I was intrigued by the title Like Spilled Water, and I immediately thought of the Chinese saying 嫁出去的女儿，泼出去的水, literally translated as “a married daughter is like spilled water”. I wasn’t wrong. The story centres around Na, a vocational school student in China’s countryside, when her life is suddenly turned upside down by her younger brother’s death. She travels to the city, where her parents live an extremely frugal life while pouring all their …
Review: Love in the Big City
Wow, just wow. There's something about Love in the Big City that just makes you glued to it and I read it in two sittings (I'm human, I need sleep). It also cured me of my laziness when it comes to writing book reviews. Right after finishing the last page, I feel so compelled to type out jumbled thoughts on why I love love love the book so much, hoping to make some sense of why I'm so attracted to it. Love in the Big City is Sang Young Park's English-language debut. This book has such a …
Review: A Good True Thai
Learning Thai has made me very interested to find out more about the country, history and way of life. At my current beginner stage, I’m learning how to ask for prices and asking for directions, and the textbooks I’m using doesn’t provide much information too. So I’ve turned to media and entertainment, and more recently, I’m on a lookout for good English novels on Thailand and Thai translated fiction, seeing how I can’t read Thai novels yet. I regretted starting on Korean and Japanese translated …