A Flutter in the Colony, Sandeep Ray (Penguin Random House SEA, July 2022)
A Flutter in the Colony, Sandeep Ray (Penguin Random House SEA, July 2022)

In 1956, the Senguptas travel from Calcutta to rural Malaya to start afresh. In their new hamlet of anonymity—a small settlement on the edge of a British rubber plantation—the couple gradually forget their troubled pasts and form new ties. But this second home is not entirely free and gentle. A complex, racially charged society, it is on the brink of independence even as communist insurgents hover on the periphery. How much can a newcomer meddle before it starts to destroy him?

Self-Portrait with Ghost: Short Stories, Meng Jin (Mariner Books , July 2022)
Self-Portrait with Ghost: Short Stories, Meng Jin (Mariner Books, July 2022)

From the acclaimed author of Little Gods, whose “gift merges science, politics and art: the kind of audacity our world needs now” (Gina Apostol), comes an immersive and electrifying story collection that explores self-construction, female resilience, and migrations both literal and transformative.

Into the Desert, Xuemo, Howard Goldblatt (trans), Sylvia Li-chun Lin (trans) (
Into the Desert, Xuemo, Howard Goldblatt (trans), Sylvia Li-chun Lin (trans) (Long River Press, May 2022)

This is the story of two women in Western China in the 1990s, on the edge of the Gobi Desert, near the site of the ancient Silk Road. Bound together by both poverty and tradition, they embark upon a perilous journey to change their lives. In Into the Desert, acclaimed Chinese author Xuemo has recreated a bygone village in Gansu province in Western China, a place where camels are as common as automobiles and potatoes replace rice. With his discerning eye for desert landscape, a fine ear for colorful local expressions, and an acute sensitivity to the inner world of his characters, the reader is led on a fantastic journey where hope and tragedy go hand in hand, and where centuries of tradition both suppress and compel the forces of change.

Still Lives, Reshma Ruia (Renard Press, June 2022)
Still Lives, Reshma Ruia (Renard Press, June 2022)

Young, handsome and contemptuous of his father’s traditional ways, PK Malik leaves Bombay to start a new life in America. Stopping in Manchester to visit an old friend, he thinks he sees a business opportunity, and decides to stay on. Now fifty-five, PK has fallen out of love with life. His business is struggling and his wife Geeta is lonely, pining for the India she’s left behind.

The United States vs. China: The Quest for Global Economic Leadership, C Fred Bergsten (Polity, April 2022)
The United States vs. China: The Quest for Global Economic Leadership, C Fred Bergsten (Polity, April 2022)

In this sweeping and authoritative analysis of the competition for global economic leadership between China and the United States, C Fred Bergsten draws on more than 50 years of active participation as a policymaker and close observation as a scholar.

Returning East, Lauca (February 2022)
Returning East, Lauca (February 2022)

To keep a promise to his calligraphy teacher, JJ travels on the ocean liner “Le Cambodge” to Shanghai via Hong Kong in 1954. On board, he makes friend with Fred, and JJ’s longing for friendship will divert him from keeping his promise. After being stranded in Hong Kong with no money or passport, JJ agrees to cross illegally the China border and to become involved in a shady art deal.