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“To Rule All under Heaven: A History of Classical China…” by Andrew Seth Meyer
Many books about ancient Chinese history are written for those already in the know; there is a dearth of accessible narratives for the general reader. Happily, Andrew Meyer’s new book fills this gap. He skilfully recounts the Warring States Period (ca 470-221 BC), a chaotic era that followed the “slow moving crisis” of the Springs-and-Autumns…
“The Future That Was” by Durba Mitra
Decolonisation and nation-building were twinned processes in the second half of the 20th century. But for Durba Mitra, author of…
“Mother of the World” by Olivier Hein
Olivier Hein’s Mother of the World: The Remarkable History of Turkmenistan announces its ambitions early. Where most national histories begin…
“For the Love of Stories” by Wendy Doniger
As luck would have it, this year two important scholars of India published memoirs reflecting their nine decades of life…
“Privileged But Powerless” by Jieun Baek
North Korea is the most tightly controlled country in the world. It is ruled by the Kim family and their…
“China’s Aristocratic Age” by Yuri Pines
The norm in Chinese political thought for two thousand years has been, to quote Mencius, that “there cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two kings on earth.” Since only one faction can claim the Mandate of Heaven, there is no tolerance for rival claimants, nor for the notion that Chinese territory could be…
“The Young Die Old” by Nguyễn Bình Phương
The Young Die Old is Nguyễn Bình Phương second novel and was published in 1994 to great acclaim in his homeland where it is considered a modern classic. After having been previously published in French and Korean, it is now also available in English, translated by Khải Q Nguyễn. The novel marks a radical departure…
“Madame Chrysanthème” by Pierre Loti
French literature has had an outsized influence on Italian opera. Rigoletto, Manon Lescaut, La traviata, Tosca, L’elisir d’amore, La bohème…
“The Best of Urdu Short Stories”
Anthologists are wont to label their collections “the best” or “the greatest”. In The Best of Urdu Short Stories, Mehr…
“Birds in a Gale: A Novel” by Ata Nahai
Nahai, who hails from Iranian Kurdistan, is regarded as one of the leading contemporary novelists writing in Kurdish. Birds in…
“Good-Bye” by Osamu Dazai
Osamu Dazai’s Good-Bye is a collection of short stories picked from different stages of his career, most of which have…
“Leave and Come Back” by Lavanya Lakshmi
Shah Rukh Khan is such a well-known Indian actor that his name is likely to be recognized even by people who are not devotees of Bollywood films. Lavanya Lakshmi pays homage to a 1995 Shah Rukh Khan film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (or DDLJ as she has it), in her debut novel, Leave and Come…
“The Woven Image” by Yong Cho
East Asia’s Yuan Empire (1271–1368), led by the nomadic Mongol people and Qubilai Khan (1215–1294), was marked by cross-cultural exchange and significant developments in trade, technology, and infrastructure. The Mongol…
“Chitra Demands to Go Home” by Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay
A poignant debut novel that explores mother-son relationships, cross-cultural conversations, and the tribulations of getting older. Chitra Demands to Go Home tells the story of Chitra, a 75-year-old Bengali woman who…
“Songs in a Time Confinement” by Rashmy
Rashmy writes poetry in a Tamil unique to the East Coast of Sri Lanka, embedded in its ecologies and heavily influenced by its folklore, centuries of trade, and echoes of…
“Miya’s Mooncakes” by Crystal Z Lee
It’s almost time for Miya’s favorite holiday, the Mid-Autumn Festival. She loves all the holiday traditions: moon gazing, lighting lanterns, and best of all, baking and eating mooncakes! But after…
“The Transpacific Chinese Diaspora” by Zhongping Chen
In The Transpacific Chinese Diaspora, Chen examines the origins, rise, and reform of the Cantonese-dominated Chinese diaspora in Canada between 1788 and 1898. Combining a diasporic approach with both qualitative…
“Becoming Allies: Civil Liberties Activism in India” by Ankita Pandey
What motivates individuals to stand up against injustices that don’t personally affect them? Becoming Allies explores a vital but often overlooked dimension of social movements: the role of those who…
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