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.

Siddhartha Street, Sudha Yadav (Vishwakarma, April 2022)
Siddhartha Street, Sudha Yadav (Vishwakarma, April 2022)

The street quietly watches them grow, dream and die. In Siddhartha Street characters come together and grow apart to draw you into the tale of a quotidian street, in a quaint corner of South India. On the rooftop of the lone apartment block in the street, it’s time for “Saturday night drinking” and a motley crew of men gather to drink.

Tree Crime, Melody Kemp (Proverse, April 2022) Melody KEMP
Tree Crime, Melody Kemp (Proverse, April 2022)

Arun, a young Mekong upland girl, falls in love and fascination with the forest and all it contains. The murder of a ranger and a frightening epidemic set her against the unprincipled and greedy exploitation of the natural world. The story encourages understanding of the increasing dangers to the environment and to human life that selfish lack of respect for nature creates. Set in a village on the edge of the forest, Tree Crime seeks to portray village life and interactions from an insider’s point of view.

The Noh Family, Grace K. Shim (Kokila, May 2021)
The Noh Family, Grace K. Shim (Kokila, May 2021)

When friends give her a 23-and-Me test as a gag, high school senior Chloe Chang doesn’t doesn’t believe anything will come of it. It’s been just Chloe and her mom her whole life. But the DNA test reveals something Chloe never expected—she’s got a whole extended family from her father’s side half a world away in Korea. Her father’s family are owners of a famous high-end department store, and are among the richest families in Seoul. When they learn she exists, they are excited to meet her. Her mother has reservations, she hasn’t had a great relationship with her husband’s family, which is why she’s kept them secret.

The Musha Incident: A Reader on the Indigenous Uprising in Colonial Taiwan, Michael Berry (Columbia University Press, May 2022)
The Musha Incident: A Reader on the Indigenous Uprising in Colonial Taiwan, Michael Berry (Columbia University Press, May 2022)

On October 27, 1930, members of six Taiwanese indigenous groups ambushed the Japanese attendees of an athletic competition at the Musha Elementary School, killing 134. The uprising came as a shock to Japanese colonial authorities, whose response was swift and brutal. Heavy artillery and battalions of troops assaulted the region, spraying a wide area with banned poison gas. The Seediq from Mhebu, who led the uprising, were brought to the brink of genocide.

Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment, Renny Thomas (Routledge, December 2021)
Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment, Renny Thomas (Routledge, December 2021)

This book provides an in-depth ethnographic study of science and religion in the context of South Asia, giving voice to Indian scientists and shedding valuable light on their engagement with religion. Drawing on biographical, autobiographical, historical, and ethnographic material, the volume focuses on scientists’ religious life and practices, and the variety of ways in which they express them.