Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1429)
711.
JapanDescription:
"The novella that first propelled Dazai into the literary elite of post-war Japan. Essentially the start of Dazai's career, Schoolgirl gained notoriety for its ironic and inventive use of language. Now it illuminates the prevalent social structures of a lost time, as well as the struggle of the individual against them--a theme that occupied Dazai's life both personally and professionally. This new translation preserves the playful language of the original and offers the reader a new window into the mind of one of the greatest Japanese authors of the 20th century"--Page 4 of cover.
712.
The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa EN
Description:
A trio of novellas explores the mysteries of love, motherhood, fertility, obsession, innocence, and cruelty, in the stories of a lonely teenage girl who falls in love with her foster brother, a young woman who records her pregnant sister's daily moods ina
713.
Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami EN
Description:
A boy is obsessed with a woman who sells sandwiches. He goes to the supermarket almost every day, just so he can look at her face. She is beautiful to him, and he calls her "Ms Ice Sandwich", and endlessly draws her portrait
714.
Description:
"Akari is a high school junior obsessed with "oshi" Masaki Ueno, a member of the popular J-Pop group Maza Maza. She writes a blog devoted to him, and spends hours addictively scrolling for information about him and his life. Desperate to analyze and understand him, Akari hopes to eventually see the world through his eyes. It is a devotion that borders on the religious: Masaki is her savior, her backbone, someone she believes she cannot survive without-even though she's never actually met him. When rumors surface that her idol assaulted a female fan, social media explodes. Akari immediately beg... continue
715.
The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura EN
Description:
From Shion Miura, the award-winning author of The Great Passage, comes a rapturous novel where the contemporary and the traditional meet amid the splendor of Japan's mountain way of life. Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is "take it easy." At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a... continue
716.
Kamusari Tales Told at Night by Shion Miura EN
Description:
From Shion Miura, award-winning author of The Easy Life in Kamusari, comes a spirit-lifting novel about tradition, first love, and ancient lore in a Japanese mountain village. It's been a year since Yuki Hirano left home--or more precisely, was booted from it--to study forestry in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. Being a woodsman is not the future he imagined, but his name means "courage," and Yuki hopes to live up to it. He's adapting to his job and learning constantly. In between, he records local legends--tales pulsing with life, passion, and wondrous gods. Kamusari has other charms... continue
717.
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda EN
Description:
In this "delightfully uncanny" collection of feminist retellings of traditional Japanese folktales (The New York Times Book Review), humans live side by side with spirits who provide a variety of useful services—from truth-telling to babysitting, from protecting castles to fighting crime. A busybody aunt who disapproves of hair removal; a pair of door-to-door saleswomen hawking portable lanterns; a cheerful lover who visits every night to take a luxurious bath; a silent house-caller who babysits and cleans while a single mother is out working. Where the Wild Ladies Are is populated by these an... continue
718.
Pinball, 1973 by Haruki Murakami EN
Description:
Pinball, 1973 is a novel published in 1980 by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The second book in the "Trilogy of the Rat" series, it is preceded by Hear the Wind Sing and followed by A Wild Sheep Chase, and is the second novel written by Murakami.
719.
Bakemonogatari, Part 1 by NISIOISIN EN
Description:
There’s a girl at their school who is always ill. She routinely arrives late, leaves early, or doesn’t show up at all, and skips gym as a matter of course. She’s pretty, and the boys take to whispering that she’s a cloistered princess. As the self-described worst loser in her class soon finds out, they just don’t know what a monster she is. So begins a tale of mysterious maladies that are supernatural in origin yet deeply revealing of the human psyche, a set of case files as given to unexpected feeling as it is to irreverent humor. So begins the legendary novel that kicked off the MONOGATARI s... continue
720.
The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura EN
Description:
'Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle.' In this charming book from 1906, Okakura explores Zen, Taoism, Tea Masters and the significance of the Japanese tea ceremony. One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak,... continue