The Woman in the Purple SkirtNatsuko Imamura’s debut English novel is a story that is at once a slow-burning character study and a tale of obsession and psychological intrigue. The Woman in the Purple Skirt has already won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in Japan, which Imamura was previously nominated for twice before.
August is Women in Translation Month, a month dedicated to promoting and reading women author’s whose works can be found in translation. Once again, the Women in Translation Readathon is upon us. The readathon begins August 25, 2019 and runs through August 31, 2019. This readathon is run by BookTubers Matthew Sciarappa and Kendra Winchester.
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Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in TranslationFollowing 2016’s Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation Ken Liu has translated and compiled a second volume titled Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation. Short stories, novellas, and essays comprise the volume, all of them translated from the original Chinese into English. Author and translator of such books as Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem translates each story beautifully. Also translating this volume is Carmen Yiling Yan.
The Graveyard ApartmentsI tend to read a lot of horror in the summer, something which probably deserves an article on in itself. The latest scary read I delved into was the novel The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Kioke. This is a book translated from Japanese which tells the story of a young family who moves into an apartment building that overlooks an old graveyard. It is the story of past wrongs, of personal demons better off left buried, and just how far someone is willing to go in order to ignore the bad things in their life or the strange goings on around them.
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Fiction in TranslationI had been meaning to read this book since its release last years, and I actually picked it up at one point. Unfortunately, life happened, and I was forced to focus my efforts on other things. But now, almost six month’s later I’ve finally read the book in its entirety, and couldn’t be happier. Invisible Planets, edited by Ken Liu, is a fantastic collection of science fiction by Chinese authors translated into English, and is a must read for fans of the genre.
Review: No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular, Vol. 3Here we are again, another volume of No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!, Vol. 3 down. This series by Nico Tanigawa, pen name for the two creators of the series, is about Tomoko, high school student determined turn things around from her middle school days, make friends, and talk to boys. Unfortunately, this is harder than it originally sounded. Already at the start of second term, none of Tomoko’s plans have come to fruition.
The Sorcerer of AtlasHappy Throwback Thursday, everyone. A while back we reviewed the first book in the Slayers series Slayers – The Ruby Eye by Hajime Kanzaka. Today we are taking a look at the second novel in the series, The Sorcerer of Atlas.
StyxI won’t lie. I picked up this book solely because the author has one of the most awesome sounding names I’ve ever come across. And I’m happy I gave this book a chance. Styx, written by Flemmish author Bavo Dhooge, is a mystery novel with what is probably the most original twist on a zombie story I’ve ever seen.
The QueueOne of the best books I’ve read so far this year is The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz. This is a dystopian novel set in a nameless country in what is supposed to be somewhere in the middle east. The prose is utterly beautiful, a testament to both author and translator. And the story sucks the reader in right from the beginning.
Welcome to Looking Glass Reads! We review speculative fiction novels as well as manga, light novels, and graphic novels.
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