Best of
Asian-Literature

1

Collected Fiction


Ruskin Bond
    

Millefiori


Omar Musa
    Both dream-like and gritty, it also includes scans of draft poems in Musa’s notebook. Heartbreak, cocaine, colonial violence, memory and cave paintings: this is a world full of unbearable beauty and brutality.“Fierce, lyrical and intimate: Omar Musa's poetry sets words aflame” Helen MacDonald, author of H is for Hawk“Each poem in Musa’s Millefiori beats with a large heart” Gregory Pardlo, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Wounded Little Gods


Eliza Victoria
    Ten years ago, the town's harvest failed utterly, and the people---believing the gods had abandoned them--left their farms and moved on.Now, on a Friday before a long weekend, Regina ends her workday at an office in Makati, and walks home with a new colleague, Diana. Following a strange and disturbing conversation between them, Diana does not show up at work on Monday, nor Tuesday, nor Wednesday.On Thursday, Regina finds a folded piece of paper In her bag. In Diana's handwriting are two names and a strange map that will send Regina back to her hometown. Here, in her quest to find Diana, she encounters rumors of genetic experiments, stumbles upon a strange facility that no one seems to know about, finds herself in places that don't exist, and discovers that people are not who they seem to be. And the biggest question in the bizarre chain of events is not what, or how, but why?Wounded Little Gods is a tale that brings mythology to a sci-fi thriller that's filled with a sense of place--a place where gods are in many ways human and point to the ways in which humans can be inhumane. As Regina struggles to unwind the knots surrounding the mystery of this facility and the people connected to it. She discovers that she is more intertwined in the strange events in her hometown than she ever knew.

Han Fei Tzu: Basic Writings


Han Fei
    A representative of the Fa-chia, or Legalist, school of philosophy, he produced the final and most readable exposition of its theories. Ironically, Han Fei Tzu's advice was heeded not by the king of Han but by the king of Ch'in, who, soon after ascending the throne in 246 B.C., conquered all of China and, as First Emperor of the Ch'in, established the Ch'in dynasty. Han Fei Tzu, sent as an envoy to Ch'in in 234 B.C., was at first welcomed by the king but later, on a royal minister's urging, was cast into prison, where he committed suicide. Han Fei Tzu's handbook for the ruler, which includes a few chapters for the guidance of his ministers, deals with the problem of preserving and strengthening the state. There are sections on the way of the ruler, on standards, on the use of power and of punishment and favor. Dangers to be avoided by the ruler are specified, as are precautions to be taken. Witty, trenchant, sophisticated, and cynical, the Han Fei Tzu has been read in every age. It retains its interest today when, perhaps more than ever before, men are concerned with the nature and use of power.

Kokinshu: A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern


Ki no Tsurayuki
    This edition presents the entire work, including clearly annotated translations not only of the 1,111 poems, but also of the original Japanese and Chinese prefaces. Royally commissioned in order to return Japanese poetry to the public arena after a renewed interest in Chinese literature, the Kokinshu's compilers linked the poems by topic, theme, imagery, and chronological and narrative progression to form an integrated anthology; thus, the Kokinshu is meant to be read as a single unit. Indexed. "Rodd's translation of the Kokinshu, with its grace and elegance unimpaired, enables the Western reader to appreciate a collection that was long the central pillar of Japanese literature." --Donald Keene

The Tales of Ise


Anonymous
    Included here are sixteen black-and-white woodblock prints originally published in 1608.

桑歌: Mulberry Song


九鹭非香
    Yet she only turns into a wisp of a lone soul, accompanying him day and night.

The Picture Bride


Lee Geum-yi
    Never one to be deterred, Willow does all that she can to make the best of her unexpected circumstance. But it isn't long before her dreams for this new life are shattered, first by a husband who never wanted to marry her in the first place, and then by the escalation of the Korean independance movements, unified in goal, but divergent in action, which threaten to split the Hawaiian Korean community and divide Willow's family and friends.Braving the rough waters of these tumultuous years, Willow forges ahead, creating new dreams through her own blood, sweat, and tears; working tirelessly toward a better life for her family and loved ones. “A beautiful testimony to those women bold and determined enough to leave behind all that was familiar, seeking a better life.” —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The Book of Songs: The Ancient Chinese Classic of Poetry


Arthur Waley
    Where the other Confucian classics treat “outward things: deeds, moral precepts, the way the world works,” as Stephen Owen tells us in his foreword, The Book of Songs is “the classic of the human heart and the human mind.”

Sealed Off


Eileen Chang
    A tramcar stops when an air raid alarm bell sounds. The city comes to a standstill and the people on the tramcar wait. Two passengers, Lu Zongzhen, an accountant with wife and children, and Wu Cuiyuan, an English instructor and single, strike up a semi-flirtatious and serious conversation. After receiving Cuiyuan’s phone number, Zongzhen abruptly leaves when the tramcar continues its journey.

Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend


Katie Zhao
    It won’t be easy, since, according to her older sister, middle school is the pits. Luckily, Winnie studied middle school survival tactics in comic books and anime, and nothing will stop her from being the very best student. But none of Winnie’s research has prepared her to face the mother of all hurdles: evil spirits. When she makes mooncakes for a class bake sale, she awakens the stuff of legends from her grandmother’s old cookbook, spilling otherworldly chaos into her sleepy town. Suddenly Winnie finds herself in a race against time, vanquishing demons instead of group projects. Armed with a magic cookbook and a talking white rabbit, she must embrace her new powers and legacy of her ancestors. Because if she doesn’t, her town—and rest of the world—may fall to chaos forever.

Eclipse Hunter #1


Yu Wo
    The life of a cyborg, programmed to protect his overprotective older brother and ordered to conceal his identity from his classmates.Part serious, part comedy; plot deepens as it goes on.Fan translation: http://novel.oddsquad.org/

I Guess I Live Here Now


Claire Ahn
    Melody always wanted to get to know the Korean side of her Korean American heritage better, but not quite like this. Thanks to a tiny transgression after school one day, she’s shocked to discover that her parents have decided to move her and her mom out of New York City to join her father in Seoul—immediately! Barely having the chance to say goodbye to her best friend before their bags are packed and she’s on a plane, Melody is resentful, angry, and homesick.But she soon finds herself settling into their super luxe home, meeting cool friends at school, and discovering the alluring aspects of living in Korea—trendsetting fashion, delectable food, her dad’s black card, and a cute boy to hang out with. Life in Seoul is amazing…until cracks begin to form on its shiny surface. Troubling family secrets, broken friendships, and a lost passion are the prices Melody has to pay for her new life, but is it worth it? Claire Ahn’s charming, effervescent debut lets you taste every bite of kalbi, bathe in the glow of Seoul’s neon lights, and feel every high and low of Melody’s journey across the world and within her heart.