Braised Pork
An Yu - 2020
Next to him a piece of paper unfolds like the wings of a butterfly, and on it is an image that Jia Jia can't forget.Profoundly troubled by what she has seen, even while she is abruptly released from a marriage that had constrained her, Jia Jia embarks on a journey to discover the truth of the sketch. Starting at her neighbourhood bar, with its brandy and vinyl, and fuelled by anger, bewilderment, curiosity and love, Jia Jia travels deep into her past in order to arrive at her future.Braised Pork is a cinematic, often dreamlike evocation of nocturnal Beijing and the high plains of Tibet, and an exploration of myth-making, loss, and a world beyond words, which ultimately sees a young woman find a new and deeper sense of herself.
Glass Syndrome
Eiko Ariki - 2021
He’s class president, great at sports, and beloved by all his classmates, especially the girls. But he hides his true feelings; deep down he’s terrified of letting everyone down with anything less than perfection and being rejected. As the most responsible and respected member of the class, he’s asked by their teacher to check in on Toomi, a student who hasn’t been to school in a while. Toomi sees straight through Nijou’s insecurities and acts belligerent, but he has a secret of his own; in order to pay off his father’s gambling debts, he performs in drag on an adult cam site as “Haruka”. When Nijou accidentally discovers the truth, he struggles with whether he should tell Toomi, or continue to feign ignorance. But at the same time he finds himself developing feelings for Haruka… or is it really Toomi he’s falling in love with?
Lie With Me
Philippe Besson - 2017
We drive at high speed along back roads, through woods, vineyards, and oat fields. The bike smells like gasoline and makes a lot of noise, and sometimes I’m frightened when the wheels slip on the gravel on the dirt road, but the only thing that matters is that I’m holding on to him, that I’m holding on to him outside.Just outside a hotel in Bordeaux, Philippe chances upon a young man who bears a striking resemblance to his first love. What follows is a look back at the relationship he’s never forgotten, a hidden affair with a gorgeous boy named Thomas during their last year of high school. Without ever acknowledging they know each other in the halls, they steal time to meet in secret, carrying on a passionate, world-altering affair.Dazzlingly rendered in English by Ringwald in her first-ever translation, Besson’s powerfully moving coming-of-age story captures the eroticism and tenderness of first love—and the heartbreaking passage of time.
Summer of Grace
Shani Struthers - 2021
Three are loners. One is new in town. Together they’re a perfect fit.2010: Tupper, the owner of the store and a pillar of the community, dies. Of the night shift, only three return to their hometown for his funeral.Jules, Lenny and Dean haven’t heard a word from Grace since they left for college in the fall of 1999, despite promises to keep in touch.No one in town remembers her either. Or so they say.Jules delves deeper into the mystery of her missing friend, and as she does, a dark secret unravels.One that could prove fatal.
The Lost Daughter of Happiness
Geling Yan - 1996
A "sensuous and disquieting new novel" [New York Times] from one of China's most acclaimed novelists, the award-winning screenwriter of Joan Chen's film Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl.The Lost Daughter of Happiness is an epic and moving love story of individuals intoxicated with one another and yet repeatedly separated by prejudice and mistrust. The novel chronicles the lives of the main characters over decades against a backdrop of social turmoil--the anti-Chinese hysteria that plagued San Francisco.
You’ve Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale
黑蛋白 (Hei Dan Bai) - 2018
Its services were designed to help its members along in their quest for their lifelong partners. Upon paying a monthly fee of fifty coins, members could get themselves listed in The Pengornisseur after providing a self-portrait, a mailing address, their age and hobbies, as well as a self-introduction. All members would receive a copy of the monthly publication, and they could communicate with one another in private using the information in The Pengornisseur.Wu Xingzi, a bachelor about to turn forty, worked as the adviser to the magistrate in Qingcheng County.Qingcheng County was a place with barely any resources. In other words, it was poor. In the list of counties of the Great Xia Dynasty, it had been ranked at the bottom for the past two hundred years.Wu Xingzi felt that his life was hopeless: not only was he a homosexual, he was also a virgin. Even his retirement fund was lacking. Worse still, his looks were… forgettable.He might as well die.Hence, Wu Xingzi decided to commit suicide on his fortieth birthday. However, he was unwilling to remain a virgin to death! And so, gritting his teeth, he joined the Peng Society for Gentlemen and received The Pengornisseur. It was very painful; after all, fifty coins were the sum of his daily expenditure for ten days! He would only pay it once, and he was determined to succeed on his first try.
10 Years That I Loved You the Most
Tofu Comic - 2019
Now I am a piece of crumpled paper in the corner you would never glimpse. I thought you would be my today and all of my tomorrows. I imagined that someday you would turn around again and stare at me with all your love. However, when our love is gone, I'll just pick a sunny afternoon with gentle wind, put on my coat and leave for good...
Wuthering Heights and Poems
Emily Brontë - 1993
Gradually he learns the violent history of the house's owner, the fierce, saturnine Heathcliff and the thwarted love that has led him to exact terrible revenge on the two families that have sought to oppose him.Since its original publication in 1847, Emily Bronte's only novel, whether repelling, captivating or intriguing different generations of readers, has never relaxed its powerful grip on the public, and the figure of the haunted, brutal Heathcliff has become part of Britain's cultural mythology.This edition also includes over sixty of Emily Bronte's poems, an introduction, notes, text summary, selected criticism and a chronology of Emily Bronte's life and times.(back cover)
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
Xinran - 2004
Xinran made the trip and met the woman, called Shu Wen, who recounted the story of her thirty-year odyssey in the vast landscape of Tibet.Shu Wen and her husband had been married for only a few months in the 1950s when he joined the Chinese army and was sent to Tibet for the purpose of unification of the two countries. Shortly after he left she was notified that he had been killed, although no details were given. Determined to find the truth, Shu Wen joined a militia unit going to the Tibetan north, where she soon was separated from the regiment. Without supplies and knowledge of the language, she wandered, trying to find her way until, on the brink of death, she was rescued by a family of nomads under whose protection she moved from place to place with the seasons and eventually came to discover the details of her husband's death.In the haunting Sky Burial, Xinran has recreated Shu Wen's journey, writing beautifully and simply of the silence and the emptiness in which Shu Wen was enveloped. The book is an extraordinary portrait of a woman and a land, each at the mercy of fate and politics. It is an unforgettable, ultimately uplifting tale of love, loss, loyalty, and survival.
Love Stage!! 1
Eiki Eiki - 2011
He loves “Magical Girl LalaLulu” and is working hard to become a mangaka, but one day he winds up appearing in a TV commercial he just can’t turn down. There, he’s reunited with Ichijou Ryouma, the super-popular young actor he costarred with on a project ten years prior.
Can an Otaku Like Me Really Be an Idol?
Wacoco Waco - 2017
He’s well-known online for his devotion and passion. That same passion also gets him in a bit of trouble, now and then, as it makes him an easy target for macho bullies who feel pop-idols may not be for men.Misaki is one of those guys who looks down on otaku. But he has a bit of a secret―he also likes idols. When Takumi uncovers Misaki’s secret, will Misaki embrace the otaku world, and does Takumi have what it takes to be Misaki’s idol?
Superior
Jessica Lack - 2016
The most action that Jamie sees happens when he is kidnapped by the supervillain of the week--and then waits for his boss, Captain Superior, to show up and rescue him. Again.On his most recent nabbing, Jamie gets to meet Tad, Terrorantula's new villainous apprentice. Even though they are supposed to be on opposite sides (or are they?), sparks fly almost immediately. So, when Tad offers to give Jamie much-needed self-defense classes, how could Jamie pass the opportunity to hang out with the coolest (and hottest) guy he knows?But Tad has a secret--one that threatens the budding relationship between the two teenage sidekicks, and could destroy Captain Superior forever.
The Wages of Humanity
Liu Cixin - 2012
What could have led these billionaires to come up with such a perversely cruel plan? Why would they possibly feel threatened by such ragged, penniless vagabonds? Could it have something to do with the aliens and their occupation?
10 Dance 1
Satoh Inoue - 2013
They each want to become champion of the 10-Dance Competition, which means they'll need to learn the other's specialty dances, and who better to learn from than the best? But old rivalries die hard, and things get complicated even further when they realize there might be more between them than an uneasy partnership...
夢結び恋結び 1 [Yume Musubi Koi Musubi 1]
Yaya Sakuragi - 2008
Not one to beat around the bush, Ao immediately tells Ryoumei he wants to do perverted things together, but it will take more than a little persuading to get the shocked Ryoumei into bed. Between bad advice, romantic rivals, and Ryoumei’s scruples, there are many obstacles in the path of true love.Note: Shunpei from Koi Cha no Osahou appears in this story as the main character's best friend.