New and Notable Books
June 25, 2004
A Private Life
By Ran Chen, translated by John Howard-Gibbon (Columbia University Press)
In post-Tian’anmen China, Ni Niuniu refers to herself as “a fragment in a fragmented age.” Indeed, at almost 30, she is a young woman who has lost all the important people in her life, one by one, over and over again — her nanny, her dearest friend, her mother, the love of her life. Alone and isolated, she decides that she prefers a life of total seclusion, preferring to wander the streets, and returning alone to her small apartment to record the events of her day: “Two worlds, one inside, one outside, and I can’t decide which is nothing more than dreams.”
Sun After Dark: Flights into the Foreign
By Pico Iyer (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House)
If you don’t feel like dealing with planes, trains and automobiles this summer, grab a lawn chair and this book instead. Head to far-flung areas around the globe and experience the surreal and more as Iyer criss-crosses a shrinking world, always asking thoughtful questions along the way.
Transmission
By Hari Kunzru (Dutton/Penguin)
With way too many viruses trying to get into my inbox every day, reading Transmission has been something of a voyeuristic romp. Arjun Mehta can’t believe his good luck when he lands a job in Silicon Valley from his native India, but his technical dream is hardly what he expected once he gets there. Twelve daily lattes plus nine Cokes aside, in an attempt to save his job as an assistant tester for anti-virus software, the hapless hero unleashes a virus of his own … with ramifications that go global [the theme of this month, too — going global, that is].
Chineseness Across Borders: Renegotiating Chinese Identities in China and the United States
By Andrea Louie (Duke University Press)
While the tidbits of personal narratives are the most interesting, Louie’s extensively researched treatise explores the ever-changing Chinese American identity. Drawing on the experiences of a group of American-born Chinese (including herself) who return to their respective ancestral villages, Louie explores the notions of what it means to be Chinese in America and Chinese American in China in a new world that becomes ever-global.
Buddha 4: The Forest of Uruvela
By Osamu Tezuka (Vertical, Inc.)
In his search to learn how to avoid death, young Siddhartha resigns himself to the Forest of Uruvela, otherwise known as the Forest of Trials, and endures unimaginable pain and suffering. Even as he survives endless ordeals, only through helping others — the diseased Migaila, the dying Sujata and the condemned Yatala — does Siddhartha eventually reach enlightenment. Four more volumes to come in this most entertaining manga series about the life of the great Buddha.
Fourth Uncle in the Mountain: A Memoir of a Barefoot Doctor in Vietnam
By Quang Van Nguyen and Marjorie Pivar (St. Martin’s Press)
An engaging memoir by the adopted son of a famed Vietnamese doctor and spiritual master. Growing up in a country devastated by war, the mischievous son eventually learns the ways of his wise and patient father, carrying on the family’s long legacy of healing and faith.
Translations of Beauty: A Novel
By Mia Yun (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)
Two Korean American twin sisters — one scarred from a tragic childhood accident, and the other untouched — have become estranged in adulthood. Now in their late 20s, they find themselves traveling together through Italy. Yunah, the unscarred twin — at least on the outside — reconstructs their early Korean childhood, their Brooklyn adolescence and coming of age, in an attempt to define a future relationship with the now withdrawn and distant Inah. Although written with undeniable grace and fluidity, the sisters’ continued inability to just communicate — which, yes, is probably the point — nevertheless proves rather tedious.
AND FOR THE KIDDIES …
Oh, Oh, Origami
By Heather Alexander, illustrated by Sophie Casson (Price Stern Sloan/Penguin)
A most user-friendly guide to making origami for even the smallest hands — it even comes with 48 colorful squares of origami paper!
The Most Magnificent Mosque
By Anne Jungman, illustrated by Shelley Fowles (Frances Lincoln)
Organized religion is undoubtedly at the root of all man-made evil — Crusades, Holocaust, Middle East crisis, to name only a few. So how refreshing to see a book for young readers in which three boys — a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew — remain lifelong friends and allies and, as adults, help save the most magnificent mosque which still stands in Cordoba, Spain.
When the Elephant Walks
By Keiko Kasza (G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin)
When the elephant walks, he sets off a chain of events that delightfully ends with a very crowded tree trunk filled with big scared animals looking down at one tiny mouse. A too-cute board book for the youngest readers-to-be.
The Best Pet of All
By David LaRochelle, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama (Dutton Children’s Books/Penguin)
When a little boy’s mother refuses to let him have a dog, he brings home a dragon instead. But the dragon is so badly behaved, that in the end, the mother is only too happy to welcome the best pet of all.
The Best Party of Them All
By Hiawyn Oram, illustrated by Lucy Su (Frances Lincoln)
Sure, other people’s parties can be loads of fun, especially when you get to experience things like “swamp jelly” and “ladybird cakes.” But when you’re about to have your own birthday, you know who will have the best party of them all!
Blue Fingers: A Ninja’s Tale
By Cheryl Aylward Whitesel (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin)
In mid-15th-century Japan, Koji, half of a set of identical twins, has the chance to rise above his social status as a farmer’s son and become the apprentice to a revered dye maker. But in spite of the lucky opportunity, homesickness prevents Koji from honorably fulfilling his duties. Afraid to face his parents’ disappointment, Koji runs away, only to be kidnapped by a secret ninja clan. While he longs to return to his parents and twin brother, Koji eventually accepts his fate, proving himself to be a talented and loyal asset to his new family, fighting against the injustices perpetrated by the tyrannical Lord Udo.
Comments
Got something to say?