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The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
| TODD SHIMODA | 02 September 2010
Set in Japan in the early 19th-century, THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET is part historical fiction, part mystery/thriller, and part swashbuckler. That the author, DAVID MITCHELL, can pull all this together is a tribute to his considerable skills as a storyteller. His brilliant use of language also helps pull the elements together and make the novel a great read.
During the Edo Period (roughly1600-1860), Japan's sole connection to the Western world is through a Dutch trading post on a small island near Nagasaki. Jacob de Zoet is a young Dutch bookkeeper posted to the island for a company that is suffering from corruption and nearing bankruptcy. As he... [ more ]
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Hong Kong Culture: Word and Image by Kam Louie (ed.)
80±: a photobook project by Mary Lee
| PETER GORDON | 30 August 2010
Recent weeks have provided the unexpected spectacle of people in Guangzhou and later Hong Kong demonstrating in favour of Cantonese, the local language (or dialect as some would incorrectly have it). It may be unclear what a Cantonese identity consists of, but there clearly is one.
A distinct identity often goes hand-in-hand with a distinct culture, and the question whether Hong Kong has either or both... [ more ]
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