A publication of Image Alpha (Holdings) and Paddyfield.com -- 03 September 2010

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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 ]



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 ]


FERGAL KEANE
ROAD OF BONES: THE SIEGE OF KOHIMA 1944; THE EPIC STORY OF THE LAST GREAT STAND OF EMPIRE
reviewed by Richard Garrett
26 August 2010

DAVID W. ANTHONY
THE HORSE, THE WHEEL AND LANGUAGE: HOW BRONZE AGE HERDERS FROM THE EURASIAN STEPPES SHAPED THE MODERN WORLD
reviewed by Peter Gordon
22 August 2010

MARILYN CHIN
REVENGE OF THE MOONCAKE VIXEN
reviewed by Melanie Ho
18 August 2010
ALSO RECENT IN THE ASIAN REVIEW OF BOOKS

fiction
UZMA ASLAM KHAN
THE GEOMETRY OF GOD
reviewed by Niranjana Iyer
26 July 2010
WENDY LAW-YONE
THE ROAD TO WANTING
reviewed by Peter Gordon
22 July 2010
SONYA CHUNG
LONG FOR THIS WORLD
reviewed by Melanie Ho
05 July 2010
EUGENIA KIM
THE CALLIGRAPHER'S DAUGHTER
reviewed by Shahbano Bilgrami
09 June 2010
STEPHEN SIMMONS
THE PLANTER'S WIFE
reviewed by Nigel Collett
28 May 2010

non-fiction
CATHRYN H. CLAYTON
SOVEREIGNTY AT THE EDGE: MACAU AND THE QUESTION OF CHINESENESS
reviewed by Peter Gordon
13 August 2010
WILLIAM T. VOLLMANN
KISSING THE MASK
reviewed by Todd Shimoda
09 August 2010
FRANCES MCCALL ROSENBLUTH AND MICHAEL F. TIES
JAPAN TRANSFORMED: POLITICAL CHANGE AND ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING
reviewed by Peter Gordon
05 August 2010
MIMLU SEN
THE HONEY GATHERERS
reviewed by Bill Purves
31 July 2010
FATIMA BHUTTO
SONGS OF BLOOD AND SWORD: A DAUGHTER’S MEMOIR
reviewed by Nigel Collett
18 July 2010

children's
MITALI PERKINS
BAMBOO PEOPLE
reviewed by Niranjana Iyer
03 July 2010
UMA KRISHNASWAMI
OUT OF THE WAY! OUT OF THE WAY
reviewed by Niranjana Iyer
20 June 2010

from the New York Times
BOOKS WIDELY REVIEWED IN OTHER PUBLICATIONS
CLICK ON THE TITLE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO PURCHASE
FICTION:
REVENGE OF THE MOONCAKE VIXEN: A MANIFESTO IN 41 TALES by MARILYN CHIN: The Guardian - The Observer
PEARL OF CHINA by ANCHEE MIN: The Guardian - the Independent
ILUSTRADO by MIGUEL SYJUCO: The Observer - TIME - The Guardian
MATTERHORN by KARL MARLANTES: The Guardian - the Christian Science Monitor - The Observer
GHOST LIGHT by JOSEPH O'CONNOR: the Economist - The Independent - The Guardian
THE IMPERFECTIONISTS by TOM RACHMAN: the Christian Science Monitor - The Guardian - the Independent - The Economist
UNION ATLANTIC by ADAM HASLETT: The Independent - The Observer - The Observer
NON-FICTION:
THE PARTY: THE SECRET WORLD OF CHINA'S COMMUNIST RULERS by RICHARD MCGREGOR: the Christian Science Monitor - the Economist
LET OUR FAME BE GREAT; JOURNEYS AMONG THE DEFIANT PEOPLE OF THE CAUCASUS by OLIVER BULLOUGH: the Christian Science Monitor - The Guardian - the Economist - The Independent
THE ARABS AND THE HOLOCAUST: THE ARAB-ISRAELI WAR OF NARRATIVES by GILBERT ACHCAR: The Guardian - the Economist - the Independent
MERCHANTS OF DOUBT: HOW A HANDFUL OF SCIENTISTS OBSCURED THE TRUTH ON ISSUES FROM TOBACCO SMOKE TO GLOBAL WARMING by NAOMI ORESKES: the Christian Science Monitor - the Economist - The Observer
THE SHALLOWS: WHAT THE INTERNET IS DOING TO OUR BRAINS by NICHOLAS CARR: the Christian Science Monitor - the Economist - Business Week
PARISIANS: AN ADVENTURE HISTORY OF PARIS by GRAHAM ROBB: the Christian Science Monitor - the Independent - The Observer
THE PLUNDERED PLANET: WHY WE MUST--AND HOW WE CAN--MANAGE NATURE FOR GLOBAL PROSPERITY by PAUL COLLIER: The Independent - The Observer - The Guardian - The Economist
BIOGRAPHY:
CURFEWED NIGHT: ONE KASHMIRI JOURNALIST'S FRONTLINE ACCOUNT OF LIFE, LOVE, AND WAR IN HIS HOMELAND by BASHARAT PEER: The Independent - The Guardian - The Economist
PEARL BUCK IN CHINA: JOURNEY TO THE GOOD EARTH by HILARY SPURLING: the Christian Science Monitor - the Independent - The Observer - the Guardian
HIGH FINANCIER: THE LIVES AND TIME OF SIEGMUND WARBURG by NIALL FERGUSON: the Christian Science Monitor - the Economist - The Observer
GENERAL; CHARLES DE GAULLE AND THE FRANCE HE SAVED by JONATHAN FENBY: the Economist - The Observer - The Guardian
SHADES OF GREENE; ONE GENERATION OF AN ENGLISH FAMILY by JEREMY LEWIS: the Economist - The Independent - The Guardian - The Observer
HITCH-22: A MEMOIR by CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: the NY Review of Books - the Independent - The Guardian - The Observer - The Economist
CARAVAGGIO; A LIFE SACRED AND PROFANE by ANDREW GRAHAM-DIXON: The Independent - The Independent[2] - The Guardian - The Guardian
ASIAN FICTION:
REVENGE OF THE MOONCAKE VIXEN: A MANIFESTO IN 41 TALES by MARILYN CHIN: The Guardian - The Observer
MATTERHORN by KARL MARLANTES: The Guardian - the Christian Science Monitor - The Observer
PEARL OF CHINA by ANCHEE MIN: The Guardian - the Independent
ILUSTRADO by MIGUEL SYJUCO: The Observer - TIME - The Guardian
THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET by DAVID MITCHELL: The Economist - the Independent - the Independent [2] - The Observer - The Guardian
THE SURRENDERED by CHANG-RAE LEE: The Christian Science Monitor - the Independent - The Observer
MAP OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD by TASH AW: The Observer - the Christian Science Monitor
ASIAN NON-FICTION:
PEARL BUCK IN CHINA: JOURNEY TO THE GOOD EARTH by HILARY SPURLING: the Christian Science Monitor - the Independent - The Observer - the Guardian
THE PARTY: THE SECRET WORLD OF CHINA'S COMMUNIST RULERS by RICHARD MCGREGOR: the Christian Science Monitor - the Economist
LET OUR FAME BE GREAT; JOURNEYS AMONG THE DEFIANT PEOPLE OF THE CAUCASUS by OLIVER BULLOUGH: the Christian Science Monitor - The Guardian - the Economist - The Independent
NINE LIVES: IN SEARCH OF THE SACRED IN MODERN INDIA by WILLIAM DALRYMPLE: the Christian Science Monitor - The Guardian - The Guardian - The Independent - The Observer
THE ARABS AND THE HOLOCAUST: THE ARAB-ISRAELI WAR OF NARRATIVES by GILBERT ACHCAR: The Guardian - the Economist - the Independent
COUNTRY DRIVING: A JOURNEY THROUGH CHINA FROM FARM TO FACTORY by PETER HESSLER: the Economist - The Guardian
WAR by SEBASTIAN JUNGER: the Christian Science Monitor - The Economist - the Christian Science Monitor

 

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