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New & Notable
Once again, we at Belletrista have sifted through hundreds of pages of publisher catalogs
from all over the world to bring our readers a variety of interesting international reading.
The titles presented on these pages are either new publications or otherwise
notable in some way, and we have attempted to organize them rather unscientifically
into regions. We at Belletrista hope you'll find more than a few delicious titles here
(I know we do!) Happy reading!
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ASIA
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THE SOLEMN LANTERN MAKER
Merlinda Bobis
It's six days until Christmas, and on the bustling streets of Manila a mute ten-year-old boy sells his version of the stars: exquisite lanterns handmade with colorful paper. But everything changes for young Noland when he witnesses an American tourist injured in a drive-by shooting of a journalist and imagines he's seen an angel falling from the sky. When Noland whisks her to the safety of the hut he shares with his mother, the magical and the real collide: shimmering lanterns and poverty, Christmas carols and loss, dreams of friendship and the global war on terror.
Murdoch Books (AU), paperback, 9781741960785
Delta (US), paperback, 9780385341134
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TRANSLUCENT TREE
By Nobuko Takagi
Translated from the Japanese by Deborah Iwabuchi
With a philosophical acumen and exaltation of passion reminiscent of Yukio Mishima, Milan Kundera, and Marguerite Duras, Translucent Tree, winner of the Tanizaki Award, follows the story of mature lovers for whom, despite all, innocence is never a thing of the past. This is award-winning author Nobuko Takagi's first novel to be published in English.
Vertical, hardcover, 9781934287149
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IN THE CONVENT OF LITTLE FLOWERS: STORIES
Indu Sundaresan
Bestselling author Indu Sundaresan presents a candid and stunning collection of stories about contemporary Indians and the cutting-edge issues surrounding them -- where ancient tradition and modernity can often clash.
Washington Square Press, paperback, 9781416586104
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YAKUZA MOON: MEMOIRS OF A GANGSTER'S DAUGHTER
Shoko Tendo
Translated from the Japanese by Louise Heal
A shocking yet intensely moving first-person account of one woman's experience of growing up in Japan's yakuza society (Japan's criminal underworld). This is the universally appealing story of a young woman's successful struggle to escape from a life of ostracism and abuse, and a rare glimpse into Japan's closed yakuza world from an insider's viewpoint. It has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Kodansha International, paperback, 9784770030863
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THE NAKED EYE
Yoko Tawada
Translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky
A precocious Vietnamese high school student is invited to an International Youth Conference in East Berlin. As she is preparing to deliver her paper, she is abruptly kidnapped. She escapes but finds herself alone, in Paris, broke, and in a completely foreign land. She loses herself in the films of Catherine Deneuve as her real adventures begin.
New Directions (US), paperback, 9780811217392
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WHO ATE UP ALL THE SHINGA? AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL
Park Wan-suh
Translated from the Korean by Yu Young-nan and Stephen J. Epstein
Park Wan-suh is a best-selling and award-winning writer whose work has been widely translated and published throughout the world. Who Ate Up All the Shinga? is an extraordinary account of her experiences growing up during the Japanese occupation of Korea and the Korean War, a time of great oppression, deprivation, and social and political instability.
Columbia University Press, hardcover, 9780231148986
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