Review: An evocative mystery set in Japan, Rainbirds is the impressive debut novel from Clarissa Goenawan, an Indonesian-born Singaporean. Part thriller, part coming-of-age tale, Rainbirds takes the reader on a mesmerising journey of self-discovery and love in its different forms.
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Review: Granta’s “Going Back” (issue 111) revolves around memories – of one’s hometown, a former home, an ex-lover or friend, an idea once closely held. Some of the works are fictional while others are autobiographical. In this issue, there are several gems that I could go back time and again to read and not get tired of.
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In so few words, Andrés Neuman made me laugh, sigh, frown and marvel with the multiple universes that he created in The Things We Don’t Do. The 35 stories are short with a new one appearing every few pages, sometimes even just one. While they all start on a clean slate, the emotional baggage, astute observation, or wry…
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Would you read a book if you’ve already seen the film that was based on it, and vice versa?
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Simple, beautiful prose by Truman Capote, presented in four short stories. While I was impressed with Breakfast at Tiffany’s, A Christmas Memory is my favourite of the lot (even though I found it to be the saddest tale of the lot).
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The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada is an entertaining and brilliant example of the Honkaku genre in Japanese crime fiction where the mystery is solved using logical reasoning.
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Review: Why are Big and Small left to die in a well? Is this heartrending novella an allegory of the world we live in today?
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Review: This trio of short stories packs a heady dose of surrealism and desire. Life and death is often contemplated alongside memories of women once loved or desired.
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Review: Clash of Civilisations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio is a delightful mix of social commentary, mystery and satire.
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Angelina Hue 