BOOK REVIEW: THE SWIMMERS (2022) BY JULIE OTSUKA – NOSE DIVING INTO THE SECRET WORLD OF A COMMUNITY POOL

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER – The first page welcomes us to the pool, a sanctuary from all on-shore troubles. There are no nagging spouses, bills to pay, arrogant bosses, or spiteful children at the pool. The swimmers mind their business and swim away their worries. There are a few…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: THE SWIMMERS (2022) BY JULIE OTSUKA – NOSE DIVING INTO THE SECRET WORLD OF A COMMUNITY POOL

BOOK REVIEW: PORTRAIT OF A THIEF (2022) BY GRACE D. LI – A HEIST OF THE HEART

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – A Harvard senior obsessed with the beautiful, Will Chen is the perfect Chinese son: hardworking, handsome, and respectful. Except when he is offered an illegal job by a mysterious wealthy Chinese benefactor to steal back art pieces from heavily guarded Western museums that…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: PORTRAIT OF A THIEF (2022) BY GRACE D. LI – A HEIST OF THE HEART

BOOK REVIEW: THE INTERPRETER’S DAUGHTER (2022) — A FAMILY’S STORY OF FILIAL DUTY, FEMINIST PRINCIPLES, AND ENDLESS ENDURANCE

GABY RUSLI WRITES — In our unremarkable and mundane daily routines, we often forget that we are all the living instigators of history. Singaporean-born Fanny Law has always been aware of this profound and undeniable truth. Though she was dutiful in upholding the Confucian cultural practices carried across international waters from…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: THE INTERPRETER’S DAUGHTER (2022) — A FAMILY’S STORY OF FILIAL DUTY, FEMINIST PRINCIPLES, AND ENDLESS ENDURANCE

MOVIE REVIEW: THE MANY COLORS OF YOUTH IN 20TH CENTURY GIRL (2022) – GROWING PAINS

SARAH LOHMANN WRITES – Romance and coming-of-age stories are comforting for many. Their familiar storylines are a space for viewers to revisit the excitements and struggles of youth with a healthy degree of separation, a safety cushion. For this reason, such films can risk being devoid of complexity. However, Korean…

Full Article MOVIE REVIEW: THE MANY COLORS OF YOUTH IN 20TH CENTURY GIRL (2022) – GROWING PAINS

BOOK REVIEW: LETTERS TO SINGAPORE (2022) — INDIAN GIRLS ARE MEANT FOR MORE THAN ARRANGED MARRIAGES

GABY RUSLI WRITES — We all carry the power to take charge of our destinies and choices. Empowerment of oneself and those around us is the key to unlocking this power. In Letters to Singapore (2022), author Kelly Kaur tells the story of Simran, a twenty-year-old Indian-Singaporean girl who narrowly escapes an arranged marriage by…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: LETTERS TO SINGAPORE (2022) — INDIAN GIRLS ARE MEANT FOR MORE THAN ARRANGED MARRIAGES

BOOK REVIEW: WEASELS IN THE ATTIC (2022) BY HIROKO OYAMADA – WHAT’S HIDING IN THE DARK?

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – The “perfect suburban life” is pretty simple in theory: get married, buy a house, and have children. Invite your neighbors over. Take up a hobby – like raising exotic fish. Yet, this seemingly picturesque ideal of marital bliss is scrutinized in Japanese storyteller…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: WEASELS IN THE ATTIC (2022) BY HIROKO OYAMADA – WHAT’S HIDING IN THE DARK?

BOOK REVIEW: WATERSONG (2022) BY CLARISSA GOENAWAN — THE SUBMERGING AND GRIPPING POWERS OF THE PAST

GABY RUSLI WRITES – The world is so much more than black and white, for there are always things unbeknown to us— secrets. A person is not who you know they are unless you know what they hide from the world. In the fictional Japanese town of Akakawa, Watersong (2022) by Clarissa Goenawan tells…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: WATERSONG (2022) BY CLARISSA GOENAWAN — THE SUBMERGING AND GRIPPING POWERS OF THE PAST

BOOK REVIEW: I WANT TO DIE BUT I WANT TO EAT TTEOKBOKKI (2022) BY BAEK SEHEE – ONE KOREAN WRITER’S HONEST DEPICTION OF MENTAL HEALTH

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – In times of darkness, when all seems hopeless and lackluster, South Korean author Baek-Sehee’s mind often conjures up countless questions to inspire faith: What about the people that love you? What about the millions of possibilities where things can get better? And perhaps…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: I WANT TO DIE BUT I WANT TO EAT TTEOKBOKKI (2022) BY BAEK SEHEE – ONE KOREAN WRITER’S HONEST DEPICTION OF MENTAL HEALTH

BOOK REVIEW: SOLO DANCE (2022) BY LI KOTOMI – A TANGO WITH DEATH AND QUEER IDENTITY

**Trigger Warning: This article recounts experiences of homophobia, suicide, physical abuse, and rape. BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – “Love conquers all” – we are often taught this maxim as children. We are persuaded to believe the very essence of love can solve all life’s problems. Yet, for those…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: SOLO DANCE (2022) BY LI KOTOMI – A TANGO WITH DEATH AND QUEER IDENTITY

BOOK REVIEW: DEAD-END MEMORIES (2022) BY BANANA YOSHIMOTO – A MEDITATION ON MODERN LOVE

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Why do people assume relationships could ever make logical sense? Love and relationships – the shimmering red strings that tie humans together – are convoluted at best. At their most devastating, they are temporary and ephemeral, like the changing ginkgo leaves that pile on the…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: DEAD-END MEMORIES (2022) BY BANANA YOSHIMOTO – A MEDITATION ON MODERN LOVE

BOOK REVIEW: COUNTERFEIT (2022) BY KIRSTEN CHEN – HOUSEWIFE TURNS CRIMINAL MASTERMIND

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Kirsten Chen’s latest novel, Counterfeit (2022), follows Ava Wong – a straight-edge Chinese-American lawyer shackled to an agonizingly mundane routine of house chores and taking care of her maddening infant, Henri, who cannot seem to cease his daily tantrums. Married to a successful yet always…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: COUNTERFEIT (2022) BY KIRSTEN CHEN – HOUSEWIFE TURNS CRIMINAL MASTERMIND

BOOK REVIEW: AERIAL CONCAVE WITHOUT CLOUD (2022) BY SUEYEUN JULIETTE LEE — STUDYING LIGHT AND GRIEF

Aerial Concave Without Cloud – 113 pages – $16.95 – Nightboat Books, New York, NY ANGELINE KEK WRITES — Grief is a lonely process as much as it is all-encompassing. Like all pain, it takes away, gives back wisdom, and breaks people open. Aerial Concave Without Cloud (2022) by Sueyeun…

Full Article BOOK REVIEW: AERIAL CONCAVE WITHOUT CLOUD (2022) BY SUEYEUN JULIETTE LEE — STUDYING LIGHT AND GRIEF