BRIANNA HIRAMI WRITES – Falling in love is already hard enough as it is without the constant fear of being outcasted for who you love. When your and your loved ones’ identity is not socially acceptable in society, it makes the thought of falling in love absolutely terrifying. One becomes incessantly…
Category: book review
BOOK REVIEW: MR. GOODCHILD BY J.H. LOW (2022) – AN EERIE PICTURE BOOK EXPLORING INNER DEMONS
CADY ABE WRITES – Picture books are often synonymous with bright colors, simple plots, and child-like innocence. However, readers find completely opposite undertones in Mr. Goodchild (2022). The artwork curiously draws readers in and creates an unsettling atmosphere. There is a great deal of dark shading, leaving a mysterious aura across the page…
BOOK REVIEW: BUILD YOUR HOUSE AROUND MY BODY (2021) BY VIOLET KUPERSMITH — WHEN GHOSTS CEASE TO HAUNT THE PAST
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — Hauntings, secrets, graveyards — Violet Kupersmith’s debut novel, Build Your House Around My Body (2021) — is an ash-charred sky splattered with these ghastly hues. Winnie is a twenty-two-year-old Vietnamese American (or Việt Kiều in Vietnamese) woman who sets out for Saigon with nothing but “a passport,…
BOOK REVIEW: LONGEVITY PARK (2021) BY ZHOU DAXIN – MORALITY IS A FATE WE MUST ALL ACCEPT
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Youth is as fleeting as it is euphoric. Once you have experienced adolescence and young adulthood in all its glory, it can be extraordinarily difficult to let it go. In rapidly aging societies like China, the desperate masses ripening toward old age often flee to snake-oil salesmen…
BOOK REVIEW: WE ARE SINGAPOREANS VOL. 1 BY MELANIE LEE AND LEE XIN LI (2021)
CADY ABE WRITES – Real heroes do not come with supernatural powers, unlike the glossy heroes from grandeur cinema and literature. Instead, everyday vigilantes are clad with hard-earned perseverance, passion, and drive to improve the fragile state of the world. In the unsettling and despairing time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the…
BOOK REVIEW: BEAUTY IS A WOUND (2002) BY EKA KURNIAWAN – A TRAGIC STORY OF INDONESIA’S EARLY YEARS
GABY RUSLI WRITES — “You can turn her into a prostitute and take the money she earns for as long as she lives,” said the old man. “Or, if there’s no man who wants to be with her, you can chop her up into bits and sell her flesh at…
BOOK REVIEW: THIS EARTH OF MANKIND (1996) BY PRAMOEDYA ANATA TOER – THE AWAKENING OF A NATION ENSLAVED IN ITS OWN LAND
GABY RUSLI WRITES – Faith teaches us that all men are created equal, yet we choose to enslave one another. European empires have colonized almost every country globally, and while colonialism has been linked to progress, it has left nations scarred and changed. For Indonesia, the foreign occupation has inspired…
BOOK REVIEW: MANASCHI (2021) – PASSING ON CULTURE AND HISTORY THROUGH STORYTELLING
ALEC FARMER WRITES – Cultures are founded upon the ancient practice of spoken histories. It was the task of great storytellers to keep the narratives of their people alive and pass them on to future generations. While these stories may have been told by their respective cultures for hundreds of…
BOOK REVIEW: LIES WE BURY (2021) BY ELLE MARR
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — There is a truth about the human experience that helps those of us who have embraced its lessons to walk around with an easier spring in our steps — the understanding that we are products of our pasts. Every thought, every choice, every path chosen big…
BOOK REVIEW: THE WAITING (2021) BY KEUM SUK GENDRY-KIM
BRIANNA HIRAMI WRITES — Historians often skip over the pain that war leaves on the countless hearts of those who have lost their loved ones to senseless violence. Whether it is a soldier caught on the battlefield, a parent praying for their drafted child, or a refugee actively escaping a…
BOOK REVIEW: KANAZAWA (2022) BY DAVID JOINER – A LITERARY LOVE LETTER TO THE JAPANESE COUNTRYSIDE
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES — Not every love affair has to target a person; a lucky few who travel the world get to experience falling deeply in love with a country in its entirety. Appreciating both the city life and the tranquility of the countryside requires dedication and a pleasant open-mindedness. David…
BOOK REVIEW: LEMON – A NOVEL
BRIANNA HIRAMI WRITES — The reality of losing a loved one is one of the most devastating feelings in the world. Even if they just pass away peacefully in their sleep, it’s a difficult and heartbreaking realization that they simply cease to exist. Now, imagine your loved one being murdered,…
BOOK REVIEW: WINTER PASTURE (2021) – THE BEAUTY AND COMPLEXITY OF WALKING THE WORLD
ALEC FARMER WRITES – Nature is a brutal place with harsh conditions that can push anyone to their limits. Despite the vastness of its glory, nature can also be a place of unmatched serene beauty. This dichotomy of truths is ever-present for those who live and move alongside the Earth.…
BOOK REVIEW: SO WE LOOK TO THE SKY BY MISUMI KUBO (2021)
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES — Is it possible that some relationships teeter on the edge of societal acceptance while others are too tame? Ranging from cosplay sex with an older, married woman to a couple that rarely touch each other, Misumi Kubo’s new novel explores five deeply intimate and intertwined stories…
AND/OR: A MEMOIR AB0UT SEX(T), LIES AND VIDEO POLITICS
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — American women know well the indignity of being defined, and best-known, by the men they marry. But Huma Abedin, author of the utterly readable, just published memoir And/Both: A Life in Many Worlds (Scribner), is no ordinary woman; nor did she marry a nice ordinary man,…
BOOK REVIEW: CRYING IN H MART – A MEMOIR BY MICHELLE ZAUNER (2021)
BRIANNA HIRAMI WRITES — Nobody is shocked to hear that you will have many difficult relationships in life that may cause fights, breakups, and pettiness. There are many romance novels and reality T.V. shows that warn you about the strains that a person can have with a romantic partner, but…