In late October last year, twelve books from across Asia were longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, and in January, they were whittled down to an unusually long shortlist of seven. Today, one emerged the winner: And woo hoo! It's our Shadow team's pick, Kyung-sook Shin's Please look after mom (or mother). Image: Matt … Continue reading Kyung-sook Shin’s Please look after mom (or mother) wins the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011
Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011
Amitav Ghosh, River of smoke (Review for the Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011)
I'm rather sorry that I haven't read Amitav Ghosh's Sea of poppies because, while River of smoke does work on its own, I think my experience would have been richer had I read the beginning of the trilogy. This shouldn't affect its Man Asian Literary Prize chances, but you never know. I loved that the … Continue reading Amitav Ghosh, River of smoke (Review for the Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011)
Announcing the “Shadow” Man Asian Literary Prize 2011
Our announcement ... In a carefully co-ordinated announcement across three continents - Europe, North America and Australia - I am now able to announce that the Shadow team's winner for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize is: Please Look After Mother (or Mom) by Kyung-sook Shin. It was - and was not - an easy … Continue reading Announcing the “Shadow” Man Asian Literary Prize 2011
Yan Lianke, Dream of Ding village (Review for Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011)
As I started reading Yan Lianke's Dream of Ding Village, I was reminded of a favourite novel of mine, Albert Camus' The plague. However, as I read on, the similarity started to fade - or, perhaps it's just that the particularity of Lianke's conception took over. Both books explore a community living with a highly contagious, … Continue reading Yan Lianke, Dream of Ding village (Review for Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011)
Jahnavi Barua, Rebirth (Review for the Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011)
What a shame Jahnavi Barua's novel, Rebirth, is, to the best of my knowledge, available "for sale in the Indian Subcontinent only" (backcover). Our Shadow Man Asian team had real problems tracking this one down, but I'm very glad we did manage to obtain some copies, eventually, because this is a beautiful book. The title, … Continue reading Jahnavi Barua, Rebirth (Review for the Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011)
Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 Update
The observant among you will have noticed that I haven't done a Man Asian Literary Prize weekly round-up of reviews and news for a couple of weeks now. This is because our reviews have slowed down now to a crawl and hardly warrant a weekly post from me. The most recent reviews posted have been: Jahnavi … Continue reading Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 Update
Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week January 15-21
Week 10 of our Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 project and, as I reported last week, we are still reading and reviewing. We are, however, slowing down now as most of our team have finished, or nearly finished, their reviewing. This week: Jamil Ahmad's The wandering falcon (Pakistan) by Matt of A Novel Approach. … Continue reading Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week January 15-21
Kyung-Sook Shin, Please look after mom (Review for the Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011)
Image by Matt Todd of A Novel Approach Am I right in thinking that mothers are more often the subject of novels and memoirs than fathers? Or, is it just that I'm a woman and am subconsciously (or even consciously, if I'm honest) drawn to the topic? Of course, with the Shadow Man Asian Literary … Continue reading Kyung-Sook Shin, Please look after mom (Review for the Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011)
Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week January 8-14
Week 9 of our Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 project and the shortlist has now been announced, as I reported earlier this week. However, we are still reading and reviewing in preparation for announcing "our" Shadow winner in early March, just before the announcement of the winner. This week's reviews are: Amitav Ghosh's River … Continue reading Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week January 8-14
Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 Shortlist announced
... And my preferred two books - those by Ahmad and Yoshimoto - of the three I've read are in the final seven books. Woo hoo ... but I have a lot to read to catch up to the rest of the team. The shortlisted books are: Jamil Ahmad's Wandering falcon Jahnavi Barua's Rebirth Rahul … Continue reading Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 Shortlist announced
Whispering Gums 