A single mother carves out a new life with her toddler in 1970s Tokyo
Tag Archives: books
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (Japan)
An International Booker Prize-shortlisted dystopian novel
Genki Kawamura, If Cats Disappeared from the World (Japan)
A Japanese novel that asks “What would you sacrifice for an extra day of life?”
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (Japan)
a quick and deceptively unchallenging read that reminded me of a Japanese Eleanor Oliphant
The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe (1924-93, Japan)
A 1962 Japanese classic work of absurdist dystopia from Kobo Abe
The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura (1863-1913, Japan – for Japanuary 2022)
A modern classic tracing the history, philosophy and aesthetics of tea drinking in Japan
The Promise by Damon Galgut (South Africa)
Damon Galgut’s Booker-winning ‘The Promise’ was without a doubt one of my books of the year.
A Turkish menu from ‘Ripe Figs’ by Yasmin Khan
To round off my few weeks of immersion in Turkish culture I prepared a delicious Turkish meze for my husband and me. I used the suggested Turkish meze menu from a great new cookbook, Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan, which explores food and human stories from Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. I should make it clear …
Continue reading “A Turkish menu from ‘Ripe Figs’ by Yasmin Khan”
I Will Never See the World Again by Ahmet Altan (Turkey)
Gripping and thought-provoking prison memoir
Istanbul: Memories of a City by Orhan Pamuk (Turkey)
A fascinating reflection on the childhood of a Nobel-prize winning author and on the cultural history of Istanbul
Reading and Watching the World: Books, Film and Art 