The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, translated from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood (Ballantine, August 20) In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just
Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías, translated from the Spanish by Heather Cleary (Scribner, July 2) In a city ravaged by a mysterious plague, a woman tries to understand why her world is falling apart. An algae bloom has poisoned the previously pristine air that blows in from the sea. Inland, a secretive corporation churns out
“The Rambler” by Shen Dacheng, translated from the Chinese by Cara Healey (Clarkesworld, April 1) The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain (Restless Books, April 30) A perilous and fantastical satire of banned books, secret libraries, and the looming eye of an all-powerful government. Oracle
I joined Joachim Boaz over at Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations for a double-review of Kōbō Abe’s 1950 (tr. 1989) short story “The Flood.” Check it out here!
“De Profundis, a Space Love Letter” by Bella Han, translated from the Chinese by the author (Clarkesworld, October 1). Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama, translated from the Japanese by Jeffrey Angles (University of Minnesota Press, October 3). The first English translations of the original novellas about the iconic kaijū Godzilla. On the
NOVELS Kappa by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated from the Japanese by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda and Allison Markin Powell (New Directions, June 6) The Kappa is a creature from Japanese folklore known for dragging unwary toddlers to their deaths in rivers: a scaly, child-sized creature, looking something like a frog, but with a sharp, pointed beak and an
SHORT STORIES “To Helen” by Bella Han, translated from the Chinese by the author (Clarkesworld, June 1). “Matchstick Girl” by Lucas Santana, translated from the Portuguese by H. Pueyo (The Dark, June). NOVELS Kappa by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated from the Japanese by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda and Allison Markin Powell (New Directions, June 6) [reprint] Akutagawa’s Kappa
translated from the Japanese by Simon Varnum original edition (Japanese): 1983 translated edition: Kurodahan Press, 2018 grab a copy here or through your local independent bookstore or library Reading The Erinys Incident reminded me that I’m still quite upset about the publisher Kurodahan shutting down. For decades, Kurodahan gave us Anglophone readers a wonderful selection
COLLECTIONS 3 Streets by Yoko Tawada, translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani (New Directions, August 16) The always astonishing Yoko Tawada here takes a walk on the supernatural side of the street. In “Kollwitzstrasse,” as the narrator muses on former East Berlin’s new bourgeois health food stores, so popular with wealthy young people,
SHORT STORIES “Gamma” by Oskar Källner, translated from the Swedish by Gordon James Jones (Clarkesworld, May 1) “The Possibly Brief Life of Guang Hansheng” by Liang Qingsan, translated from the Chinese by Andy Dudak (Clarkesworld, May 1) NOVELS The Shining Sea by Suzuki Koji, translated from the Japanese by Brian
