November GeoCAT: East Asia

Like many regions, East Asia is not precisely defined. The “small” version includes countries influenced by Chinese culture in some way, as in philosophy, religion, writing. These are: The People’s Republic of China with its recently returned regions of Macao and Hong Kong, Japan, North and South Korea, and of course Taiwan.
In a wider sense, you could also count Mongolia and the Far Eastern province of Russia as parts of East Asia.

It’s a region with a long written history and a rich literary heritage. The great classics such as Journey to the West aka The Monkey King, Water Margin, or Dream of the Red Chamber are big books and possibly too long for a single month. But don’t let me dissuade you!

Some authors widely known (and available in translation) are:
China Mo Yan, Lao She, Ba Jin, Jin Yong
Japan Sei Shonagon, Murasaki Shikibu, Kawabata Yasunari, ibuse Masuji, Oe Kenzaburo, Mishima Yukio
Korea Han Kang, Yi Mun-yol, Ko Un, Eun Hee-kyung

There’s also a large number of authors of East Asian descent living in the West and writing in other languages about their culture and civilisation: Han Suyin, Amy Tan, Jung Chang, Qiu Xiaolong, Dai Sijie, Shan Sa, Min Jin Lee.

Another option is to explore the world of Japanese Manga.

Of course, you can always choose a book set in one of these countries!

So what’s your choice? Remember to put it in the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/GeoCAT_2023#November:_East_Asia_.28

edited to correct the touchstone for Journey to the West.

I think I'm going to be reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I adore his work, and this is one I haven't yet gotten around to.

I'm planning on reading 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

If I have time (or need another short book before the end of the month), I've also got Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata on my kobo so may also get to that.

I'm considering Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck.

I'm considering Romancing the East by Jerry Hopkins about how Asia has been portrayed in European literature

I think I will read The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag which is an autobiography of growing up as a nomadic Mongolian.

>6 Tess_W: I enjoyed that one, the first part of a trilogy that I always meant to complete.

I'll be reading one - or maybe both of these:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, which was recommended by DeltaQueen50 and others.
The Red Pole of Macau by Ian Hamilton that has been on the shelf for much too long.

I am planning on reading The Red Palace by June Hur. Set in Korea, this is a historical mystery.

>7 VivienneR: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is one of my all time favs!

I have been meaning to get to Strange Weather in Tokyo for a while.

I'm going with The Poppy War

I'm going to read When I Whistle by Shusako Endo.

I've read Babel by R. F. Kuang, who was born in China. One of its themes is the Opium Wars. So I'm temporarily counting it for China in case I don't manage to read When I Whistle}, which I've borrowed from the Open Library. Sometimes things fall apart with OL books.

Starting the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu from China.

COMPLETED the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

I read Four Seasons In Japan by Nick Bradley. Although not Japanese, the author has totally captured the essence of Japan and Japanese books.
I was interested to read that his PhD focused on the figure of the cat in Japanese literature, something that I am also fascinated by. Why are there always cats in Japanese books?

Voting for the 2024 CATs is now happening at https://www.librarything.com/topic/354675#8274629! Voting will take place until Thursday, November 9, at 6:30 p.m. EST, at which time the votes will be counted and the 2024 CATs officially chosen. So stop by and vote for your favorites!

(Cross-posting to a bunch of threads to reach as many people as possible.)

I tried, but Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is not for me. I couldn't bear reading about the torture of young children with the mistaken idea that it will make them more beautiful. Foot-binding - it sounds almost innocuous (I remember very well what I suffered when I took ballet) - but reading the details is absolutely horrendous. I know that there was more to See's book but there is no way I will ever find out what it was.

I'm just finishing Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss that also has some abuse of a child, for a different reason, but no less disgusting. The worst is over in Moss's book but I've no intention of going through any more cruelty to children.

I ended up reading After Dark by Haruki Murakami, and adored it. I'd forgotten just how much I love his prose, and will make a point of reading more of his work in the new year.

I just started Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, who was born in China.

I read Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly.
A gripping story but there were a few times when Harry Bosch needed to stop and think of what he was doing, like flashing his money around in Hong Kong like he's a tourist.

I have finished Das Reispflanzerlied, about a small village in China just after land reform. The peasants are still starving.

I finished Iron Widow. It was really good! Recommended for fans of giant mecha stories and women protagonists who don't let anyone tell them what to do.

I finished Invisible Planets translated by Ken Liu which is a collection of Chinese science fiction stories. This was a pretty good collection, more good stories than bad in my opinion. Favorites were by Cixin Liu and Jia Xia.

>24 staci426: wishlisted

The December thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/355217

I just finished Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, which is set in Tokyo.

>27 christina_reads: I love that series

>28 Robertgreaves: It's not my usual type of read, but I definitely enjoyed it!

I just finished The Poppy War and found it gratifying. Definitely recommend!

I've finished 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei and definitely recommend it. An extraordinary memoir of two extraordinary lives.

I did read Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck. The author creates a phenomenally vivid portrait of life in a wealthy family's compound in pre-revolutionary China.

I have completed my read of The Red Palace by June Hur. This historical mystery is set in 18th century Korea and was a very good read.

I have finished Verdächtige Geliebte, a Japanese mystery featuring a duel of minds between a physicist and a mathematician.

I also read a Japanese mystery, Malice by Keigo Higashino. This was interesting in that we discovered who the murderer was early on, and then spent most of the book trying to figure out the motive.

Starting Kamusari Tales Told At Night by Shion Miura (Japan).

COMPLETED Kamusari Tales Told At Night by Shion Miura, a coming of age story set in rural Japan

I have finished Null-Null-Siebzig Mord in Hangzhou, where a retired British agent solves a case of food tampering. The plot was too thin and too obvious, but the author has a degree in Chinese studies, so she got at least her location right.

I finished A Man and His Cat, Volume 1 by Umi Sakurai. This is an adorable manga set in Japan about a widower who adopts an unloved cat.