Bamboo Trilogy / Ann Bennett

UK-based Ann Bennett’s newly-published Bamboo Road is part of a Second World War trilogy of historical novels set in Southeast Asia. Her trilogy can be read in any order and includes her earlier titles Bamboo Heart and Bamboo Island. Here Ann explains what inspired her to write a trio of linked, standalone stories.

Newly published: The Kingdom of Women by Choo Waihong

The Mosuo tribe is the last surviving matrilineal and matriarchal society in the world. Choo Waihong brings their story to light in The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China’s Hidden Mountains.

Lion City lit notes / SingPoWriMo starts tomorrow

Asian Books Blog is based in Singapore. Our regular column Lion City Lit explores in-depth what’s going on in the City-State, lit-wise. Lion City lit notes provide quick updates between columns. By Lucia Damacela

Six images: The Ramayana

The Ramayana, traditionally ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki, is an ancient Sanskrit poem. It tells of  Prince Rama’s banishment from his kingdom by his father; his travels and adventures in forests across India with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana;  Sita’s kidnap by Ravana, the demon king; Rama’s struggles  to rescue Sita.

The characters Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, an emperor, Hanuman, the monkey god,  and Ravana are known throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and south-east Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Versions of the Ramayana are found in Khmer, Bahasa Indonesia, Malaysian, Tagalog, Thai, Lao, and Burmese, as well as in Indian languages.

Pirated books recovered from a book binding unit / printing press in Lahore

In a recent raid carried out at a book binding unit / printing press in Lahore around 17,500 pirated copies of Oxford University Press (OUP) textbooks were seized. The raid was conducted by the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) Lahore in conjunction with OUP Pakistan. The unit / press was allegedly involved in the printing of around 10,000 unbound; 2,200 finished; and 5,000 jackets of pirated versions of OUP textbooks including New Oxford Modern English, New Countdown Maths, New Oxford Primary Science, New Syllabus Primary Mathematics, and New Oxford Progressive English Readers.   

William L. Gibson on trilogies

William L. Gibson is the author of Singapore Black, Singapore Yellow and Singapore Red, which together form the Detective Hawksworth Trilogy, hardboiled historical thrillers set in late 19^th Century Malaya and Singapore. Gibson says he always wanted to write a trilogy, and he here explains why he decided the three-novel format “would be the best way to tell the story I wanted to tell.”

The Explosion Chronicles by Yan Lianke longlisted for 2017 Man Booker International Prize

The Explosion Chronicles by Yan Lianke, translated by Carlos Rojas, published by Chatto & Windus, has been long listed for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize - see previous post for more on the prize.