Article by Matt S. China, as one of the oldest continuous cultures and nations on the planet, has a long and deep literary history. Some of its greatest masterpieces were written well before Europeans invaded places like America and Australia and re-drew the maps to suit their colonial expansion. Across…
Read MoreBook review by Matt S. Nakamura Fuminori rocketed to international literary superstardom with The Thief, and with very good reason. This book is a masterpiece. In general terms, it’s a crime thriller, but that’s underselling and simplifying it. Combining the dense reflection on the human condition of something with a…
Read MoreBook review by Matt S. Published a little over a decade ago (2008), Minato Kanae’s Confessions was the book that immediately established her as one of Japan’s pre-eminent crime fiction writers. Like many of the best modern crime fiction works, Confessions isn’t so interested in figuring out whodunnit – that’s…
Read MoreLiterature by Matt S. Kirino Natsuo is one of the most important figures in modern Japanese literature – right up there with Murakami. Kirino’s writing isn’t exactly pleasant to read, and you’ll walk away from Grotesque feeling more than a little deflated, but the way she structures her writing, and…
Read MoreReview by Harvard L. Colin Thiele’s Storm Boy is a book taught in primary schools across Australia. It’s a touching story of a boy living with his reclusive father on the wild South Australian coastline, and his interactions with the natural environment. I have fond memories of this story as…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. We’ve seen plenty of stories in the past about kids hurling themselves into fantastic adventures in “other worlds.” There’s the obvious examples, such as Alice in Wonderland and The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, but it’s a common enough theme that it probably deserves a…
Read More