The Heart of the Nhaga

Lee Young-do

Welcome to Lee Young-do’s epic classic series, The Bird That Drinks Tears. The master of Korean fantasy—often cited as the J.R.R. Tolkien of South Korea—Lee Young-do has created a tale of castles built on the backs of flying mantas, giant birdmen, heartless immortals, and a quest that will change the very nature of the world and its gods, available for the first time in English by award-winning translator Anton Hur. Three handles one. The world is divided by the Line of Limit. To the north are the Tokkebi—fire people able to manipulate flames as both weapons and illusions; Rekon—giant birdmen with immense strength and warrior acumen; and the humans—as divided as the other races are unified. To the south are the Nhaga—a reptilian people who relinquish their hearts for immortality. For centuries, the races didn’t cross that line, but change is in the air. A Nhaga is being sent North…and a trio is being dispatched to make sure this agent from the South makes it out alive—one from each race. But the illusion of a simple journey is quickly dispelled by the fact that the Tokkebi is merely a scholar, not an adventurer; the Rekon is deathly afraid of water; and the human hunts and eats Nhaga. And when the Nhaga they’re supposed to be escorting out of the Kiboren forest is murdered, the one sent in his place turns out to very much have a heart—meaning he’s quite vulnerable to the dangerous exodus. The four must quickly forge an alliance and shed the distrust and prejudice that plagues them if they are to survive. And just as crucial, they must figure out what this mission is actually about, because unbeknownst to them, the very fate of the world might rest on this one Nhaga making it to the North intact. A classic not to be missed, The Heart of the Nhaga is epic fantasy at its best, translated into English for the first time ever by award-winning translator Anton Hur.

set status

Kawin-kawin

Azizi Abdullah

Kahwin. Bahagian hidup yang utama. Utama demi mencapai segala maksud, memaknakan segala cita-cita. Kerana kahwin fitrah kehidupan, ia biasa dipandu nafsu. Nafsu mahu mengongsi, memiliki dan menguasai, yang kadang-kadang terpaksa merebuti dan menjuarai. Kawin-kawin ada cerita : kejamnya kawin paksa , sakitnya kawin tak jadi seksanya kawin tak merasa Kawin-kawin kisah orang kawin mut?h, kawin pakai kontrak Kawin-kawin kisah orang kawin mahu tegakkan syariat Kawin-kawin penuh tafsiran tentang perlumbaan, penguasaan, percekcokan, kejujuran, keimanan.

set status

Those Who Prepare the Way

Lee Young-do

In the breathtaking sequel to Lee Young-do’s acclaimed fantasy series that started with The Heart of the Nhaga, an unlikely leader must bridge the divide between duty and destiny. Available for the first time in English by award-winning translator Anton Hur. In a world teetering on the brink of another devastating war, old hatreds run deep. The northern lands live in the shadow of the Nhaga, a powerful race from the south, whose ambition threatens to once again plunge the world into chaos. To stop them, an ancient prophecy must be fulfilled, and a new leader must rise—one who can unite the fractured kingdoms against a common enemy. When a young Nhaga warrior is reluctantly thrust into a position of leadership, a perilous journey begins. The warrior, along with a grizzled pathfinder haunted by his past and a band of misfits, must navigate a realm of political intrigue, mythical beasts, and warring gods. They are pursued by relentless assassins and confronted by a conspiracy so vast it could shatter the foundations of their world. To survive, they must forge new alliances and confront the ghosts of their memories. An unforgettable epic fantasy, Those Who Prepare the Way is brilliantly translated into English for the first time ever by award-winning translator Anton Hur.

set status

The Heart of the Nhaga

Lee Young-do

Welcome to Lee Young-do’s epic classic series, The Bird That Drinks Tears. The master of Korean fantasy—often cited as the J.R.R. Tolkien of South Korea—Lee Young-do has created a tale of castles built on the backs of flying mantas, giant birdmen, heartless immortals, and a quest that will change the very nature of the world and its gods, available for the first time in English by award-winning translator Anton Hur. Three handles one. The world is divided by the Line of Limit. To the north are the Tokkebi—fire people able to manipulate flames as both weapons and illusions; Rekon—giant birdmen with immense strength and warrior acumen; and the humans—as divided as the other races are unified. To the south are the Nhaga—a reptilian people who relinquish their hearts for immortality. For centuries, the races didn’t cross that line, but change is in the air. A Nhaga is being sent North…and a trio is being dispatched to make sure this agent from the South makes it out alive—one from each race. But the illusion of a simple journey is quickly dispelled by the fact that the Tokkebi is merely a scholar, not an adventurer; the Rekon is deathly afraid of water; and the human hunts and eats Nhaga. And when the Nhaga they’re supposed to be escorting out of the Kiboren forest is murdered, the one sent in his place turns out to very much have a heart—meaning he’s quite vulnerable to the dangerous exodus. The four must quickly forge an alliance and shed the distrust and prejudice that plagues them if they are to survive. And just as crucial, they must figure out what this mission is actually about, because unbeknownst to them, the very fate of the world might rest on this one Nhaga making it to the North intact. A classic not to be missed, The Heart of the Nhaga is epic fantasy at its best, translated into English for the first time ever by award-winning translator Anton Hur.

set status

Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books

Hwang Bo-Reum

From the internationally bestselling author of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop comes a warm and reflective collection of essays inviting us to reflect on our relationship with reading. Why do we read? What is it that we hope to take away from the intimate, personal experience of reading for pleasure? Rarely do we ask these profound, expansive questions of ourselves and of our relationship to the joy of reading. In each of the essays in Every Day I Read, Hwang Bo-reum contemplates what living a life immersed in reading means. She goes beyond the usual questions of what to read and how often, exploring the relationship between reading and writing, when to turn to a bestseller vs. browse the corners of a bookstore, the value of reading outside of your favorite genre, falling in love with book characters, and more. Every Day I Read provides many quiet moments for introspection and reflection, encouraging book-lovers to explore what reading means to each of us. While this is a book about books, at its heart is an attitude to life, one outside capitalism and climbing the corporate ladder. Lifelong and new readers will take away something from it, including a treasure trove of book recommendations blended seamlessly within.

set status

I Who Have Never Known Men

Jacqueline Harpman

‘For a very long time, the days went by, each just like the day before, then I began to think, and everything changed’ Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground. Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman’s modern classic is an important addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.

set status

The Book of Sana'a : A City in Short Fiction (Reading the City)

Abdoo Taj

Edited by Laura KasinofA man accidentally swept along by a street protest finds himself tasered, arrested and subjected to days of torture by the police, simply because he tried to cross the road... Following the disappearance of her father, a teenage girl is forced to support her impoverished family by disguising herself as a boy, losing both her childhood and her identity in the process... On the day after a perfect wedding, a groom can’t work out why all his relatives are gathered outside his bedroom dressed in mourning clothes... The stories in this anthology demonstrate the myriad ways that war and oppressive regimes have touched the lives of ordinary Yemenis. Whether it’s the decade-long war between the Ansarallah (a.k.a. ‘Houthi’) movement and the Yemeni government (played out as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia), or the oppression of President Saleh’s previous regime, or earlier civil conflicts... No one is safe. Each character learns to navigate through trauma, finding redemption in their own ingenuity as well as in a deep-rooted appreciation for what remains a beautiful, inspiring city. Translated Maisa Almanasreh, Raph Cormack, Basma Ghalayini, Mohammed Ghalayini, Christiaan James, Laura Kasinof, Talei Lakeland, Andrew Leber, Majd Abu Shawish, and Katherine Van de Vate.

set status

The Trial of Anna Thalberg

Eduardo Sangarcía

Does evil lurk in the shadows of the forest, or in the human heart? Eduardo Sangarcía’s tale of one woman’s witch trial opens the door to deeper horrors. Anna Thalberg is a peasant woman shunned for her red hair and provocative beauty. When she is dragged from her home and accused of witchcraft, her neighbors do not intervene. Only Klaus, Anna’s husband, and Father Friedrich, a priest experiencing a crisis of faith, set out to the city of Würzburg to prove her innocence. There, Anna faces isolation and torture inside the prison tower, while the populace grows anxious over strange happenings within the city walls. Can Klaus and Friedrich convince the church to release Anna, or will she burn at the stake? Set in the Holy Roman Empire during the Protestant Reformation, The Trial of Anna Thalberg is a story of religious persecution, superstition, and human suffering. While exploring the medieval fear of witches and demons, it delves into enduring human concerns: the historical oppression of women, the inhumanity of institutions, and the existence of God. Frantic in pace and experimental in form, this is an unforgettable debut from Mexican author Eduardo Sangarcía.

set status

Behind Five Willows

June Hur

From the New York Times-bestselling author of A Crane Among Wolves comes a warm and romantic homage to Jane Austen set in historical Korea, about a reader and a writer who secretly fight against government book banning and find themselves irresistibly drawn together. As the dutiful second-eldest daughter of a poor family, society would have Haewon believe that her only hope of a decent life is to marry well. But during a time of rampant government censorship and book banning, she instead works as an illegal book transcriber in order to make a little extra money. It’s dangerous work, but she loves it―especially when she gets to transcribe the work of her favorite author, known as Black Lotus. When her older sister becomes smitten with a wealthy young gentleman, Haewon is roped into chaperoning them during their courtship. Which wouldn’t be so terrible... if it weren’t for the young man’s uptight and annoying best friend who also accompanies them. As the only son of a noble, Seojun has a lot expected of him. Wealth. Status. Respectability. Certainly not frivolous and often illicit activities such as reading fiction. But Seojun loves to do something even more scandalous: writing. He’s kept his work secret from his father and friends, but with each passing day, the pressure of being his father’s son and the dispiriting actions of the government make Seojun question the purpose of it all. The only thing keeping him going are the encouraging letters he receives from his transcriber, known only as Magpie. When his best friend falls hard for a girl of lower social status, Seojun finds himself forced to act as chaperone to the infatuated couple―along with the girl's younger sister, who is as irritating as she is judgmental. But as Haewon and Seojun spend more time together, they begin to suspect they may have judged each other too quickly...

set status

Babel

R.F. Kuang

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell in this unforgettable work of dark academia that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire. Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. The unique magic system of silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, a secret society dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide… Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

set status

The Fate of a Man and Early Stories

Mikhail Sholokhov

There is restraint and a trace of sadness in the way Mikhail Sholokov begins his story, as if to warn the reader that it is not an easy tale he has to tell. One postwar spring the author met a tall man with stooping shoulders and big rugged hands. And perhaps for the first and last time soldier Andrei Sokolov told a chance acquaintance the story of his life, told how he endured tortures and sufferings that would have broken many a man of weaker nature... But Sokolov's torn and wounded heart is still eager for life and eager to share life with his little Vanya, orphaned by the war like himself. Sholokov's The Fate of a Man ends on a stern note. Yet as one closes the book one believes that Andrei Sokolov will give all the strength of his generous Russian soul to his adopted son and that the boy will grow at his father's side into another man who can overcome any obstacle if his country calls upon him to do so.

set status

A Nervous Breakdown

Anton Chekhov

"I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!" From the supreme artist of the short story, three disturbing tales of supernatural hallucinations, hysterical obsession and moral decay.

set status

The Master and Margarita

Mikhail Bulgakov

The first complete, annotated English Translation of Mikhail Bulgakov's comic masterpiece. An audacious revision of the stories of Faust and Pontius Pilate, The Master and Margarita is recognized as one of the essential classics of modern Russian literature. The novel's vision of Soviet life in the 1930s is so ferociously accurate that it could not be published during its author's lifetime and appeared only in a censored edition in the 1960s. Its truths are so enduring that its language has become part of the common Russian speech. One hot spring, the devil arrives in Moscow, accompanied by a retinue that includes a beautiful naked witch and an immense talking black cat with a fondness for chess and vodka. The visitors quickly wreak havoc in a city that refuses to believe in either God or Satan. But they also bring peace to two unhappy Muscovites: one is the Master, a writer pilloried for daring to write a novel about Christ and Pontius Pilate; the other is Margarita, who loves the Master so deeply that she is willing literally to go to hell for him. What ensues is a novel of inexhaustible energy, humor, and philosophical depth, a work whose nuances emerge for the first time in Diana Burgin's and Katherine Tiernan O'Connor's splendid English version.

set status

The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women

Shahed Ezaydi

An astounding insight into how white feminism is intertwined with Islamophobia, and why Muslim women are so often left out of the conversation. Growing up, journalist Shahed Ezaydi was asked how she could possibly call herself a feminist if she also practised her faith. By treating Muslim women as invisible and excluding them from feminist spaces, or hyper-visible with an obsession of ‘saving’ them, we are perpetuating gendered Islamophobia and white feminism. But Muslim women don’t need to be saved, and religion is not the only form of oppression. The Othered Woman is the book Ezaydi wishes her younger self could have turned to, to dispel the myths of how Muslim women are oppressed and who by. It shows that these myths translate into very real harm at state level in the UK and globally, and showcases the many intersectional feminists fighting for liberation in their own way. Accessible and compelling, this is urgent reading for anyone who considers themselves a feminist.

set status

The Passengers on the Hankyu Line

Hiro Arikawa

Famously scenic, the Hankyu commuter train trundles daily through Japanese landscape unaware of the heartaches of the passengers it carries. On the outward journey we are introduced to the emotional dilemmas of five characters as we puzzle out how they will unravel; on the return journey six months later, we watch them resolve: - a young man meets the young woman, who always happens to borrow a library book just before he can take it out himself - a woman in a white bridal dress boards looking inexplicably sad - a university student leaves his hometown for the first time - a girl prepares to leave her abusive boyfriend; - an old lady discusses adopting a dog with her granddaughter. As the seasons come around, so the Hankyu line trundles on carrying the lives and loves of its passengers ever forwards.

set status