A new collection of stories from the cult author of Terminal Boredom. Izumi Suzuki had ideas about doing things differently, ideas that paid little attention to the laws of physics, or the laws of the land. In this new collection, her skewed imagination distorts and enhances some of the classic concepts of science fiction and fantasy. A philandering husband receives a bestial punishment from a wife with her own secrets to keep; a music lover finds herself in a timeline both familiar and as wrong as can be; idle high school students find adventure in another dimension but aren't all that impressed; a misfit band of space pirates discover a mysterious baby among the stars; Emma, the Bovary-like character from one of Suzuki's stories in Terminal Boredom, lands herself in a bizarre romantic pickle. Wryly anarchic and deeply imaginative, Suzuki was a writer like no other. These eleven stories offer readers the opportunity to delve deeper in this singular writer's work.

Crystal Boys is the first Chinese novel on gay themes. A-qing, the adolescent hero, comes from an impoverished family. His father casts him out after learning that his son is gay. A-qing drifts into New Park, a gay hangout in Taipei, and begins his life as a hustler. He meets other boys living on the street, also forsaken by their families: Little Jade, who is constantly searching for his unknown father; Mousey, an orphan and petty thief; and Wu Min, a shy tender kid, who attempts suicide when discarded by a middle-aged man. These four boys become fast friends and are taken under the protection of Chief Yang, a fiftyish gay guru in the Park. The boys begin to build a family of their own. Meanwhile, A-qing meets Dragon Prince, whose passionate and faithful love for Phoenix Boy has become a legend of the Park... The second part of the novel deals with the Cozy Nest, a gay bar run by Chief Yang, where the boys and other homosexual exiles have found refuge. The bar is sponsored by Papa Fu, whose young soldier son had shot himself when his homosexuality was exposed. In Taiwan, the gay community is known as the buoliquan, literally "glass community," while the individuals are called "glass boys" or "Crystal Boys." Crystal Boys was first published in Taiwan and has since appeared in Hong Kong and in mainland China: two editions (Beijing and Harbin) were published in 1987. A film, Outcasts, based on the novel and directed by Yu Kan-Ping (1986) is currently available in the United States on video cassette (subtitled).

A new collection of stories from the cult author of Terminal Boredom. Izumi Suzuki had ideas about doing things differently, ideas that paid little attention to the laws of physics, or the laws of the land. In this new collection, her skewed imagination distorts and enhances some of the classic concepts of science fiction and fantasy. A philandering husband receives a bestial punishment from a wife with her own secrets to keep; a music lover finds herself in a timeline both familiar and as wrong as can be; idle high school students find adventure in another dimension but aren't all that impressed; a misfit band of space pirates discover a mysterious baby among the stars; Emma, the Bovary-like character from one of Suzuki's stories in Terminal Boredom, lands herself in a bizarre romantic pickle. Wryly anarchic and deeply imaginative, Suzuki was a writer like no other. These eleven stories offer readers the opportunity to delve deeper in this singular writer's work.

Fire speaks in song. At the tender age of sixteen, Aeronwy Silverdream married the spirit of the great volcano, Mount Cináed. But the mantle of Flamekeeper is a heavy one, and the cult known as the Fellowship of the Ardent is an unkind place to grow up for an autistic child. It’s only when Aeronwy runs away to the modern capital of Caspora City and the Eternal Library that e finds freedom to be emself—with the help of new friends Siobhan, Inyene, and especially Mairead Moonsea.Years later, Aeronwy becomes apprenticed to Illuminator Catrina Rosefall, a quirky artist and former circus actor who is determined to help Aeronwy face eir past. Their personalities couldn’t be more different, but friction starts fires, and isn’t fire what Aeronwy needs the most right now? Throw in an ancestor spirit with an unfinished story, confusion over what "romance" really means, and an increasingly toxic best-friendship, and what started as a spark threatens to blaze out of control.Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin, and death is necessary in order to be reborn. As the Flame of Ashes, Aeronwy knows this, but after a life of lies and deception, how does one relearn how to recognize the truth?For readers who - Found family- Entirely queer cast of characters, including many aro & ace-spectrum- Autistic narrator & AuDHD love interest- Queernorm society- Two aro-spectrum leads figuring out their romance- Polyamory and neopronouns- Magical art, writing, & traditional crafting- Fantasy 1980s setting- Intergenerational mentor/student friendship- Trauma healing- BIG LIBRARY

Shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 for English Fiction A young girl’s ambitions prompt dark stirrings in her nature. A father reckons with a lifetime of dysfunctional family relations. A foreign worker is cut adrift on a raft of shattered dreams. In the title story “Moth”, a condemned woman reclaims her broken dignity. In a collection that resonates with life’s poignance, humour and irony, Leonora Liow explores the private universe of individuals navigating the arcane waters of human existence and masterfully illuminates the extraordinary humanity that endures.

Shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 for English Fiction A young girl’s ambitions prompt dark stirrings in her nature. A father reckons with a lifetime of dysfunctional family relations. A foreign worker is cut adrift on a raft of shattered dreams. In the title story “Moth”, a condemned woman reclaims her broken dignity. In a collection that resonates with life’s poignance, humour and irony, Leonora Liow explores the private universe of individuals navigating the arcane waters of human existence and masterfully illuminates the extraordinary humanity that endures.

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.

A spellbinding story about two girls whose friendship is so intense it not only threatens to destroy them, it changes the trajectory of history. Marie Antoine is the charismatic, spoiled daughter of a sugar baron. At 12 years old, with her blond curls and her unparalleled sense of whimsey, she's the leader of all the children in the Golden Mile, an affluent strip of 19th century Montreal. Until one day in 1873, when Sadie Arnett, dark-haired, sly, and brilliant, moves to the neighborhood. Marie and Sadie are immediately united by their passion and intensity, and they attract and repel each other in ways that light each of them on fire. Marie with her bubbly charm sees the light and sweetness of the world, whereas Sadie's obsession with darkness is all consuming. Soon their childlike games take on a thrill of danger and then become deadly. Forced to separate, they spend their teenage years engaged in acts of alternating innocence and depravity--until a singular event unites them once more, with dizzying effects. And after Marie inherits her father's sugar empire and Sadie disappears into the city's gritty underworld, a revolution of the working class begins to foment. Each of them will have unexpected roles to play in events that upend their city--the only question is whether they will find each other once more. Traveling from a repressive finishing school to a vibrant brothel, taking readers firsthand into the brutality of factory life and the opulent lives of Montreal's wealthy, When We Lost Our Heads dazzlingly explores gender and power, sex and desire, class and status, and the terrifying power of the human heart when it can't let someone go.

Fire speaks in song. At the tender age of sixteen, Aeronwy Silverdream married the spirit of the great volcano, Mount Cináed. But the mantle of Flamekeeper is a heavy one, and the cult known as the Fellowship of the Ardent is an unkind place to grow up for an autistic child. It’s only when Aeronwy runs away to the modern capital of Caspora City and the Eternal Library that e finds freedom to be emself—with the help of new friends Siobhan, Inyene, and especially Mairead Moonsea.Years later, Aeronwy becomes apprenticed to Illuminator Catrina Rosefall, a quirky artist and former circus actor who is determined to help Aeronwy face eir past. Their personalities couldn’t be more different, but friction starts fires, and isn’t fire what Aeronwy needs the most right now? Throw in an ancestor spirit with an unfinished story, confusion over what "romance" really means, and an increasingly toxic best-friendship, and what started as a spark threatens to blaze out of control.Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin, and death is necessary in order to be reborn. As the Flame of Ashes, Aeronwy knows this, but after a life of lies and deception, how does one relearn how to recognize the truth?For readers who - Found family- Entirely queer cast of characters, including many aro & ace-spectrum- Autistic narrator & AuDHD love interest- Queernorm society- Two aro-spectrum leads figuring out their romance- Polyamory and neopronouns- Magical art, writing, & traditional crafting- Fantasy 1980s setting- Intergenerational mentor/student friendship- Trauma healing- BIG LIBRARY