Review: Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation

Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation by Ken Liu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ken Liu openly states in his introduction that these stories are selected based on his tastes. There is a variety of some known Chinese science fiction writers, and some new voices. Most of them were new to me as I'm woefully behind on books like the Three Body Problem, among others. There is also an earlier volume of Chinese science fiction in translation that is probably worth the read.

Not only are there stories in this anthology, but three essays about the current state of Chinese science fiction. I was fascinated to find out that contemporary acceptance of the genre in its home country is very recent, as the genre was widely disregarded up until just a few years ago (and I'm guessing not everyone is on board yet.)

There are some stories focusing on technology in this anthology, but honestly not as many as I would have expected if I'd had to guess. Many are time travel or have time travel components, or are taking a part of known Chinese history and tweaking it, falling almost to alternate history, although sometimes these elements are merely the backdrop. This means you will enjoy the stories even more if you know about Chinese history and aren't just reading them cold. One story had a connection to a well-loved British science fiction novel, a reference even I understood.

I did like how for the most part, these are not just copies or versions of stories from the west. These are inherently Chinese, and I'm so glad to see more of this type of work being translated into English.

Length wise I felt there were too many on the novelette length size, with different numbered sections. Ken Liu must like his stories a bit longer.

Thanks to the publisher for providing access to the title through Edelweiss, even though it took me a while to get to. The collection came out in February 2019.

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Review: The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees

The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Meredith was 5, her parents separated and she moved with her mother and brother to her maternal grandparents' home. Her grandfather the beekeeper introduces her to the world of honeybees. It is a comforting, rural memoir and bees have great metaphor potential that the author utilizes through her Grandpa's voice. Research on bees runs throughout with a somewhat sad epilogue combining her grandfather's aging with the bee crisis.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. It came out April 2, 2019.

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Review: The Sad Part Was

The Sad Part Was by Prabda Yoon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally back on my ASIA 2019 reading project, this book of short stories by Prabda Yoon (Thailand) plays with words in different ways (one story takes place completely inside one set of parentheses, in a sentence about picking a piece of paper off the floor.) Some of the writing reads a bit awkwardly but it's always hard to tell if that's translation or the original (one was a death story told in a weird tense that must have been difficult to translate!) Overall the stories are very modern and very urban (most are set in Bangkok.)

I like to support small presses like Tilted Axis but really disliked seeing the print from other pages through the page I was trying to read. They are very new and hopefully they will work it out.

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Review: The Cook

The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm going to join the chorus of perplexed readers who say this is not really a novel, but we don't know what to call it. It's a novella-length narration of a fictional chef's life, and while you get some peeks into his personality, there is not really much of a story, per se. Just descriptions of his work life as he moves from place to place. You can see he is gaining in knowledge, passion, and reputation, but you don't really get much farther. It's rather like a documentary film crew following a career, but with words.

I mean, I enjoyed it. But this is nowhere near the beauty and depth of the previous novel I so loved by this author, The Heart. This is a great example of descriptive writing but really that should be a component of something larger for readers to make any meaning of the details.

Thanks to the publisher for providing access to this title through Edelweiss. It came out March 26, 2019.

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Reading Envy 148: Multiple Lives with Jeff Koeppen

Jeff talks about visiting the actual place where his novels took place, and Jenny discovers Jeff has an entire shelf for a subgenre he's really into. Jenny experiences some weird moments while she's reading weird short stories, and they seem related. We discuss fascinating people and historical fantasy before we're through.

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 148: Multiple Lives with Jeff

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Books discussed:




The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Susan Bernofsky
After the Quake: Stories by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
Rocket Men by Robert Kurson
The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson


Other mentions:

Grassic Gibbon Centre
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Grey Granite by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Russian Doll (tv show)
The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett
Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore
Apollo 11 (film)
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson
The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction translated by Ken Liu
Mars by Asja Bakic
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Z by Therese Anne Fowler


Related Episodes:

Episode 090 - Reading Envy Readalong: East of Eden with Ellie and Jeff
Episode 093 - Spewing Science with Jeff Koeppen
Episode 099 - Reading Envy Readalong: The Secret History
Episode 116 - Make Margaret Atwood Fiction Again with Jeff Koeppen


Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Jeff at Goodreads
Jeff on Twitter
Jeff is @BestDogDad on Litsy

Reading Envy 147: Bonus Poetry Recommendations with Lauren

It's National Poetry Month, so Lauren and Jenny have recommendations for you. We will discuss some of our favorite poets, poets we are eager to hear more from, and recent excellent reads in poetry. We read excerpts from some of the collections, and include links to some longer works from others. Follow us during National Poetry Month to see what else we read!

Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 147: Bonus Poetry Recommendations with Lauren

Subscribe to the podcast via this link: Feedburner
Or subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: Subscribe
Or listen through TuneIn
Or listen on Google Play
Listen via Stitcher
Listen through Spotify


Books discussed:





Hands Washing Water by Chris Abani
Magical Negro by Morgan Parker
Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith
How to Love a Country: Poems by Richard Blanco
Citizen Illegal by Jose Olivarez
Halal if You Hear Me (Breakbeat Poets v. 3) edited by Safia Elhillo and Fatimah Asghar
Microfictions by Ana Maria Shua
Poems of the Night by Jorge Luis Borges
Archive: South Carolina Poetry Since 2005 (Ninety-Six Press
river woman by Katherena Vermette
Library of Small Catastrophes by Alison Rollins


Other mentions:

William Butler Yeats
The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker
Sara Teasdale
Mary Oliver
Mark Strand
T.S. Eliot
Adebe D.A.
Ed Madden
Claudia Rankine
Tracy K, Smith
Billy Collins
Naomi Shihab Nye
Wislawa Szymborska
Anna Journey
Kaveh Akbar
Hieu Minh Nguyen
Ocean Vuong
Chen Chen
Jose Olivarez
Analicia Sotelo
Safia Elhillo
Danez Smith
Natalie Diaz
Political / Socal erasure poetry booming with governmental documents, etc.
Sibling Rivalry Press
Copper Canyon Press
Graywolf
Milkweed
Ugly Duckling Press
Coffee House
Haymarket
Sanctificum by Chris Abani
There are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce by Morgan Parker
Recent reading with Morgan Parker and Danez Smith
The January Children by Safia Elhillo
If They Come for Us by Fatimah Asghar
Warsan Shire
Registers of Illuminated Villages by Tarfia Faizullah
On Longing" by Zaina Alsous
South Carolina Poetry Archives
Emily Rosko
“Object Permanence” by Alison Rollins
“Original [sin]” by Alison Rollins<


Related Episodes:

Episode 097 - Blank Spaces with Lauren Weinhold
Episode 123 - Godlets and Forests with Lauren Weinhold
Episode 133 - To Understand the World with Lauren Weinhold
Episode 138 - Shared Landscape with Lauren Weinhold 


Stalk us online:
Lauren at Goodreads
Lauren is @end.notes on Instagram
Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy 

Books Read March 2019: 51-82

Pictured: Some of this month's 5-star reviews

51. Less by Andrew Sean Greer ** (personal copy; my review)
52. Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl ***** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
53. I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson *** (personal copy; my review)
54. Love Letters to Jane's World by Paige Braddock **** (personal copy; my review)
55. Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn **** (personal digital copy; my review)
56. A Duke By Default by Alyssa Cole *** (Hoopla audiobook; my review)
57. The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone **** (library eBook; my review)
58. After the Quake by Haruki Murakami **** (library book; my review)
59. Elevation by Steven King *** (library book; my review)
60. Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi **** (personal digital copy; my review)
61. Golden Child by Claire Adam *** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
62. The Lost Man by Jane Harper **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
63. The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
64. No Walls and the Recurring Dream by Ani DiFranco *** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
65. The Wrong End of the Table by Ayser Salman **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
66. Heavy Vinyl, Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin **** (Hoopla eBook; my review)
67. Backstagers, Vol. 1 by James Tinion IV **** (Hoopla eBook; my review)
68. Transcendent 3 by Bogi Takacs **** (digital review copy; my review)
69. Halal if You Hear Me edited by Safia Elhillo and Fatimah Asghar ***** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
70. Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James ** (eARC from NetGalley; my review)
71. Lord by Noll Joao Gilberto, translated by Garbelotto Edgar **** (personal copy; my review)
72. Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid **** (personal digital copy; my review)
73. The Pisces by Melissa Broder **** (personal audiobook; my review)
74. Archive: South Poetry Since 2005 edited by Jeffrey Makala, Gil Allen, eds. ***** (interlibrary loan; my review)
75. Nothing is Okay by Rachel Wiley **** (personal copy; my review)
76. Immediate Song by Don Bogen **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
77. Library of Small Catastrophes by Alison C. Rollins ***** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
78. How to Love a Country by Richard Blanco **** (eARC from Edelweiss; my review)
79. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite **** (personal audiobook; my review)
80. The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, S.L. Huang, Rivers Solomon ***** (digital review copy; my review)
81. The Deeper the Water, the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina ***** (review copy; my review)
82. Monsoon Mansion by Cinelle Barnes **** (personal eBook; my review)