ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE - OCTOBER 2022 - INDO-CHINA & THE COUNTRIES SURROUNDING THE RED DRAGON

OCTOBER 2022 - INDO CHINA PLUS INDO CHINA & OTHER COUNTRIES NEIGHBOURING CHINA

I have slightly expanded this section as - if I merely concentrate on Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand there may be few takers and some difficulty in finding readily available options. Therefore I have added other countries neighbouring China (and not included elsewhere) which adds Mongolia, Nepal, Burma/Myanmar and Bhutan (not that I can find much) into the equation.

Some Choices :

Mongolia

The Blue Sky by Galsang Tscinag
Mongol by Uuganaa Ramsey

Nepal
Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay
The Land Where I Flee by Prajwal Parajuly (Indian but has a Nepali mother and writes about Nepal)
Mountains Painted With Turmeric by Lil Bahadur Chettri

Burma
The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U
From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe
The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone
Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi

Bhutan
The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden

Vietnam
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong
The Lotus and the Storm by Lan Cao
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

There are also numerous writers now based in North America and Australia such as Kim Thuy, Ocean Vuong and Nguyen Thanh Viet who can be read here or in December.

Cambodia
First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
Cambodia in My Dream by Santel Phin

Laos
Mother's Beloved by Outhine Bounyavong

Thailand
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth by Veeraporn Nitiprapha
The Judgment by Chat Kopchitti
The Sad Part Was by Prabda Yoon
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap

WHAT I WILL READ?

The Blue Sky by Galsang Tschinag

I'm planning on reading Letters from Burma and The Mountains Sing this month.

Fun fact: I got the one and only copy of Letters from Burma in my library system and I'm the first person to check it out in 7 years. I was shocked it wasn't weeded.

Joining along at Ten Months with The River of Lost Footsteps.

I have two possibilites
Bangkok Wakes to Rain

The Mountains Sing

I'm in for The Book of Salt

I'm starting Novel Without a Name by Duong Thu Huong. I also own unread From the Land of Green Ghosts, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, and Memories of a Pure Spring. I've had The blue sky by Chinagiĭn Galsan on my wishlist forever. Since I read several Vietnamese books last year, I hope to branch out a bit, so I may need to use interlibrary loan.

I'm currently reading The Mountains Sing, but also hope to read The Book of Salt and The Sympathizer if I have time.

>3 bell7: >4 m.belljackson: >5 Kristelh: >6 jessibud2: >7 labfs39: & >8 AnneDC: - Some great choices there and I have plenty of those on the shelves but I am only certain to read the one and it will be The Blue Sky.

I will have a light contribution with this month challenge, as I have only one book planned: La Fin du chant (title in German: Das Ende des Liedes) by Galsan Tschinag. This one does not seem to have been translated into English, but I'm glad other titles are available in English.

I was in love with the blue sky, Its a gentle and humorous story of a young boy from Mongolia, and love how the story tells of the culture and lore as he grows. And then his beloved dog eats poison that his father had put out for the worlves to keep them from the lambs. Oh my god what this boy does to drag him and keep him alive doing this and that while the dog is suffering horribly. The boy screams to the sky to save him, and this goes on for several pages. Nothing about putting him out of his misery. honestly totally took me out of the book. I skimmed a lot of the end and despite my early love this isnt a fav. Giving it 3 stars because I really was enjoying this, and I learned quite a bit about the area during the Stalinist era. Tempted to give it less. But no more

Paul I would like your comments on this. The book reminded me of a day is one hundred years that we read about a few months back which I loved. Can you help explain what I am missing here?

A few books Ive read

Inside out and back again (childrens book)

the sympathizer was excellent There is a sequel out as well

It doesnt fit here, but I loved how the beauty of humanity movement. , this book really moved me about a young vietamese woman searching what happen to her father . May have to read it another time perhaps?

I think I will go with the circle of karma well maybe not. for some reason its selling for 42-57 dollars and thats at the discount places I search for. Mmmm And its not in stock at amazon

If I can find this time, I want to read Bright, supposedly the first-ever novel by a Thai woman to appear in English translation.

My proposed Books for October:
From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong

I have added all 3 of these books to either TIOLI challenges 13 and 14 for October if anyone would care to join me.

I have two books for this month - The Blue Sky by Galsang Tschinag and Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay.
October is a pretty packed month for me reading wise, so I am uncertain if I will get to Arresting God in Kathmandu this month or end up pushing it to early November. Looking forward to The Blue Sky though.

The Blue Sky is currently available on Amazon as an e-book for $2.99.

>13 cindydavid4: The Circle of Karma is available on Open Library, along with a few other of Kunzang Choden's books.

https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL651043A/Kunzang_Choden?mode=ebooks

Vietnam: The Secret of Hoa Sen by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, translated by Bruce Weigl and the author

I'm not a big fan of modern poetry, but this was pretty good.

Cambodia: Dara's Cambodian New Year by Sothea Chiemruom, illustrated by Dam Nang Pin

A young boy who has recently moved from Cambodia to the US with his family seeks to cheer up his grandfather, who misses the New Year's celebrations of his home country. Lovely and heart-warming.

Laos: Dia's Story Cloth: The Hmong People's Journey of Freedom by Dia Cha, illustrated by Chue Cha and Nhia Thao Cha

The story cloth of the title was a gift to the author from her aunt and uncle, Chue and Nhia Thao Cha. Dia explains how its embroidered images show the history of the Hmong people, from their origins in China to their present day diaspora. Interesting and very informative.

Nepal: A Dog Named Haku: A Holiday Story from Nepal by Margarita Engle, Amish Karanjit, and Nicole Karanjit, illustrated by Ruth Jeyaveeran

Three authors and that's all they could come up with?! Awful book that got an extra star for having a really freaking cute puppy in it.

Mongolia: My Little Round House by Bolormaa Baasansuren

Beautiful picture book told from the point of view of a baby born to nomadic herders in Mongolia. Highly recommended.

Myanmar: Smile As They Bow by Nu Nu Yi, translated by Alfred Birnbaum and Thi Thi Aye

A novel about a religious festival in Myanmar. It's a little hard to follow at times, but that does help add to the crowded, chaotic air of the festival.

Thailand: Thai Tales: Folktales of Thailand by Supaporn Vathanaprida, edited by Margaret Read MacDonald

An excellent collection of tall tales, fables, and parables. Each story starts with a brief note giving a bit of information on Thai culture or religion, so the book is as educational as it is entertaining.

I have started In the Field of Fire, a collection of stories written to depict the experience of the Vietnam War, which I feel the need to learn more about. I found the book at a thrift store and have been wanting to read it so this challenge gave me the motivation. I was too young to really understand what was going on at the time of this war, although I do remember newscasts, protests, wearing those P.O.W. bracelets and my father having a farewell BBQ for some young men he knew who were 'going away' to Canada one summer. I also remember he had an album of Country Joe and the Fish, a band known for protest rock music. The next town over had a replica of the memorial wall in Wash D.C. for those lost in that war installed in the town park, so I plan on visiting that during the reading as well.

I just finished Bronze Drum about a temporarily victorious revolt, lead by and mostly consisting of, Việt women against Han Chinese 2000 years ago. I found the storytelling not up to the material.

>19 amanda4242: That is an impressive journey through the region, Amanda!

>22 PaulCranswick: It's slightly less impressive when you take into account that four of them are picture books; I spent more time hunting them down than I did reading them!

>23 amanda4242: Hahaha, well nevertheless you do read faster than most of us!

VIETNAM



Novel Without a Name by Duong Thu Huong translated from the Vietnamese by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson
Published 1991, English translation 1995, 289 p.

To understand Duong Thu Huong's novels, it is important to understand her background. At the age of twenty, Duong left college and volunteered to lead a Communist Youth Brigade to the front in the "War Against the Americans." She served in one of the most bombed regions of the war and was one of three survivors out of her group of twenty. She was also at the front during the 1979 Chinese attack on Vietnam. But during the 1980s, she became a critic of the Communist regime and an advocate for human rights. She was expelled from the party in 1989, imprisoned briefly in 1991 (the year she published this novel), and had her passport revoked so she could not leave the country. Her books were extremely popular prior to her imprisonment, but they are now banned and everything she has written since then has had to be published abroad, despite being written for a Vietnamese audience.

Novel Without a Name is the story of Quan, a young Communist soldier who, when the story opens, has been fighting the Americans for ten years. He left his village at the age of eighteen, excited for glory and idealistic about his nation's role in history. But after ten years of hunger, disease, and killing, "there is this gangrene that eats at the heart." He is summoned to company headquarters by a former classmate, who tells him that their friend has been imprisoned in a camp for psychiatric cases, and can he go and see what might be done for him. Afterward he is given leave to visit their hometown for a couple of days. But his brief visit is not a return to his dreamed of childhood, it is the source of more disillusionment.

Never. We never forget anything, never lose anything, never exchange anything, never undo what has been. There is no way back to the source, to the place where the pure, clear water once gushed forth.

Quan's idealism may be in tatters, but the war goes on. He returns to the front and further horrific warfare, corruption, and spiritual decay.

Duong has said that she never intended to become a writer. She served as an exemplary soldier, hoarding her impressions, and began to write as an expression of her pain. That pain is clearly reflected in Quan's odyssey between war and home and back again.

>21 quondame: oh no it's in my hands and looks amazing . I want to read it but I will consider your comment and lower my expectations accordingly 🙂
.

daughters of the new year just came out this week. Looks like it could be an interesting selection for this month.

I forgot that I ordered the river of lost footsteps but here it is. looking forward to reading it

The Blue Sky by Galsang Tschinag, translated from the German by Katharina Rout
Published 1994, English translation 2006, 159 p.

Dshurukawaa is a young Tuvan shepherd boy growing up in the Altai mountains of Mongolia. Life is hard, but he has a loving family and a loyal dog. His adopted Grandmother is his favorite person in the world, and she dotes on him. When his brother and sister go off to boarding school, Dshurukawaa takes on more responsibilities for the lambs and bonds even more with Aryslan, his dog.

I loved this story, based on the author's childhood as a Tuvan nomad. The descriptions of life in the ail, or settlement of his extended family's yurts, were fascinating, and the story is told with warmth. The author uses dialect for certain objects and concepts, and there is a helpful glossary at the end (which I wish I had known about sooner). I also enjoyed the translator's introduction where she discusses how she took on this project and her trip to Mongolia to stay with Galsang. I do wish there had been a map in the edition of the book that I read. It's the first in a trilogy of autobiographical novels, and I have already ordered the next one.

>29 labfs39: I am currently reading that one too, Lisa. Mongolia is a place I have a great affinity with as someone very near and dear to me who sadly passed away last year hailed from there.

>30 PaulCranswick: I'm sorry you lost your friend, Paul. Did you ever visit him in Mongolia? I know little of the country myself. This is the first book I've read by a Mongolian author, and the only two books I've read that were set in Mongolia are Tea of Ulaanbaatar and Horse Boy, both of which are very much told from an outside perspective. The descriptions of the steppe reminded me of Jamilia. I look forward to reading more of Galsang's work.

actually the whole story reminded me of the day lasts more than a hundred years which makes sense considering they are nearby Kazakhstan. Had some issues with it but you are right it is a beautifully written (and translated ) book. Lisa let me know what you think of the sequel

>32 cindydavid4: I know you had issues with the scene where the dog suffers. I had a harder time with the scene where he falls into the milk kettle and suffers terrible burns. But I thought both scenes were handled without excess and showed the difficulties and struggles of life in such a remote and isolated place. Overall I liked it very much and look forward to the next in the trilogy. I'll let you know how it is. I'm not sure it would be for you given that in the afterward of The Blue Sky, Galsang says that the volume dealing with his schooling has some brutal scenes.

Yeah I had trouble with that scene as well, but loved how 'grandma' was introduced there, she cared for him so well. And thanks for the heads up :)

Squeaking in under the wire with:



From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe
Published 2002, 304 p.

Pascal Khoo Thwe grew up in rural Burma, part of the Padaung tribe. His grandfather was the tribal chief, and Pascal grew up secure in his place in the world. His family was Catholic, yet still adhered to many of the traditional animist beliefs. Ghosts were a presence, for both good and ill. Someone who was murdered or died in an accident might become a green ghost, hence the title.

Pascal decides to become a priest and goes to a seminary, but eventually decides to pursue his love of English literature instead, and enrolls in college in Mandalay. The late 80s are a time of turmoil in Burma, however, and his studies are interrupted by student unrest against the regime. Eventually he must flee to the jungle to escape being arrested. But a chance meeting with a Cambridge don years earlier will change his fate and perhaps save his life.

Told in an unsentimental, straightforward manner, Thwe's memoir is a fascinating account of rural Burmese life, the impact of British colonization and its marriage with traditional beliefs, the complexity of ethnic relationships within Burmese society, and the educational system during Ne Win's regime. The plight of the students after the uprisings and their life in the jungle with the rebels was harrowing, and a situation about which I knew nothing. Although Thwe's emotional reserve makes the book almost academic in tone, his honest and insightful self-reflection make it a compelling read. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Burma/Myanmar.

I read these in October
Bangkok Wakes to Rain Pitchaya Sudbanthad and
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai.

>36 Kristelh: I loved The Mountains Sing and have her next book, Dust Child, on its way.

>21 quondame: bronze drum I didn't finish the book; I found the writing rather stilted. but then I saw this review and wonder if the reviewer has a point:

"There is a much-needed glossary in the book; I've seen some criticism of the author's use of formal, seemingly stilted language. Honestly, it seems that way to me too. Then I consider an important fact: This is a legend. It's the distilled essence of the legendary founders of the Viet people's sense of themselves as a unique, valid, culturally rich polity. Rules of twenty-first century grammar and usage, even in Viet which most decidedly this book isn't written in, would be inappropriate. "

I dont agree with that, so many books about legends have wonderful narrative. I wonder if maybe the stiltedness (?) is due to the translation? Anyway, I am happy that I learned about this legend and would like another author to write about it.

now reading river of lost footsteps which I am liking. It covers Modern Burma very well, but would like to have another read that looks at early Burmese history. Any suggestions ?

So I think this has been the most educational month of this challenge. The rest of the months, I had already read books about those countries or I knew some of the history. Re southeast asia, I know what I see on the news, but havent read much by the people who live there. So I read bronze drum and learned about a vietnamese legend, reading river of lost footsteps and learning how modern Burma grew. Now I just picked up the seven moons of maali almeida about the civil war in Sri Lanka. The brother of a friend of mine spent time there and told me some stories, but now I can read a book about it. Im suspecting the same will happen with Malaysia. So I think its time for me to thank Paul for this challenge, guiding me to books I never would have found on my own and to places with doors that are just about ready to open in my mind

>41 cindydavid4: Those are very nice points to make, Cindy.

One of the things I did hope for this year in promoting Asian literature/writing was that my friends would embrace the reading out of their comfort zones. I am a little humbled at the enthusiasm I have seen for the challenge to be quite honest and grateful to all of you for vindicating the whole thing so unequivocally.

Yes, thank you, Paul. I have been inspired to read 35 books for the Asian Book Challenge so far, and have read books from three new-to-me countries: Iraq, Mongolia, and Myanmar. Many of the books made strong, lasting impressions on me, like I Will Never See the World Again and The Colonel. I have learned so much and explored areas of the world more deeply than I had before, such as the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Although at times I grumbled at having less undirected reading time, I am so glad I participated. I know it was a significant investment of time and energy on your part, and I appreciate it.

>43 labfs39: *goes to his lunch blushing*

Ive read 43 books so far! and we have two more months to go!

Its November!!!!! link pls :)

>46 cindydavid4: Sorry Cindy. I put it up yesterday but forgot to post it here.

The November Asian Book Challenge Thread is up and I am at home:

Wallace's Malay Archipelago!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/345542

Adding this one late, but it's so good I wanted to include it!

MONGOLIA



The Gray Earth by Galsan Tschinag (Irgit Schynykbai-oglu Dshurukuwaa), translated from the German by Katharina Rout
Published 1999, English translation 2010, 303 p.

This is the second in Galsan's autobiographical fiction trilogy, picking up where The Blue Sky left off. Dshurukuwaa is eight (not an adolescent as the book flap mistakenly says) and on his way to the state boarding school where his siblings are. There he must leave behind his language, customs, and beliefs and become a communist Pioneer. Most difficult, he must suppress his shamanizing or face dire consequences.

I enjoyed this book as much as the first. Whereas The Blue Sky dealt with Dshurukuwaa's childhood on the steppe and life with his nomadic family, The Gray Earth has a larger scope as his world expands to include the district school in the regional center. Two themes run throughout: the inner tension for Dshurukuwaa at having to suppress his shamanistic tendencies and the outer conflict between the communist government imposed from the Soviet Union and centuries of nomadic tribalism. Highly recommended.

I read Dust Child by Que Mai Phan Nguyen, which I won as an early reviewer book. I found the writing somewhat clunky, but I did like the plot.

>49 banjo123: I think I liked Dust Child more than you, Rhonda, but I still thought The Mountains Sing was a smidge better.