World Literature

I love historical fiction as a genre because it’s immediately transportive and provides my conscious a good excuse to not read an actual history book. Yes, it’s not the same thing but life is short, and can you blame me for finding a little joy in history-with-a-twist. An ambitious multi-generational saga, Pachinko starts off in an island village in 1903 in Korea where a Hoonie and his wife earn their livelihood by hosting lodgers. When…

This July, I fell in love with Hong Kong. It was quick and unexpected and on short three- day stopover trip en route to Los Angeles. With temperatures in the 90s and typhoon season humidity, those few days are a sweaty blur in my mind. But I remember the feeling of being in a giant mass of humanity, of a place of some importance. As I boarded my flight back home, I carried specific images…

It’s almost outrageous that I should consider reviewing the literary work of someone as globally renowned and acknowledged as Rabindranath Tagore. But our goal is to write about things we feel are worth sharing, so here goes an attempt to explain my first experience with Tagore. Mystic Moods is a compilation of 10 short stories, more or less centered on the inherent darkness in the minds and hearts of all humans. The stories reflect some social evils…