Fiction_L Archives asian magical realism Dates: 3/21/01,8:14 PM  through  4/5/01,5:38 PM  (11 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2009-current     2007-2008     1996-2006    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to March 2001 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: "Martha Garbison" <mgarbis@denver.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 3/21/01, 8:14 PM

Hello all,

I have a teacher who was inspired by watching the movie Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon to find some magical realism (similar to Gabriel Garcia Marquez or any of the latin american writers) by Asian writers of fiction for her advanced placement high school class to read. An Asian-american writer would do, but she really prefers an Asian writer in translation... I did wander back through some of the recent magical realism thread, but didn't find any author that was Asian.

I have scoured What do I read next (all, including multicultural), Now Read This (have a list of magical realism writers... none Asian...), Fiction Catalog and have a good list of Asian-american writers in translation from a website ( www.bookstore.com/forauth.html ) but would like to know if anyone knows of any Asian writers that use magical realism in their novels...

from someone who really, really, really misses her Novelist access!!!!!

Thanks for the help!
Martha Garbison, Senior Librarian
Burnham Hoyt Room
Denver Public Library

FROM: Margaret Elwood <m_elwood@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 3/22/01, 9:05 AM

I think Haruki Murakami would fit. He's a Japanese
born writer who is now living in the US, although his
books are originally written in Japanese.

I loved Dance, Dance, Dance which involved a serial
killer, bizarre coincidences and a talking sheep who
dispensed philosophical advice to the main character.

I can't recommend it highly enough.

Margaret

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FROM: "BETH NIENOW" <BETHN@rochester.lib.mn.us>
REC'D: 3/22/01, 9:36 AM

Your patron may like the Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto's novels and stories.


*****
Beth Nienow
Adult Services/Information Services

Rochester Public Library
101 2nd St SE
Rochester, MN 55905

www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library/

507-285-8008/507-285-8026
FAX 507-287-1910

bethn@rochester.lib.mn.us

"...nowadays, books travelled the aether like light and sound."
A.S. Byatt, Possession


>>> mgarbis@denver.lib.co.us 03/21/01 08:08PM >>>
Hello all,

I have a teacher who was inspired by watching the movie Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon to find some magical realism (similar to Gabriel Garcia Marquez or any of the latin american writers) by Asian writers of fiction for her advanced placement high school class to read. An Asian-american writer would do, but she really prefers an Asian writer in translation... I did wander back through some of the recent magical realism thread, but didn't find any author that was Asian.

I have scoured What do I read next (all, including multicultural), Now Read This (have a list of magical realism writers... none Asian...), Fiction Catalog and have a good list of Asian-american writers in translation from a website ( www.bookstore.com/forauth.html ) but would like to know if anyone knows of any Asian writers that use magical realism in their novels...

from someone who really, really, really misses her Novelist access!!!!!

Thanks for the help!
Martha Garbison, Senior Librarian
Burnham Hoyt Room
Denver Public Library

FROM: Vicki Novak - LIBRARYX <vickinovak@MAIL.MARICOPA.GOV>
REC'D: 3/22/01, 9:57 AM

The Japanese author Haruki Murakami might be one to try. His books are
surreal, full of pop culture (Japanese and American) and also contain some
elements of magical realism. You might warn the teacher that his books do
contain some sex and violence, though.


Vicki Novak
vickinovak@mail.maricopa.gov

Adult Services
North Central Regional Library
Maricopa County Library District
17811 N. 32nd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85032-1201

http://mcld.maricopa.gov

FROM: Mary Ann Bakken <MABakken@linc.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 3/22/01, 9:58 AM

Would The mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee, work here?

Mary Ann Bakken
St. Charles (IL) Public Library


> ----------
> From: Martha Garbison[SMTP:mgarbis@denver.lib.co.us]
> Reply To: Fiction_L
> Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2001 8:00 AM
> To: Fiction_L
> Subject: asian magical realism
>
> Hello all,
>
> I have a teacher who was inspired by watching the movie Crouching Tiger ,
> Hidden Dragon to find some magical realism (similar to Gabriel Garcia
> Marquez or any of the latin american writers) by Asian writers of fiction
> for her advanced placement high school class to read. An Asian-american
> writer would do, but she really prefers an Asian writer in translation...
> I did wander back through some of the recent magical realism thread, but
> didn't find any author that was Asian.
>
> I have scoured What do I read next (all, including multicultural), Now
> Read This (have a list of magical realism writers... none Asian...),
> Fiction Catalog and have a good list of Asian-american writers in
> translation from a website ( www.bookstore.com/forauth.html ) but would
> like to know if anyone knows of any Asian writers that use magical realism
> in their novels...
>
> from someone who really, really, really misses her Novelist access!!!!!
>
> Thanks for the help!
> Martha Garbison, Senior Librarian
> Burnham Hoyt Room
> Denver Public Library
>
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html
>

FROM: "Mary Rindfleisch" <rdgnovel@biblio.org>
REC'D: 3/22/01, 11:00 AM

I would think Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, and some of their Indian
colleagues would qualify. Many of these authors actually write in English,
but are definitely not Asian-American.

Mary Rindfleisch
Adult Services/Readers' Advisory Librarian
Ridgefield Library
472 Main St.
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Phone: 203-438-2282
e-mail: rdgnovel@biblio.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Fiction_L@maillist.webrary.org
[mailto:Fiction_L@maillist.webrary.org]On Behalf Of Martha Garbison
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 9:09 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: asian magical realism


Hello all,

I have a teacher who was inspired by watching the movie Crouching Tiger ,
Hidden Dragon to find some magical realism (similar to Gabriel Garcia
Marquez or any of the latin american writers) by Asian writers of fiction
for her advanced placement high school class to read. An Asian-american
writer would do, but she really prefers an Asian writer in translation... I
did wander back through some of the recent magical realism thread, but
didn't find any author that was Asian.

I have scoured What do I read next (all, including multicultural), Now Read
This (have a list of magical realism writers... none Asian...), Fiction
Catalog and have a good list of Asian-american writers in translation from a
website ( www.bookstore.com/forauth.html ) but would like to know if anyone
knows of any Asian writers that use magical realism in their novels...

from someone who really, really, really misses her Novelist access!!!!!

Thanks for the help!
Martha Garbison, Senior Librarian
Burnham Hoyt Room
Denver Public Library

FROM: jennie@clearnet.org
REC'D: 3/22/01, 4:18 PM

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart might work. It's kind of "Princess
Bride" -
like in tone, but it does deal with gods and goddesses in a China, where
those things are taken for granted. It's also a very funny book.

Jennie Cisna
Bensenville Community Public Library
Bensenville, IL 60106

FI>Hello all,

FI>I have a teacher who was inspired by watching the movie Crouching Tiger , Hi

FI>I have scoured What do I read next (all, including multicultural), Now Read

FI>from someone who really, really, really misses her Novelist access!!!!!

FI>Thanks for the help!
FI>Martha Garbison, Senior Librarian
FI>Burnham Hoyt Room
FI>Denver Public Library


FI>......................................................................
FI>Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
FI>Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html

FROM: Dennis Lien <Dennis.K.Lien-1@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 3/22/01, 4:39 PM

At 04:08 PM 3/22/01 -0600, you wrote:
>Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart might work. It's kind of "Princess
>Bride" -
>like in tone, but it does deal with gods and goddesses in a China, where
>those things are taken for granted. It's also a very funny book.
>
>Jennie Cisna


I agree that BRIDGE OF BIRDS is a great book, but I believe original
question specified that they needed something by an author who was
himself/herself Asian, or at least Asian-American. Barry Hughart is
not.

The two sequels, STORY OF THE STONE and EIGHT SKILLED GENTLEMEN, are
also great stuff; all three have been recently republished in an
omnibus trade pb THE CHRONICLES OF MASTER LI AND NUMBER TEN OX by
Stars My Destination bookshop in Chicago.

Unfortunately, Hughart apparently had a bitter dispute with his
(original) publishers which soured him on writing, so he apparently
has no plans to ever do anything further.

Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // d-lien@tc.umn.edu

FROM: Madeline Guzman <mguzman@CapAccess.org>
REC'D: 3/22/01, 4:49 PM

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami

(translated into English from Japanese)

...an excellent read, by the way.



Madeline

FROM: "Deb Warner" <dwarner@co.durham.nc.us>
REC'D: 3/23/01, 7:59 AM

I love Hughart's books, but I think of them more as fantasy than magical
realism.
I would like to suggest Kiran Desai's HULLABALOO IN THE GUAVA ORCHARD:
Very funny, young man (fancies himself a poet) escapes his boring job by
retreating to the said orchard ( and climbing a tree), only to be followed
by his family and the townspeople, who declare him a holy man...

FROM: "Martha Garbison" <mgarbis@denver.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 4/5/01, 5:38 PM

Hi all,

I got great suggestions...thanks to everyone... and my teacher was interested in most everything, including eastern Indian authors like Rushdie... so for what it is worth:

Books that are written by Asian authors (or Indian) and use the magical realism technique...although the list is a bit broader; probably in the interest of keeping high school students interested!

THE MISTRESS OF SPICES/Banerjee, Chitra

GOD OF SMALL THINGS/Roy, Arundhati

SHAME/Rushdie, Salman

A WILD SHEEP CHASE/Murakami, Haruki

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE/Murakami, Haruki

ASLEEP/Yoshimoto, Banana

TROPIC OF ORANGE/Yamashita, Karen

RED EARTH AND POURING RAIN/Chandra, Vikram

THE UNCONSOLED/Ishiguro, Kazuo (we discussed that this was more 'dreamlike' in content and plot than a particularly fine example of the magical realism technique)

The teacher I was working with was absolutely thrilled that I have such a resource as fiction-l at my fingertips...so am I.

Martha Garbison, Senior Librarian
Burnham Hoyt Room
Denver Public Library

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