East Asian Film Noir. Transnational Encounters and Intercultural Dialogue. Edited by Chi-Yun Shin and Mark Gallagher. (3.8🌟)

12 essays exploring East Asian Film Noir or at least with film noir elements.

My Favourite essays :

Chapter 1. Out of the past: film noir, whiteness and the end of the monochrome era in Japan by Daisuke Miyao. Discusses Jasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Twilight and Conflagration by Kon Ichikawa.

Chapter 2. Ghost in the Shell: the noir instinct by Dan North. Discusses noir elements in the anime films.

Chapter 11. Tony Leung's Noir Thrillers and Transnational Stardom by Mark Gallagher. On The famous chines actor's hability to portray noir characters. (You may know Tony Leung from the Infernal Affairs trilogy and In the Mood for Love)

Chapter 12. Double identity: the stardom of Xun Zhou and the Figure of the Femme Fatale by Chi-Yun Shin. On The actress's portrayal as femme fatale characters. (I've seen this actress before in The Banquet (2006) Now I'm more interested in seeing more of her filmography, particularly Suzhou River and Painted Skin.) #filmnoir #eastasianfilm #chiyunshin #markgallagher #readstagram #nonfictionbook #marzoasiatico

Chinese Science Fiction Short Stories (3.6🌟)

I read two science fiction short stories, publishes online on  Clarkesworld magazine, which I really enjoyed. I learned about them in a blog about chinese science fiction. Here the links:


Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight by XIA JIA, translated by KEN LIU

And

Wu Ding's Journey to the West by TANG FEI, translated by ANDY DUDAK

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (3.8🌟)

Siddhartha is the story of a man, son of a Brahmin (priest), who searches for enlightenment all his life. The novel relates important events in his life since he leaves his family to join the samana (people who abandon material possessions and their socialobligations in life). Siddhartha has an encounter with Gotama, the buddha, leaves the samana, to live a "normal" life, life he abandons after a few years as he feels dissatisfied with what he has become. In the final chapters of the book Siddhartha finds peace in the company of an old ferryman.

The above story may not sound exciting but I don't think this was the point of the book. To me the point was to reveal a man's inner thoughts as he observes the world that surrounds him, as he teaches what he knows and learns from others. Most importantly to show how a man (or woman? I guess) can choose spirituality over materiality and be happy. The novel provides some insights into Hinduism, Buddhism and their cosmology. I found the glossary, at the end of the book, pretty useful.  I think this an excellent read for anyone, who like me, wants to learn about Buddhism and the way Buddhists see the world.

My edition is a Penguin Modern Classics. It has 121 pages including an introduction by Paulo Coelho  and a glossary of indian terms.

The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro by Edogawa Rampo (4🌟)

The early cases of Akechi Kogoro is a collection of 4 short stories. Actually it's 3 short stories and one long story. The stories were originally written in Japanese in 1925 and 1926, and were translated by William Varteresian.

The stories follow a detective called Akechi Kogoro solving crimes in a style which reminds me of Sherlock Holmes.

Kogorõ is some sort of private detective who works with the police. Two stories in this book relate murder cases. There is also kidnapping and stalking. The detective gets involved in the cases by chance or is called by the victims or relatives. There is always a veil of mystery around Kogorõ. He sometimes disappears for days to follow suspects or run enquiries.  He investigates crime scenes with great attention to detail and puts together facts and evidence using logic. I loved the way each of the cases is solved, particularly the one in the last and longest story.

Rampo does not reveal much about Kogoro apart from his detective work. We don't know much about his life except that he lives on his own in a rented room and that he likes to read. Despite this I found the  detective a likable and interesting character.

1. The Case of the murder on D. Hill. - a woman is killed inside a bookshop
2. The Black Hand Gang - a kidnapped girl
3. The Ghost - a dead man wants revenge
4. The Dwarf - a young rich woman disappears and her parents ask Kogorõ to find her.

My edition was published by Kurodahan press in 2014. It comes with an introduction and endnotes. 201 pages.