Inaka. Portraits of Life in Rural Japan

A mention of this book popped up on Twitter, and I went straight to the Camphor Press website and bought it. I've never been to Japan, but two family members have, one for a year, and she's been trying to get back there ever since. Japanese books are stacked up in her bedroom, not just … Continue reading Inaka. Portraits of Life in Rural Japan →

Li Juan, Distant Sunflower Fields

‘Li Juan … may be as far outside the system as Chinese writers are able to get and still publish … Her literary career has taken what she calls “the wild path”’ – The New York Times Distant Sunflower Fields is not a novel, but for readers unfamiliar with life in Xinjiang, in the far … Continue reading Li Juan, Distant Sunflower Fields →

Beryl Markham, West With The Night

I really enjoyed this 1942 memoir by Beryl Markham, a woman living on the fringes of the 1920s Happy Valley set in British East Africa, where she was first a racehorse trainer and then a bush pilot, and in 1936 became the first pilot to fly solo from the UK to North America. It's absolutely … Continue reading Beryl Markham, West With The Night →