Have you ever wanted to start exploring new ideas and places, but gave up because it was difficult to figure out where to begin? Have you ever wondered what books and movies from other countries you might like, if you only knew what ones to pick up? I'm here to help with reviews of books and films from all over the world.
I take a culturally relative approach to all reviews - the attitude that all people and all cultures have value and meaning, and that they deserve to be understood on their own terms. It does not allow for judgments based on race, religion, technological sophistication, or any other form of social differentiation. In fact, cultural relativity asks us to look beyond value judgements of any kind, and promotes exploration of the whole variety of human experience. Come and join me for an exploration of the multitudinous beauty of life from all corners of the world.
My primary goal is to increase the visibility of artistic works that lie outside of the western mainstream. These include books and movies from other countries in non-English languages which have very little (if any) name recognition in the United States. It also includes interesting works from the United States, especially those which are based on regionally relevant cultural forms. Check out my lists of book and movie reviews organized by country; if you are looking for international speculative fiction, click here.
I hope that this blog will become a carefully curated collection of interesting cultural products from around the world. Comment on the posts or tweet at me if you want to talk (I promise I will respond!). I usually post at least once a week, depending on how busy I am; you can keep up to date by liking my facebook page or signing up for email notifications of future blog posts. If you are an author, director, or publisher who would like me to review a book or film, please see my Review Policy before contacting me via email.
My background is in South Asian anthropology, with a specialization in marginalized adivasi (tribal) communities in rural Bengal. I have spent over a year learning the Bengali language in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. My particular theoretical interest is in semiotic and linguistic anthropology, or trying to understand the way people create social and cultural meaning in everyday life. My struggles with anxiety and depression have also led to an active interest in psychology and how psychology interacts with other ways of creating meaning.
After finishing a Master's at the University of Chicago and marrying my husband, Tintin, I decided to do what I had always wanted to do - travel the world and promote non-western literature to a wider audience. So far, I have been to the US, Bangladesh, India, the UK, Canada, and Turkey. You can read about our adventures on Tintin's travel blog here.
We are now living in Kerala, India, where Tintin is working as an instructor at the Kerala Council for Historical Research. My day job is as a (remote) editor of academic manuscripts for the Bangladeshi publisher University Press Limited (who you can also follow on facebook or twitter). You can also check out my other blog, How to Find Diverse Books, where I am in the process of listing publishers of international literature. I also occasionally write reviews for Shiny New Books, AFA: Animation for Adults, and most recently The Asian Cinema Blog.
I hope you enjoy reading the reviews and other articles posted on this blog as much as I enjoy writing them. Happy exploring!
I take a culturally relative approach to all reviews - the attitude that all people and all cultures have value and meaning, and that they deserve to be understood on their own terms. It does not allow for judgments based on race, religion, technological sophistication, or any other form of social differentiation. In fact, cultural relativity asks us to look beyond value judgements of any kind, and promotes exploration of the whole variety of human experience. Come and join me for an exploration of the multitudinous beauty of life from all corners of the world.
My primary goal is to increase the visibility of artistic works that lie outside of the western mainstream. These include books and movies from other countries in non-English languages which have very little (if any) name recognition in the United States. It also includes interesting works from the United States, especially those which are based on regionally relevant cultural forms. Check out my lists of book and movie reviews organized by country; if you are looking for international speculative fiction, click here.
I hope that this blog will become a carefully curated collection of interesting cultural products from around the world. Comment on the posts or tweet at me if you want to talk (I promise I will respond!). I usually post at least once a week, depending on how busy I am; you can keep up to date by liking my facebook page or signing up for email notifications of future blog posts. If you are an author, director, or publisher who would like me to review a book or film, please see my Review Policy before contacting me via email.
About Me
My background is in South Asian anthropology, with a specialization in marginalized adivasi (tribal) communities in rural Bengal. I have spent over a year learning the Bengali language in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. My particular theoretical interest is in semiotic and linguistic anthropology, or trying to understand the way people create social and cultural meaning in everyday life. My struggles with anxiety and depression have also led to an active interest in psychology and how psychology interacts with other ways of creating meaning.After finishing a Master's at the University of Chicago and marrying my husband, Tintin, I decided to do what I had always wanted to do - travel the world and promote non-western literature to a wider audience. So far, I have been to the US, Bangladesh, India, the UK, Canada, and Turkey. You can read about our adventures on Tintin's travel blog here.
We are now living in Kerala, India, where Tintin is working as an instructor at the Kerala Council for Historical Research. My day job is as a (remote) editor of academic manuscripts for the Bangladeshi publisher University Press Limited (who you can also follow on facebook or twitter). You can also check out my other blog, How to Find Diverse Books, where I am in the process of listing publishers of international literature. I also occasionally write reviews for Shiny New Books, AFA: Animation for Adults, and most recently The Asian Cinema Blog.
I hope you enjoy reading the reviews and other articles posted on this blog as much as I enjoy writing them. Happy exploring!
Hello, Thank you for the follow. You have an interesting job going on here as well. I will be following your blog right away.
ReplyDeleteMy kindest regards.
Your blog looks really interesting at very many levels and in very many ways.
ReplyDeleteAs yet I don't see literature from Zambia and Zimbabwe in your index.
I do have a book to recommend to you. Its Witchgirl by Tanvir Bush, my daughter who is registered blind and who works with creative arts and disability. I shall follow you with interest on my own account as i blog on related issues.
https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/tanvir-bush
https://tanvirbush.com/books/