Year in Review: 2016

This year was bad. Really bad.

That's why I put off writing this post. Who really wants to revisit such a bad year?

But then I thought it would be a disservice to the really good books I read and movies I saw this year. So this is for you, the authors, directors, actors, and other artists who created these works.

In no particular order, these are the novels I enjoyed this year:

 

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho (review forthcoming)

 

Rosewater by Tade Thompson (review forthcoming)

 

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Hurma by Ali Al-Muqri, translated by T.M. Aplin

Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika

The diverse movies I enjoyed this year:

Adaminte Makan Abu, directed by Salim Ahmed (2011) (review forthcoming)

Neerja, directed by Ram Madhvani (2016)

Sardaarji, directed by Rohit Jugraj (2015)

Te3n, directed by Ribhu Dasgupta (2016) (review forthcoming)

As you can see, for lots of reasons I have been unable to review as much as I would have liked this year. Here's hoping for a somewhat more settled 2017. 

Want to see more articles like this? Follow me on twitter or like The Globally Curious on Facebook. 

Year in Review: 2015

For my year in review post, I decided to split my selections into award categories. So here are my selections, published both before and during 2015. They are in no particular order within each category, and links go to my reviews (and the original story, if online). If there is no link, my review is probably still in the works.

Enjoy!

Best Speculative Fiction (Long Form) 

The Devourers by Indra Das
A Planet for Rent by Yoss, translated by David Frye
Tantrics of Old by Krishnarjun Bhattacharya
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, translated by Carol Christensen and Thomas Christensen
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel
Cult of Chaos by Shweta Taneja

Best Speculative Fiction (Short Form) 

"Thirst" and "The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet" by Vandana Singh from The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet and Other Stories
"The White Mask" by Zedeck Siew from Cyberpunk: Malaysia
"A Village of Cold Hearths" by Sheng Keyi, translated by Brendan O'Kane from Chutzpah!
“Retracing Your Steps” by Zhu Yue, translated by Nick Admussen from Chutzpah!
“No Man Is” by Ng Yi-Sheng from LONTAR volume 5
“Siren” by Amanda Lee Koe from LONTAR volume 5
“The Spurned Bride’s Tears, Centuries Old, in the Rain” by Gord Sellar from LONTAR volume 5
"Psychopomp" by Indrapramit (Indra) Das

Best Literary Fiction (Long Form) 

Dry Season by Gabriela Babnik, translated by Rawley Grau
The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden
The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan, translated by Howard Goldblatt
The King's Harvest by Chetan Raj Shreshta
I am Istanbul by Buket Uzuner, translated by Kenneth J. Dakan

Best Literary Fiction (Short Form) 

“The Failure” by Aydos Amantay, translated by Canaan Morse from Chutzpah!
“Dust” by Chen Xue, translated by Howard Goldblatt from Chutzpah!
"Blue Hawaii" by Rizia Rahman, translated by Niaz Zaman and Musharrat Hossain from Caged in Paradise
"Mother Fatema Weeps" by Rizia Rahman, translated by Shirin Hasanat Islam from Caged in Paradise
"Caged in Paradise" by Rizia Rahman, translated by Niaz Zaman from Caged in Paradise
"The Balloonwala" by Anirban Bose from Mice in Men

Best Humor and Satire 

The Black Box by Alek Popov
Dangerlok by Eunice de Souza

Best International Films 

The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi
Nueve Reinas by Fabian Bielinsky
Aguner Poroshmoni by Humayun Ahmed
The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
English Vinglish by Gauri Shinde
Dil Chahta Hai by Farhan Akhtar
Kadambari by Suman Ghosh
Castaway on the Moon by Lee Hae-jun
The Orphanage by J. A. Bayona

My goal for next year is to read more speculative short stories online. You might see an occasional short review on here. :)

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

Want to see more reviews of world literature and film? Follow me on Twitter or like The Globally Curious's facebook page!