What to read in 2019 – Haruki Murakami, Margaret Atwood and R.F. Kuang’s second novel
- Chinese authors set to delight wuxia and science-fiction fans
- Literary legends Haruki Murakami and Mark Haddon return while Yukiko Motoya makes her English-language debut
Last month I suggested 2018 was the literary year that never quite happened. Cancelled Nobels, underwhelming Rowlings, (still) no (new) Game of Thrones, the same-old-high-low debate surrounding the Man Booker, including a row about badly edited books.
Other attempts have been made to introduce Jin’s vibrant mixture of martial arts, magic, history, romance and heroic quest to Western audiences, but Holmwood’s is the most concerted effort to date. A Bond Undone, the second part (of four volumes), is due out at the end of January. Translated this time by Gigi Chang, the novel picks up where part one left off, with our two antagonists, Guo Jing and “Ironheart” Yang Kang, learning uncomfortable truths about their fathers. If this isn’t enough, Guo is betrothed not once but twice, including to the daughter of Genghis Khan. Making matters worse is that neither is his true love, Lotus Huang.
From there Yip-Williams moved to America, settling in Los Angeles where a surgeon partially restored her sight. Still legally blind, she won a place at Harvard Law School, before starting a successful career. It is the honest descriptions of fighting for your life and tender messages to her family that make this book an inspiration.
