Review by New York Times Review
LATE-LIFE LOVE: A Memoir, by Susan Gubar. (Norton, $25.95.) The influential literary critic blends tales of her marriage, her cancer treatments and her husband's age-related infirmities with discussions of works whose meaning has changed for her over time; her rereadings confirm her talents as a teacher. MORTAL REPUBLIC: How Rome Fell Into Tyranny, by Edward J. Watts. (Basic, $32.) By the second century B.C., the proud Roman Republic had been brought low by inequity, corruption and populist politicians. Since America's founders modeled it on the Roman example, Watts, a historian, warns that it behooves us to understand what went wrong over 2,000 years ago. MUHAMMAD: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires, by Juan Cole. (Nation, $28.) Cole offers an ambitiously revisionist picture of the father of Islam, replacing the idea of a militant leader with one of a peacemaker who wanted only to preach his monotheism freely and even sought "multicultural" harmony. INSURRECTO, by Gina Apostol. (Soho, $26.) Set in the Philippines, this novel raises provocative questions about history and hypocrisy as it follows two women with dueling modern-day film scripts about a colonial-era massacre. MY BROTHER'S HUSBAND: Volume 2, by Gengoroh Tagamé. Translated by Anne Ishii. (Pantheon, $25.95.) A sweet satire of Japan's taboo against gay marriage, this manga-style graphic novel is a sophisticated investigation into the nature of love, marriage, divorce, bereavement and nontraditional child-rearing. IN OUR MAD AND FURIOUS CITY, by Guy Gunaratne. (MCD/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, paper, $16.) Gunaratne's striking, Bookerlonglisted debut unfolds over a few restless days in a workingclass Northwest London suburb. Despite the rush of drama indicated by its title, the book should be read for its quieter details - Gunaratne, with a gift for characterization, presents the kinds of Londoners not often seen in contemporary fiction. THE DAY THE SUN DIED, by Yan Lianke. Translated by Carlos Rojas. (Grove, $26.) This brutal satirical novel takes place on a single night, when a plague of somnambulism unleashes a host of suppressed emotions among the inhabitants of a Chinese village. The ensuing chaos is promptly struck from the official record. TELL THEM OF BATTLES, KINGS, AND ELEPHANTS, by Mathias Énard. Translated by Charlotte Mandel. (New Directions, paper, $19.95.) In this intoxicating novel, set in 1506, Michelangelo sets up shop in Constantinople to design a bridge connecting Europe and Asia. SLEEP OF MEMORY, by Patrick Modiano. Translated by Mark Polizzotti. (Yale, $24.) The Nobel laureate's dreamlike novels summon elusive, half-forgotten episodes. Here, that means Paris in the '60s, love affairs, a flirtation with the occult and a shocking crime. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 31, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In America, the struggle for equal rights for LGBTQ people is a part of the national conversation. But in Japan, LGBTQ individuals are still largely closeted and socially invisible. Into this culture walks Mike, a large, friendly Canadian and the widower of Yuichi's gay brother. Feeling obligated to ask Mike to stay in his home, Yuichi, a single parent, is dismayed when Mike, who is out, open to questions, and secure in his identity, befriends his young daughter. Yuichi's low-level homophobia is tempered by his daughter's unquestioning acceptance of her new favorite uncle. As the days progress and his daughter continues to naively ask personal questions, Yuichi begins to see Mike, who is clearly grieving, as a complete person instead of a stereotype and to examine his relationship with his brother before and after he came out. Tagame is best known for bara manga, and the men in this story are solid and muscular, a far cry from the long, willowy character designs often found in manga. The art is crisp, and the characters' faces expressive, allowing the reader to see their hurt, confusion, and relief. While there is some nudity, it's never sexualized. A sensitive exploration of the transition some families go through when a family member comes out and a possible entry point for those needing to start conversations of their own.--Volin, Eva Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Yaichi, a divorced father, opens the door one day to a burly Canadian visitor: the widowed husband of his late twin brother, Ryoji. With LGBT issues still marginalized in Japan, Yaichi wants to welcome this bereft new member of his family but finds himself hog-tied by homophobia and ignorance. However, Yaichi's lively daughter Kana takes her Uncle Mike to her heart, learning to hug him like a North American while he savors with bittersweet appreciation the country where Ryoji spent his life before emigrating. Yaichi's ex-wife -Natsuki accepts Mike without hesitation, now energized to become more involved with the family. Yet neighbors keep their children away from Kana for fear of her "bad influence." Known for his gay erotic manga, Tagame (House of Brutes) here stays well within an all-ages, realistic "gay life 101" concept. His spare, naturalistic art conveys the poverty of Yaichi's life without Natsuki, contrasted with Mike's happy if disrupted bond with Ryoji. -VERDICT This winsome look at culture clash compares the largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture with the West, underscoring a theme of universal yearning for family. Nominated for an Angoulême Award, it's a great YA crossover.-MC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
