When she faced one of the original Sunflowers paintings, back in that distant summer, at that same museum, she had felt a surge of inexplicable tender joy, mixed with sadness. It had a pale yellow background and it was a copy of one of the first four versions that Van Gogh had painted in the summer of 1888 in Arles.
Han Kang’s literary landscape is one where beauty and brutality coexist in uncomfortable proximity, where the body becomes both canvas and battlefield for psychological and historical trauma. Her prose, marked by crystalline precision that renders the unbearable tangible, transforms collective wounds into universal meditations on human existence.
“Ernaux’s literary project transcends traditional memoir by situating personal experience within broader social contexts. Her deceptively simple prose transforms intimate family portraits into profound meditations on class mobility and generational change. Through rigorous self-examination, she creates literature that serves as both artistic achievement and essential sociological document of contemporary France.”
As The Asian Review Sinhala prepares to enter this new phase on 1st June 2025, it stands as a testament to the enduring value of literature and the importance of community-driven cultural initiatives. In choosing independence and forging international partnerships, the publication is not merely ensuring its own sustainability but is actively contributing to the enrichment of Sri Lanka’s literary landscape.
Oksana Zabuzhko’s groundbreaking novel ‘Field Work in Ukrainian Sex’ addressed gender issues and national trauma, while Yuri Andrukhovych’s ‘Recreations’ explored Ukraine’s cultural positioning between Eastern and Western influences. Serhiy Zhadan’s poetry and prose captured the gritty realities of post-Soviet transition, particularly in eastern Ukraine.
Paul Lynch occupies a singular position in contemporary Irish literature—a writer who has consistently pushed against the boundaries of conventional storytelling to excavate the darkest corners of human experience. His 2023 Booker Prize victory for Prophet Song represents acknowledgement of a literary project building momentum for over a decade.
Ukraine’s rich literary heritage suffered systematic suppression under Soviet rule. The policy of Russification meant that Ukrainian writers were often forced to write in Russian or face severe consequences. The “Executed Renaissance” of the 1920s-30s saw an entire generation of Ukrainian intellectuals and writers eliminated through Stalin’s purges.
Anappara’s fiction is deeply rooted in the bustling, chaotic landscape of modern India, where gleaming shopping centres cast shadows over sprawling slums, and where children navigate between hope and despair with remarkable resilience. Her writing demonstrates a profound understanding of class dynamics, urban inequality, and the particular vulnerabilities of India’s most disadvantaged communities.
‘Contours of Him’ brings remarkable depth to our understanding of men and their bodies, helping to redefine masculinity in ways that are more compassionate, complex, and authentic. By inviting readers into intimate relationships with the physical male form as experienced across diverse cultures, this anthology advances our collective conversation about gender and embodiment
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ emerges as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary African literature, establishing herself through work that interrogates Nigerian society whilst maintaining unflinching commitment to authentic storytelling. Her nuanced exploration of marriage, family dynamics, and societal expectations creates literature that resonates both locally and globally.
We sit in the bus recalling how ten years ago, we had to abandon South Sudan to seek calm in Sudan. Here we are again, on the road back to South Sudan, fleeing death. Now we are in a bus bound for safety, but perhaps to the jaws of old death waiting.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Half of a Yellow Sun” stands as one of the most compelling and devastating literary works to emerge from postcolonial African literature, offering readers an unflinching examination of the Nigerian Civil War through the interconnected lives of characters whose personal struggles mirror the broader tragedy of a nation tearing itself apart.
The fact that Café Europa was born during the war is telling. Poetry and war should walk separate paths. Yet it is from their intersection that the word-in-action, or poesis, arises. The Greek root of this word is close to the Sanskrit term for compassion – karuna.
Debasish Lahiri is an internationally acclaimed poet. His poems have been widely published in journals Lahiri’s essay on the pandemic in Kolkata appeared in the L’Obs magazine on 27 th July 2021. Lahiri is the recipient of the Prix-du Merite, Naji Naaman Literary Prize 2019.
The title Anatta, a Pali word meaning “not-self,” points towards a central theme in the anthology: the impermanence of all things, including the self. Buddhist philosophy challenges the notion of a fixed, unchanging self. Anatta proposes instead a fluid, ever-changing entity, constantly shaped by our experience as a body-mind (Nama-Tula) and the world in which it lives.
There is such a clichéd romance in the idea of being an artist’s model. All these women who made it to eternity by posing for the greats. In reality, there was nothing romantic about it. It was tedious and demanding. The body begins to ache from the effort to keep still. The face stiffens from the attempt to preserve the same expression.
Haliru Ali Musa has emerged as the winner of the inaugural Alexander Nderitu Prize for World Literature. The revelation was made on 4 April 2025 via The African Griot Review, an avant-garde arts magazine edited by the founder of the prestigious new prize. Haliru’s beautifully structured and stylishly told story, The Pregnant Ghost, beat out 71 other entries.
Perhaps most significantly, physical books offer a rare commodity in contemporary life: genuine escape from digital surveillance and commercial imperatives. Unlike e-readers that track reading habits, collect data, and interrupt with advertisements or notifications, paper books provide an untraceable, unmonitored intellectual refuge.
I sat in the graveyard, merging effortlessly in the background. When you have crossed your seventies, and you have mastered the art of sitting quietly without taking much interest in your surroundings, letting the hours slip away, it is easier to overlook you. In my case, I was worried the occasional visitor to the graveyard might think I was one of the inhabitants, taking a stroll to free their legs, cramped from lying in the grave for too long!
This is not about teaching her how to walk. This is about cheering her to run in life’s race. Failure isn’t an option, neither for me nor for her, because her accomplishments ultimately become my progress report. Consequently, just like the vast majority of the Singaporean parent population, I interfere unapologetically in my child’s education.
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