Book Review: The Coffee Shop Masquerade by T.A. Morton

03/11/202502/11/2025Asian Literature, noir, Philosophical Fiction, Philosophy, Surreal FictionLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: T.A. Morton
Release Date: 23 April 2025
~~Series~~:
Genre: Philosophycal, Reflective, Asian Literature
Format: E-book
Pages: 202 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
A mysterious mask abandoned in a Hong Kong coffee shop eavesdrops on the lives of those who enter, asking, who are we beneath our masks?
The Coffee Shop Masquerade is a captivating exploration of transient lives seeking meaning amid everyday encounters, much like the alluring cup of coffee that unites and intrigues us all.
As the enigmatic forces inspired by the Tao Te Ching loom over them, choices must be made, secrets revealed, and unexpected bonds forged—all under the watchful gaze of a mysterious mask.

Review

The Coffee Shop Masquerade T.A. Morton feels simple on the surface but ripples with depth the longer you sit with it. Part fable, part philosophical reflection, it is an elegantly written exploration of identity, connection, and the spaces we inhabit between truth and illusion. It begins with something as ordinary as a mask left behind in a Hong Kong café, but what follows is anything but ordinary. Through that mask’s silent observation, Morton unravels a series of intertwined lives, each one searching for meaning in the chaos of modern existence.

What makes this novel so engaging is its sense of calm observation. Much like the Taoist philosophy that threads through the story, The Coffee Shop Masquerade doesn’t rush toward answers; instead, it invites you to sit still and listen. There’s something profound about the way author Morton captures loneliness and belonging, weaving them together with the aroma of coffee and the pulse of a city constantly in motion.

The prose itself feels meditative; lyrical but never indulgent. Every chapter brings a new encounter, a new glimpse into people who, in another story, might have remained background characters. Here, they each step briefly into the light, revealing the masks they wear and the truths they fear. The mysterious presence of the mask becomes both narrator and mirror, reflecting back to the reader their own unspoken longing to be seen for who they truly are.

The Coffee Shop Marquerade is a thoughtful, graceful, and profound literary reflection on identity and interconnectedness. It’s perfect for readers who love reflective fiction like The Little Paris Bookshop or Klara and the Sun, and for anyone drawn to stories that brew philosophy and emotion into something soothing yet stirring.

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Book Review: Hundred Tongues: Volume 1: Northern Poets (Song Dynasty Poets) by Susan Wan Dolling

15/09/202515/09/2025Asian Literature, Poetry, Surreal FictionLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Susan Wan Dolling
Release Date: 5 August, 2025
Series: Song Dynasty Poets
Genre: Earnshaw Books
Format: E-book
Pages: 283 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
Volume I, Hundred Tongues, enters the world of Nothern Song Dynasty poets. It begins with a romantic warlord followed by “A Short, Short History of Song China”. Then comes a serious scholar-warrior, and a popular poet-songwriter whom some considered “vulgar”. Following them is a pair of good friends who were exiled and separated from each other. Two poets, one called “heroic and unrestrained” and the other, “delicate and elusive,” concludes this selection from the first part of the Song dynasty.

Review

Susan Wan Dolling’s Hundred Tongues is both a doorway and a companion to the lyric world of the Song Dynasty. This first volume, devoted to the Northern Song poets, sets the stage with translations that feel alive while also providing readers with enough context to understand the cultural, historical, and literary forces at play. From Li Yu’s haunting captivity poems to the bold voices of Su Shi and Qin Guan, author Dolling ensures that each poet is introduced as a strong voice with personality, context, and resonance.

What impressed me most is author Dolling’s balance between scholarship and accessibility. The book explains the difference between shi and ci, the intricacies of tune-patterns, and the cultural symbols woven into the lyrics (from wutong trees to migrating geese) but never in a way that alienates a newcomer. Instead, she offers these notes conversationally, as if guiding the reader through a gallery of poems, pointing out details they might have otherwise missed. This makes the translations not only comprehensible but deeply enjoyable, carrying both the music of the originals and the intimacy of personal reflection.

The translations themselves lean toward clarity and lyricism rather than ornament. They are readable aloud, and this simplicity allows the imagery to shine. At times, the commentary repeats information already offered, and some readers may wish for a stronger map or timeline to situate the poets within the dynasty. Still, these are minor quibbles when weighed against the richness the book provides.

On the whole, Hundred Tongues succeeds in what so many poetry collections fail to do, it makes the poems feel urgent and present rather than relics of a distant age. For readers familiar with Tang poetry who wonder what came after, or for anyone curious about the depth and subtlety of Chinese lyric, this book is an illuminating, thoughtful, and highly readable introduction. It is a project that feels both scholarly and personal, and that combination makes it linger. Its a beautiful entry point into Song Dynasty poetry, with translations that are clear, evocative, and anchored by commentary that both informs and invites.

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ARC Review: My Father is Police Lah!: Memories of 1960s Colonial Singapore by Rowena Hawkins

25/06/202523/06/2025Asian Literature, Cultural, memoir, noir, Societal and Cultural Commentary, Surreal FictionLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Rowena Hawkins
Release Date: June 24, 2025
~~Series~~:
Genre: Memoir, Cultural Literature, Asian Literature
Format: E-book
Pages: 232 pages
Publisher: Earnshaw Books
Blurb:
“The two of us against all of them? How unfair for them.”
Seeker Hokuren’s big break is coming: the prince of Velles hires her to find his missing daughter. Tracking down all those lost pet cats for a pittance has finally paid off.
Together with her eager but raw elven assistant Cinna, Hokuren quickly sees the case spiral into much more than a mere missing princess. There’s an elf kidnapping scheme, magic said to no longer be possible (never trust the wizards), a long lost goddess, and a monstrous captain of the guard in the middle of it all.

Review

My Father is Police, Lah! is an absolute delight of a memoir that dances between personal anecdote, cultural snapshot, and a rich, layered historical narrative. Author Rowena Hawkins invites us into her childhood in 1960s colonial Singapore, painting each memory with wit, honesty, and a keen eye for detail that only someone deeply immersed in the literary craft can achieve.

What struck me most was the authenticity of her voice. Author Hawkins achieves that rare balance: a conversational, often hilarious tone that is deceptively light, yet beneath which runs a profound undercurrent of nostalgia, family dynamics, colonial politics, and cultural intersections. The book isn’t simply about her father, a Malay prince-turned-police officer, but about a sprawling community of characters: the richly drawn servants, eccentric neighbours, and Singapore itself, captured at a very particular moment in its evolution.

The episodic structure works beautifully, each chapter reading like a self-contained story that contributes to a greater mosaic. From run-ins with supernatural forces to harrowing moments during the racial riots, from family feuds to hilarious childhood escapades, every vignette is vibrant and alive. The prose flows with effortless clarity, peppered with cultural nuances and linguistic texture, Singlish, Malay, Cantonese, and Tamil, woven organically into the narrative.

And yet, under the humour lies a deeply affectionate portrait of a father’s dedication, a mother’s resilience, and a nation’s complex colonial legacy. Hawkins doesn’t shy away from the messy, the awkward, or the painful, and renders them with such grace and candour that you come away feeling both entertained and oddly moved.

For readers who love richly detailed memoirs, cross-cultural narratives, or intimate histories of Southeast Asia, this book is an absolute must-read. As someone who reads and edits memoirs regularly, I found myself admiring Author Hawkins’ ability to maintain both levity and depth, and her mastery in capturing the sensory world of her childhood so vividly. I highly recommend this book to all the readers not just as a memoir, but as a literary time capsule of Singapore’s multi-ethnic, post-colonial identity. This book is an absolute gem!

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Book Review: Kojiro by Khalil A. Barnett

05/02/202305/02/2023Asian Literature, Asian Myths, Fantasy, High fantasy, Khallil Barnett, MythologyLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Khalil A. Barnett
Release Date: 15th November 2022
~~Series~~:
Genre: High Fantasy Asian Myths & Legends, Asian Literature
Format: E-book
Pages: 436
Publisher: Booklocker.com
Blurb:
A sword & sorcery fantasy novel based on Asian myths & legends.
Tulpas, otherwise known as thought-forms, spring first from the imagination, then go on to live lives independent of their creators. And sometimes, they maintain a hostile, even violent, relationship with said creators.
No one knows this quite like Coletrane Marx, the only son of an eccentric billionaire archeologist, who one night as a child unwittingly created a tulpa himself; one that visited him in demon form in the middle of the night to murder his parents with a samurai sword.

Forever changed by this trauma, Coletrane grows up to inherit his father’s obsession with archeology and to discover that his unfiltered, childhood imagination created not only this mysterious, cursed samurai named Kojiro, but also an alternate feudal history wherein the strong-willed warrior has his own prophetic story in a world full of mythic creatures, powerful humanoid animal Lords, living deities, and evil Tricksters. A world, Coletrane in addition learns, that will overlap with his own in catastrophic ways if he and Kojiro do not reconcile their dark, shared past and come together as one to stop it.

Review

Kijiro by Khalil A. Barnett is a sword & sorcery fantasy novel based on Asian myths & legends and tells the story of Kojiro, a malignant manifestation of a young child, the son of a billionaire archeologist.

This book is so different from the usual fantasy stories that one reads, especially the popular culture Fantasy books, as most of them draw heavily from Greek and/or Roman legends. But this book was a real treat for me because it is based on Asian mythology and being an Asian myself it was so gratifying to read a story about the culture I could, if not entirely being a South Asian, at least partially, relate to way more than the European fantasy plots. I could feel more connected to the story and especially the motivations of the character and the stakes in the story for them.

I loved the author’s writing style — it had a great flow, making the book seem like a lullaby, albeit dark. The pacing of the novel is spot on and the tension runs tight throughout the story, keeping the readers engaged right from the beginning to the very last page. The concept is phenomenal, the execution fantastic and the overall story extremely captivating and entertaining.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and would highly recommend it to all readers, especially to all Asian readers to explore this amazing gem.