Guo Songfen's short stories are masterful psychological portraits that play with the echoes of history and the nature of identity. One of the few modernists to truly capture the fallout from such events as the February 28th Incident and the White Terror, Guo Songfen illuminates the quiet core of his characters through a spare and immediate style that is at once a symptom and an allegory of the trauma in which they live. In "Running Mother," a man is torn between his fear of abandonment and his guilt over leaving his family, and therefore his symbolic home, behind. "Moon Seal" follows a woman caught between traditional and modern worlds. In "Wailing Moon," a wife learns a shocking secret after her husband's death, realizing he was never the man she thought him to be. Set in the United States and Taiwan, "Snow Blind" is a multigenerational triptych that portrays the consequences of spiritual malaise, and in "Brightly Shines the Stars Tonight," a general wrestles with issues of memory and self-perception in the final moments before his execution. Guo Songfen's stories play with the hazards of miscommunication, the malevolence of human will, the arbitrary nature of fate, and the burden of historical circumstance. As the general discovers, life is a game of chess, the outcome of which is never certain though it might be logically designed. Showcasing the best of Taiwan's modernist style, these stories are not only an indictment of the human condition but also a powerful comment on the experience of postretrocession Taiwan.

The story A Heart Beat Away depicts the challenges of a Jamaican family as they resolve to overcome obstacles to solve their socioeconomic problems. Here we encounter characters promoting virtues and values of gentility within an emerging middle-class structure. The story pivots around Janice Henlon, the main character, who is an ambitious girl with high hopes and aspiration. This story reveals her strength of character and determination to triumph over adversities as she wends her way to a successful encounter. Dying with Love This short story reveals the importance of parental understanding and guidance for adolescence as they traverse the pathway to adulthood. Broken Dreams Broken Dreams is a story filled with disappointments and heartache for a young couple. It reveals how trust can be broken and hopes can be flushed away, but the real joy will appear to bring back hope and love to a troubled wife. Second Chance This is a superb love story that will thrill your heart and leave you astounded. It is a story of two lovers trying to recapture a romance of twenty-five years gone by. Will it be possible? Are they too late? Is the fire still burning? Stay with them and find out. Fatal Mistake As the adage goes, One should not make the same mistake twice. If you do, there will be consequences, regret, misery, and fatality. Think before you act. That Mango Tree Love will always conquer all in the end. Three cheers for love. Let us make it love.

Cho Sun Jak is a prolific South Korean writer of many novels and short stories. Many of his works have been adapted successfully as TV dramas and films, but very few of his works have been available in English till now. He presents an honest and frank view of the reality behind the successful development of modern Korea, with humor and sensitivity. The well-known novella, "The Preview," depicts the Korean War through the eyes of a young boy, and the other stories in this collection reflect the aftermath of the war, the desperate lives of the poor, the corruption of moral values, and the pathos of the lives of good-hearted prostitutes. The translations capture well the atmosphere and values of the period in which the stories were written. Detailed notes clarify linguistic points and the social and cultural context.

Collection of three Western stories, featuring the title piece about the relationship between a father and his two sons, bound together by love and fly fishing.

"Dream and Swine and Aurora," "Deep in the Rubber Forest," "Fish Bones," "Allah's Will," "Monkey Butts, Fire, and Dangerous Things"—Ng Kim Chew's stories are raw, rural, and rich with the traditions of his native Malaysia. They are also full of humor and spirit, demonstrating a deep appreciation for human ingenuity in the face of poverty, oppression, and exile. Ng creatively captures the riot of cultures that roughly coexist on the Malay Peninsula and its surrounding archipelago. Their interplay is heightened by the encroaching forces of globalization, which bring new opportunities for cultural experimentation, but also an added dimension of alienation. In prose that is intimate and atmospheric, these sensitively crafted, resonant stories depict the struggles of individuals torn between their ancestral and adoptive homes, communities pressured by violence, and minority Malaysian Chinese in dynamic tension with the Islamic Malay majority. Told through relatable characters, Ng's tales show why he has become a leading Malaysian writer of Chinese fiction, representing in mood, voice, and rhythm the dislocation of a people and a country in transition.

In Taiwanese writer Lo Yi-Chin’s Faraway, a fictionalized version of the author finds himself stranded in mainland China attempting to bring his comatose father home. Lo’s father had fled decades ago, abandoning his first family to start a new life in Taiwan. After travel between the two countries becomes politically possible, he returns to visit the son he left behind, only to suffer a stroke. The middle-aged protagonist ventures to China, where he embarks on a protracted struggle with the byzantine hospital regulations while dealing with relatives he barely knows. Meanwhile, back in Taiwan, his wife is about to give birth to their second child. Isolated in a foreign country, Lo mulls over his life, dwelling on his difficult relationship with his father and how becoming a father himself has changed him. Faraway is a powerful meditation on the nature of family and the many ways blood can both unite and divide us. Lo’s depiction of family dynamics and fraught politics contains a keen sense of irony and sensitivity to everyday absurdity. He offers a deft portrayal of the rift between China and Taiwan through an intimate view of a father-son relationship that bridges this divide. One of the most celebrated writers in Taiwan, Lo has been greatly influential throughout the Chinese-speaking world, but his work has not previously been translated into English. Jeremy Tiang’s translation captures Lo’s distinctive voice, mordant wit, and nuanced portrayal of Taiwanese culture.

Fools and Other Stories is an intricate and subtle collection that deals with the formative experiences of growing up in a Johannesburg township during the apartheid years. ‘These five stories are part of a long project in which I am attempting to explore imaginatively various aspects of life in the community I grew up in in South Africa. The first part, which these five stories cover, deals with the themes of early childhood and adolescence. In the second part I hope to explore adult life up to old age; lastly, I want to imaginatively study the movement of social change.’ – Njabulo S. Ndebele