Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Kim Cho-yeop TRANSLATOR: Anton Hur GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: April 28, 2026 RATING: 4.45 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary collection of science-fiction short stories. Gripping and imaginative narratives. More focussed on characters and human emotions than on tech and futurism. An exceptional debut. Much recommended. Would work well even for those not keen on sci-fi. This debut collection of short stories supposedly created a huge stir when it was first published in S. Korea in 2019. We are lucky to finally have an English edition, and that too translated by the talented Anton Hur. His introductory note contains this memorable sentence; “Unlike American or British SF traditions, Korean science fiction isn't rooted in imperialist concerns like colonising outer space or managing interstellar empires.” I immediately knew this was my type of sci-fi. The book contains only seven stories, and each one is distinct from the rest. Some of the stories are inter-g...

AUTHOR: Joanne Joseph NARRATOR: Roshina Ratnam GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: September 1, 2021 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction novel focusing on Indian indentured labourers in Port Natal. Compelling lead character, interesting story, decent writing, great research. Does well to focus on a history not often told. A good debut novel. Recommended. Not for sensitive readers. Plot Preview: 1860. Fourteen-year-old Shanti lives with her parents in a small village near Madras Province in South India. When she is faced with the prospect of a forced arranged marriage, Shanti decides to contact the local agent who sends people to a better future in Port Natal by working on sugarcane farms. But once she arrives in Natal after a harrowing sea journey, she realises that the stories she had heard were nothing but myth. Now all that lies ahead for Shanti is hard labour at a pittance and no way of going back home. Can she somehow make her dreams come true in this u...

AUTHOR: Gennifer Choldenko NARRATOR: Javier Prusky GENRE: Middle-grade Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 11, 2024 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade contemporary fiction about a young boy doing his best and yet making mistakes. Excellent eponymous character, nice mix of secondary characters, interesting plot, bittersweet emotions, fab ending. Too many themes. Loads of discussion-worthy points. Definitely recommended to older middle-graders. Plot Preview: It's been more than a week since eleven-year-old Hank's mother has not come home. Hank tries his best to take care of his three-years-old sister Boo, but when the money and food runs out, he has no choice but to approach the stranger whom his mom listed as an emergency contact on his school picnic form. But such actions come with consequences, and Hank now has to deal with a new temporary home, a new school, and maybe even social workers who might separate him from Boo. He knows that if he wants to reunite with his mom...

AUTHOR: Guadalupe Nettel TRANSLATOR: Rosalind Harvey GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: September 6, 2023 RATING: 3.75 stars. A collection of eight literary short stories, dominated by accidental events that change their lead character’s fate. Good stories, interesting characters, impeccable translation. Stays true to the central theme. Some are realistic, some have an element of magical realism. I liked all the stories but some of them would have earned more stars if their endings had satisfied me better. These were my favourites earning 4+ stars: 🌷 Imprinting: A bittersweet story that doesn't answer much and yet leaves a solid impression. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌷 The Fellowship of Orphans: Takes the broken to recognise the broken, or does it? Yet another story I'd have loved to read a longer version of. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌷 The Pink Door: I absolutely didn't expect this story to go the way it did. Really clever and highly surprising. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ 🌷 A Forest Under the Earth: The titl...