Dispatches From Here Books

25/04/2021

The Pickup tell the story of a young couple from radically different backgrounds—Julie, a wealthy, White daughter of the new South Africa and Abdu, an undocumented Arab Muslim working as a mechanic in Joburg. Despite their radically different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds, their connection is deep and true as they navigate the complicated road of living across border lines together. From Nobel-prize winning South African writer Nadine Gordimer, this is a novel of love thriving in impossible circumstances. Recently added to the shop, don’t miss this singular and revealing story of courage and love.
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01/03/2021

A classic of modern Chinese literature, Chang's short stories are resplendent with moments of desire, tenderness, cruelty and love.

This was my Lunar New Year read, and it’s length and voice we’re perfect for the festival and Valentine’s Day. Now available in the shop.
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31/01/2021

Some weekends I can’t wait to read into a new book. Some weekends, I reread for the 5th time.

What’s a book or series you always return to? If you’ve never tried this shop favorite, the whole trilogy + Kwan’s latest are all available in the shop.
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14/01/2021

S*x, birth, food, death. These are four cornerstones of the human experience. In this highly accessible non-fiction work, journalist Jenny Kleeman investigates coming technological changes to those four basic human experiences. She interviews inventors and CEOs, marketing managers and artists and people both delighted by future possibilities, and terrified of them.

For someone already involved in monitoring advances in these technologies, S*x Robots & Vegan Meat May not contain much groundbreaking information (although the author’s reactions to them provides nice context). However, for someone mostly or totally unaware of some of the changes looming on the horizon, this book is an excellent introduction.
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25/09/2020

A lot of great books were added to the store in this week's restock! We've also added a whole new shelf to help you travel from the comfort of your home--Cook Your Way Around the World!

Check out this list on Bookshop

16/09/2020

What’s the genre or author it might surprise people to know you love? I’m always surprised by how heartily I’ll jump into any Luanne Moriarty book. I haven’t loved all of them, but I’ve never not finished a book of hers, and a lot of them I’ve really appreciated. I like the way she makes sharp commentary on the often impossible social expectations places on women to “have it all”, toxic masculinity, and the secrets all marriages hold.
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16/09/2020

The Booker Prize 2020 Shortlist has been announced and a favorite author in the shop has made the list!

The leading literary award in the English speaking world, which has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over 50 years. Awarded annually to the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

08/09/2020

(I received a pre-release copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

I read this book earlier in the year, back in April or May. That was before the protests and racial equality movement that was sparked off this year by the murder of George Floyd covered the USA. At the time, I enjoyed the book (Cole is one of my favorite authors; I read and adored her Reluctant Royals romance series in particular) but didn't love it and felt like some elements of it were a bit too extreme. I remember comparing it to Get Out mentally as I read it. I realize now how wrong that was of me.

When No One Is Watching is a horror/thriller about gentrification. Reading it, there were parts where my lack of being able to relate--usually not a problem as I tend to read widely and love translated literature in particular--became a hindrance between me and the story. I was so overwhelmed by the horror of gentrification as Cole presented it that I disconnected from the narrative at times, telling myself "this is just a book". Then I found out that Breonna Taylor's family lawyer has stated that the warrant Louisville police used to enter her apartment and kill her was connected to a gentrification plan with political backing. (https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/07/us/breonna-taylor-lawsuit-gentrification/index.html)

F**k.

Never have I been so painfully aware of my own privileged experience (white, grew up in a very rural area) when reading a work of fiction, let alone a thriller/horror novel. Now I'm not saying this book is perfect--it's Cole's first published thriller and at times the pacing feels a bit off, but that also works as a plot device to unsettle the reader. The intensity of the final act is such that the reader is left spinning, like the characters, unsure of what happened or how it got so bad, so quickly. If you read and loved Such A Fun Age, or similar fiction books that show up on anti-racism reading lists, challenge yourself with this one. Cole is telling a story a lot of us white people don't want to hear, but need to.
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01/09/2020

One of my favorite authors just published this essay—

The acclaimed novelist lost her beloved husband—the father of her children—as COVID-19 swept across the country. She writes through their story, and her grief.

25/08/2020

At the beginning of this quarantine/pandemic I had quite ambitious plans to tackle some massive classics that I’d always put off. Then the actual emotional toll of it all set in and...well...I have not picked up Crime & Punishment yet.
If you are looking to challenge yourself and/or are interested in the Soviet era (or want to read about someone who’s worse off than you!) may I suggest this little gem? The author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, was a political prisoner in the Arctic Gulag for years and documented his experiences there both in non-fiction and novel form. This one, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denosovich, is a very short (my edition is 116 pages) novel about 24 hours in a gulag. It’s incredibly well done and the penguin edition translation works very well.
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09/08/2020

If I Had Your Face gives us a glimpse into the lives of several women trying to get ahead in modern Seoul’s cutthroat economy. Beauty is seen as essential to success in South Korea and beauty, the desire for it, or lack of plays a large part in the lives of the women.

Having lived in a few different countries now I’ve seen how beauty is completely subjective. Not only is beauty “in the eyes of the beholder” but it’s also heavily influenced by culture. It was disturbing to see what lengths some of the characters in this novel would go to for the sake of “beauty”, but the author elegantly made their motives empathetic, understandable. Which made it all the more unsettling.

If I Had Your Face by Frances Chan is a stunning novel. It’s wild to think that it’s the author’s debut novel and I am eagerly awaiting her next work.

Available in the shop.
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03/08/2020

Ever since reading the goodness which is the trilogy, I’ve been looking for the next book that can hit that sweet spot. Kevin Kwan’s newest work does that very well, but for something quite different I’d recommend this little gem by Diksha Basu. The Windfall chronicles the experiences of a modern Indian family as they rise from comfortably middle-class to decidedly wealthy. It’s quite a funny book and a bit satirical but, like CRA, also very warm and compassionate to its characters. It reminded me of classic British social satires a lá Jane Austen. That said, The Windfall stands on its own merits, which recommend it well! I look forward to reading more from this author.
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