Books

Author Anouk Markovits explores Jewish sect she left

TOKYO, May 25 — Like the characters of her book, Anouk Markovits grew up inside the strict Satmar Hasidic Jewish sect, where reading novels was frowned upon and she was expected to wed in an arranged marriage at a young age.Markovits, a native of France, broke away from the community, as does Atara Stern, one of the daughters of the family in “I Am Forbidden.”But most of the book centres on those who remain behind, especially the young couple Mila and Josef, ... Read More

Former German central bank executive and controversial author Thilo Sarrazin attends a news conference to present his latest book “Europe doesn’t need the euro” in Berlin May 22, 2012. — Reuters pic

Hay book fest marks 25th at ‘Woodstock of the mind’

LONDON, May 24 – For 10 days next month, some of the world’s top authors and their readers will descend on a small town on England’s border with Wales for a “Woodstock of the Mind” to talk about music, politics, the environment, but mostly about books.The Hay Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, bringing Nobel Prize-winning writers, ... Read More

‘X-Men’ comic plans gay superhero wedding

LOS ANGELES, May 23 — Marvel comic book crime fighters X-Men have put down their weapons and picked up wedding rings for the first same-sex marriage in the superhero world, set for June.Marvel yesterday said Jean-Paul Beaubier, aka Northstar, a Canadian with piercing blue eyes and silver-streaked black hair who can move and fly at superhuman speeds, will ... Read More

Brazil’s Dalton Trevisan wins top Portuguese literary prize

LISBON, May 22 – Brazilian writer Dalton Trevisan, famed for his raw short stories, has won the Camoes prize, the Portuguese-speaking world’s top literary honour, officials announced yesterday.Born in 1925 in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, the reclusive writer is known for collections of grotesque stories often filled with dark humour, ... Read More

UK library acquires key early gospel for RM42 million

LONDON, May 18 — A seventh-century gospel discovered in a saint’s coffin more than 900 years ago, and the oldest European book to survive fully intact, has been acquired by the British Library for US$14 million (RM42 million), the library said recently.The manuscript copy of the Gospel of St John called the St Cuthbert Gospel was produced in the northeast ... Read More