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Outside a New York apartment building, an attempted mugging alters the lives of three people. Tony, a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman, who immigrated to the United States to give his family a better life. His daughter, Tammy, who grapples with the expectations surrounding a first-generation American as she grows into an ambitious young woman. And Oliver, a charming white lawyer with a dark family secret, who is continuously propelled towards Tammy and Tony, whether by fate or his choices.

The Water Margin is one of the most popular classics of early Chinese literature. It tells the vigorous story of 108 characters who, falling foul of the established state authorities, are forced to become outlaws. They form a bandit community in Liangshan Marsh, becoming such a formidable force in their own right that they threaten the power of government itself.

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Shaheen Khan. This definitive recording includes an introduction by J. D. Smith, read by Sagar Arya. The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It is of immense importance to the culture of the Indian...

Soseki Natsume's comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat, satirizes the foolishness of upper-middle class Japanese society during the Meiji era. With acerbic wit and sardonic perspective, it follows the whimsical adventures of a world-weary stray kitten who comments on the follies and foibles of the people around him. A classic of Japanese literature, I Am a Cat is one of Soseki's best-known novels. Considered by many as the greatest writer in modern Japanese history, Soseki's I Am a Cat is a classic novel sure to be enjoyed for years to come.

In this excellent English translation of The Analects, or Sayings, of Confucius, listeners will find a rich distillation of the timeless precepts of one of history's most influential teachers and social theorists. A Chinese philosopher who lived c. 551 to c. 479 B.C., Confucius originated and taught an ethical, socially oriented philosophy that stressed proper behavior and a sympathetic, mutually supportive attitude among individuals, their families and society.

210 BC, China. The most powerful emperor China has ever known is on the brink of death. In desperation, he sends his most gifted alchemist and sorcerer on a quest for the mythical elixir of life. His fleet never returned. Now, world-renowned archaeologist Georgia Lee is compelled to hunt for a mysterious man who may hold the secret to the greatest discovery in human history. Her search takes her on a thrilling journey. But what begins as an investigation into an archaeological riddle turns into something very sinister. Georgia starts to suspect that she is the one being hunted....

Omar Sharif leads an all-Egyptian cast in this three-part drama, recorded entirely in Egypt's capital. Adapted from the novels of Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz, this gripping family saga chronicles the life of a downwardly-mobile middle class family as Egypt emerges from colonialism...

Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji in the 11th century to entertain the other women in the court. It follows the romantic exploits of the title character, an emperor’s son, as he navigates life within aristocratic society and eventually outside of it. Praised for its psychological insight into the characters’ motivations, the book greatly influenced Japanese culture and is widely considered the world’s first novel. In 1882, Suematsu Kencho translated a condensed version of the text into English, allowing this classic tale to reach a wider audience.

In this first of a planned five-volume set, David Roy provides a complete and annotated translation of the famous Chin P'ing Mei, an anonymous sixteenth-century Chinese novel that focuses on the domestic life of Hsi-men Ch'ing, a corrupt, upwardly mobile merchant in a provincial town, who maintains a harem of six wives and concubines. This work, known primarily for its erotic realism, is also a landmark in the development of the narrative art form - not only from a specifically Chinese perspective but in a world-historical context.

The Narrow Road to the Interior and Hojoki are two of the best-loved works of their kind; famous for their beautiful, delicate verse and subtle insight into the human condition. It has been said of The Narrow Road that 'it was as if the very soul of Japan had itself written it'. It takes the form of a travel diary, and traces the poet's journey from Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to the northern interior.

From the author of The Vegetarian and Human Acts comes an audiobook like no other. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. It is an audiobook about mourning, rebirth and the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a stunning investigation of the fragility, beauty and strangeness of life.

An old pond; a frog jumps in: the sound of water — Basho This comprehensive introduction to Japan's best-loved haiku poets is the perfect book for anyone wanting to learn about haiku. Compiled and with commentary by renowned author and translator William Scott Wilson, the book features 26 poets and 550 haiku, exquisitely translated. Wilson takes listeners on a fascinating journey through the works of the major Japanese poets from the fifteenth century up to the present.

The poet Kabir, a selection from whose songs is here for the first time offered to English audiences, is one of the most interesting personalities in the history of Indian mysticism.

The Three Kingdoms is one of the Chinese Noble Classics. The great empire of China is in turmoil. As the government becomes increasingly incompetent, warlords and nobles battle for power. In the north is the Kingdom of Wei, headed by cunning and manipulative Cao Cao. In the southeast is the Kingdom of Wu, ruled by masterful and charismatic Sun Quan. In the west is the Kingdom of Shu, commanded by kindhearted and humble Liu Bei.

A humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins of Tokyo. Resigned, following years of exile and misfortune, to the bitter consequences of having married without their families' consent, and unable to have children of their own, Sosuke and Oyone find the delicate equilibrium of their household upset by a new obligation to meet the educational expenses of Sosuke's brash younger brother. While an unlikely new friendship appears to offer a way out of this bind, it also soon threatens to dredge up a past that could once again force them to flee the capital.

Despite the immense popularity of yoga today, there is surprisingly little knowledge of its roots among practitioners. This book brings together the core teachings of yoga in the words of their authors, rather than in the secondary versions of modern interpreters. Including key passages from the Upanishads, the Buddhist and Jaina traditions, the yoga sections of the Indian Tantras, and many texts that are being critically translated for the first time, Roots of Yoga provides a comprehensive and immediate insight into the essential texts of the Indian traditions of yoga.  

Brought to you by Penguin. What is love? It is the gold thread connecting between our hearts. In this light-filled and multi-faceted book, her first since being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Han Kang draws together the threads of her work and life, tracing the connections between her...

Hojoki is an introspective poem written in the 13th century by the enigmatic Japanese hermit Kamo no Chomei, who as a young man served in the capital as official court poet, but later in life withdrew from society.

A haunting gathering of classic Japanese tales of monsters and demons, yōkai and oni and yūrei, that live on in popular manga, anime, J-horror films, and video games A Penguin Classic Flesh-eating oni demons, kappa water sprites, shapeshifting kitsune foxes, vengeful yūrei ghosts, and other...

In her 30 years as Temple Hill's most renowned matchmaker, Sarla thought she'd seen it all. Blissful unions, marriages of convenience, Mr. and Mrs. Good Enough. Not to mention the bitter unfortunates who never made it down the aisle. She's received as many threats as thank-yous along the way. Surely no one would actually harm her. A series of threatening notes, sent in blood-red envelopes, suggest otherwise. Then the body of a woman is found at Sarla's office, sprawled on her stomach next to a heavy bronze statue of the Nataraja — the god of dance. Who was the intended victim?