My new book to be published in Japan is entitled 新しい目の旅立ち in Japanese, which, I’ve been told, translates as “a journey with new eyes” or “new eyes journey.” It was published in Thai as ตื่นบนเตียงอื่น or “waking up on a different bed.”

The book is made up of essays about my research trip on an island in the Philippines called Siquijor. Siquijor is sometimes regarded as “black magic island” by the Filipinos because of its famous “mananambal” (healers), shamans, witch doctors and the likes. I had never heard of Siquijor before arriving in the Philippines for my research (on art and nature among the indigenous peoples), but several random passing comments about the island in conversations with writers and artists caught my interest. I was actually warned by a few people not to go, because “things happen to people who visit Siquijor.” So naturally I went there.

But the book is not really about Siquijor, which, by the way, is beautiful and, as far as could tell, black magic-free. It’s more like a journal in which I recorded my reflections on the meaning of nature, taking some of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza’s pantheistic ideas as my guiding inspiration.

The Japanese translation was done by Fukutomi Sho, and it was serialized in Azuma Hiroki‘s GENRON journal throughout 2018-19. I was thrilled to receive the news that Azuma wanted to include this work of mine in his journal, as I had read and admired his work. Now the thrill continues with the book getting its release in Japan in January 2020.

新しい目の旅立ち can now be pre-ordered here.

I will be in Tokyo for a couple of talk sessions related to the book and my future projects at Azuma’s Genron Cafe in March. Much looking forward to that too!

My first book translated into Chinese is available in Taiwan today, April 1st! It’s the same story collection that was translated into English as The Sad Part Was. This is all very exciting in itself, obviously, but there’s also something that sets this version of my story collection apart from the previous versions in other languages: the overall concept for the book.

The title, (P), is unusual. The publisher, Fever, told me they saw it as an abstract symbol, not a word. I was impressed with the decision to use this as the title as it felt so commercially risky. They say they are more interested in taking an approach that’s “different” rather than predictable. I really appreciate that spirit.

The design of the book is also abstract, using textured black paper and minimalistic elements to produce an object that is both elegant and mysterious to hold. The actual book slides out of a paper case with a cutout design that creates a subtle optical illusion. The whole package almost turns this collection into a conceptual art book.

(P) can be ordered online at these sites:

博客來：https://ppt.cc/f0PHox

讀冊：https://ppt.cc/f1bX8x

三民：https://ppt.cc/f3i1Nx

Or if you happen to be in Taiwan, you’ll find the book at the popular Eslite Bookstores, as well as at some independent bookstores.

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I remember feeling excited to see “Eyes Wide Shut”, the film that would become Stanley Kubrick’s swan song, when it was released in 1999. I also remember my disappointment after having seen it. But the film introduced me to Traumnovelle, the Arthur Schnitzler novella that inspired Kubrick. This small, somewhat overlooked gem became one of my favorite works of literature.

While I was overseeing international relations for the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand from 2013-17, I had the opportunity to visit some international book fairs annually. There was one book that always caught my eyes every time I stopped to browse at the Goethe Institut stand. (The Goethe Institut has a beautiful stand at probably every big international book fairs.) It was Jakob Hinrichs’ graphic interpretation of the Schnitzler masterpiece, also entitled Traumnovelle. I admired the artist’s visual sense, his lines, his use of colors, and the book was beautifully designed and produced. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that it included Schnitzler’s original German text in its entirety.

In 2016, when I was to curate a book-related exhibition for the second Bangkok Book Festival at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Jakob Hinrichs’ graphic novel came to mind almost immediately. The Goethe Institut in Thailand was on board to support the show, and when Jakob was approached about it he accepted the idea with enthusiasm. The exhibition consisted of enlarged reproductions of selected pages from his book and Jakob, Berlin based, was invited to come to Bangkok and conduct a couple of workshops. Jakob and I became friends, and in less than a year later, when I was in Berlin for a second launch event of The Sad Part Was, Jakob invited me to visit his studio in Mitte.

Even after all that, I didn’t expect to be the one taking on the task of getting Jakob and Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle translated and published in Thailand. But here it is, the Thai language version of this beautiful graphic novel and great modern literature. Fee Asavesna, a one-time actress—she was the leading actress in Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s feature film debut “Fun Bar Karaoke”—and cultish celebrity in the Thai indie scene, did an impressive job for a first-time translator.

I am proud to have been involved in getting this book out in Thailand.

Visit the Typhoon Studio website if you want a copy of the Thai Traumnovelle!