Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales

Fiction. The tales of Bluestein's book unfold as the small fictional South Asian country of Ayama Na recovers from war and prepares for its inevitable Westernization. "In the tradition of Robert Olen Butler and Bob Shacochis," writes Marly Swick, O. Henry Award winner who selected this book for the G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction, "Bluestein is a writer who illuminates our cultural differences, while exploring the intricacies of the human condition." Publishers Weekly writes, "Bluestein brings a versatile, captivating voice to her debut story collection set in the fictional Asian country of Ayama Na." Booklist calls Bluestein "a writer to watch." Bluestein's Ayama Na may be a fictional place, but the characters, their struggles, their cruelty and their hearts are authentic.