Cathy Layne

Born in Liverpool, England, Cathy Layne lived in Japan for 15 years, where she worked as a book editor for the international section of a large Tokyo publisher, specializing in Japan-related books across all genres for the English language market. She then moved to Singapore where she became Senior Editor at a publishing company specializing in books on Asia. In both of these roles she commissioned and edited a wide range of titles including literature in translation; original literature; cookbooks; and books on fashion, contemporary art, architecture, and popular culture.

Ms. Layne is also a writer: her unpublished debut novel You're Beautiful was shortlisted in the prestigious UK Bath Novel Award 2016 and has attracted a great deal of attention from literary agents. You're Beautiful is a suspenseful character-driven literary thriller set in Japan and draws on Ms. Layne's in-depth knowledge of the country and its culture while exploring the themes of deluded love, obsession, and alienation.

Ms. Layne currently lives in Bangkok where she is a teacher and a freelance editor.

Book Reviews by Cathy Layne

Image of The Lighthouse
Author(s):
Alison Moore
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction

The Lighthouse

July 31, 2017
Reviewed by: 
Cathy Layne

“a powerfully poetic and moving study of loss, grief, and abandonment . . .”

Read Book Review >>
Image of Madame Zero: 9 Stories
Author(s):
Sarah Hall
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction, Single Authors

Madame Zero: 9 Stories

July 24, 2017
Reviewed by: 
Cathy Layne

This collection of nine short stories by Man Booker Prize–shortlisted British author Sarah Hall has a focus on the female experience—particularly of love and sex, pregnancy and motherhood—and the w

Read Book Review >>
Image of The Nakano Thrift Shop: A Novel
Author(s):
Hiromi Kawakami
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction, Families, Humor

The Nakano Thrift Shop

June 5, 2017
Reviewed by: 
Cathy Layne

Fans of Japanese literature may notice some similarities between the work of Hiromi Kawakami and that of Banana Yoshimoto, the latter of whom rose to worldwide fame in the early 1990s with the tran

Read Book Review >>
Image of Miss Burma
Author(s):
Charmaine Craig
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction

Miss Burma

May 4, 2017
Reviewed by: 
Cathy Layne

“one of the author's main achievements lies in forcing us to consider the intersection of the personal and political . . .”

Read Book Review >>
Image of The Boy in the Earth
Translator(s):
Allison Markin Powell
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction

The Boy in the Earth

April 24, 2017
Reviewed by: 
Cathy Layne

Opening with a brutal scene of gang violence against the protagonist, The Boy in the Earth is a dark, nihilistic portrait of contemporary Japan and its damaged youth.

Read Book Review >>
Image of What to Do About the Solomons
Author(s):
Bethany Ball
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction

What to Do About the Solomons

April 7, 2017
Reviewed by: 
Cathy Layne

Why do we love the literary family saga? For many of us it's the pleasure of escaping our own less-than-satisfactory family to marvel at an even worse one.

Read Book Review >>
Image of They Are Trying to Break Your Heart
Author(s):
David Savill
Genre(s):
Literary Fiction, Political

They Are Trying to Break Your Heart

January 9, 2017
Reviewed by: 
Cathy Layne

In April 2005 two men on opposite sides of the world are grieving for loved ones who died when the tsunami of December 2004 destroyed a Thai seaside resort.

Read Book Review >>