Recent releases:

THE DISHWASHER, by Stéphane Larue. Translated by Pablo Strauss. (Biblioasis, paper, $16.95.) Set in the kitchen of a high-end Montreal restaurant, this vivid and moving debut novel tracks the fortunes of a gambling-addicted heavy metal fan who works washing dishes.

OUT OF ITALY, by Fernand Braudel. Translated by Sian Reynolds. (Europa, paper, $17.) Braudel, a noted French historian, here casts his eye on the city-states of 15th-century Italy to make the case for their influence and continuing relevance to European culture.

THE PROMISE: Love and Loss in Modern China, by Xinran. Translated by William Spence. (I.B. Tauris, $27.) Reporting on four generations of one Chinese family and their diverging paths, Xinran shows how the country’s social norms have changed through politics and the rise of modernity.

CHINA AND JAPAN: Facing History, by Ezra F. Vogel. (Belknap/Harvard University, $39.95.) For 1,500 years, China and Japan have taken turns as the major Asian power players, shaping each other’s destinies even as they’re often at odds. Vogel traces the nuances.