Literature is composed of many voices coming from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Asia, in particular, is a literature hotspot with writers as diverse as the genres they write in.
Spanning 48 countries, each with its own collection of cultures, Asia is a continent where you can find an incredible selection of writers and stories to satisfy your love of reading.
Best Books by Asian Authors
If you’re stuck in a reading rut, check out these books ASAP! Whether you prefer fiction or non-fiction, this list is sure to have something up your reading alley.
Fiction Books by Asian Writers
If you’re looking for books involving made-up worlds, extraordinary circumstances, and larger-than-life characters, then check out the following books below!
1. A Beginning At the End by Mike Chen
For fans of dystopian fiction.
Six years ago, a virus decimated 70% of the United States population. Four survivors, each with their own secrets and burdens, band together to survive as society begins to rebuild amidst a broken country.
2. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
For fans of romance.
Stella Lane is an economist with practically no experience in dating. It doesn’t help that she has Aspergers. Her conclusion: she needs lots and lots of practice—preferably with a professional. Though Michael, the escort she hires, struggles to keep their arrangement professional, it’s not too long before real romantic tensions ensue.
3. Sarong Party Girls by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
For fans of night life.
Twenty-six-year-old Jazzy Lim hatches a plan with her best friends: Before the year ends, they’re going to get married to rich white men and have Chanel babies while they’re at it.
Exploring the gender politics and class tensions that fill Singapore’s streets, Jazzy’s hunt is far more complicated than she thought.
4. Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
For fans of sibling stories.
Two Chinese-American sisters, Miranda and Lucia, grow apart when Lucia develops a debilitating mental illness. In denial of her condition, Lucia plows recklessly ahead while pushing away her sister. Years later, Miranda leaves a peaceful life to rescue her sister once again, but only Lucia can decide if she wants to be saved.
5. 1Q84 by Haruki Murukami
For fans of surreal stories.
A young woman named Aomame finds herself in an alternate reality she names 1Q84. Meanwhile, Tengo, an aspiring writer, takes on a suspicious ghostwriting project that slowly eats away at his placid life.
Their tangled narratives slowly converge on a single point: a single moment in a classroom where both were once classmates. Relentlessly pursued by a mysterious cult, they make their way into a reality that may or may not be their original world.
6. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
For fans of fantasy.
Rin has aced the Keju— a test to find the Empire’s most talented youths to educate at prestigious academies. Faced with a chance to break away from the criminal life set out for her, Rin does everything she can to ensure her attendance. But being a dark-skinned peasant girl in the midst of the elite is not going to be easy, and she might just have to discover a darker side of herself to survive.
7. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
For fans of historical fiction.
Pachinko follows the story of four generations of a Korean family that migrates to Japan and must deal with all the discrimination they face as immigrants. In order to improve their standing in society, they open up a Pachinko Parlor, a slot machine game popular in Japan.
8. Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena
For fans of medieval stories.
Gul has a star-shaped birthmark on her arm. In the kingdom of Ambar, that’s a death sentence. When her parents are murdered and she’s forced into hiding to protect her own life, Gul wants nothing more than revenge. That’s until she meets someone that might just change everything for her.
9. Once Upon a Sunset by Tif Marcelo
For fans of family sagas.
Diana Gallagher-Cary is burned out and needs a change of scene. Forced on a sabbatical after making the wrong decision at work, she discovers letters from a grandfather long-thought dead, and learns she has relatives living in the Philippines.
Determined to connect with a family she never knew existed, Diana embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime trip that could change her life.
10. I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn
For fans of Japanese culture.
After an explosive fight with her mother, Kimi Nakamura decides to visit her estranged grandparents in Japan where she encounters a culture both strange and familiar at the same time. Lost in a sea of new experiences, she meets Akira, a medical student who moonlights as a mochi mascot and ends up being her guide to Kyoto.
What was first a trip to escape her problems becomes a journey to understand her mother and figure out her own future.
11. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
For fans of coming-of-age stories.
Jay’s plans to spend his last semester playing video games before starting university is derailed when he learns of his cousin’s death at the hands of an unfair regime. None of his family wants to talk about it, so Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the truth. But his search brings him more than he bargained for.
12. Severance by Ling Ma
For fans of the zombie apocalypse.
A plague of biblical proportions is ravaging the country, turning people into zombies that repeatedly go about their everyday routines from when they were alive until their bodies rot. Candace Chen is part of a group of survivors journeying to the “Facility,” an alleged safe place. If only their leader wasn’t such a domineering idiot…
13. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
For fans of motherhood stories.
Mia Warren, an artist who cares little about status quos, and her daughter, Pearl, rent a house from the affluent Richardsons, whose matriarch, Elena, believes in following all the rules. When one of the Richardsons’ family friends attempts to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle ensues and drives Mia and Elena to opposing sides.
Determined to win, Elena dives deep into Mia’s mysterious past, but what she uncovers may just cost her everything she holds dear. This acclaimed novel was turned into a Hulu miniseries starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. If you’re interested in reading this with your book club, check out our list of Little Fires Everywhere book club questions.
Nonfiction Books by Asian Authors
If you prefer more realistic and factual accounts, then the books below will definitely capture your interest!
13. All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
For fans of memoirs.
Nicole Chung was always told that her birth parents gave her up for adoption to give her a better life. Raised by a white family in a sheltered Oregon town, she’s had to struggle with prejudice that her adoptive family couldn’t see. Curiosity leads her into tracking down her birth parents, only to find out that the story she was often told was far from reality.
14. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
For fans of Star Trek.
In 1942, every Japanese-blooded person in the United States was sent to “relocation centers,” where they were held for years and against their will. Author George Takei, famous for playing the role of helmsman Hikaru Sulu of the starship Enterprise, was one of them.
This graphic novel relates the story of how he and his family survived four years of imprisonment, and how they recovered after World War II ended.
15. Without You, There Is No Us by Suki Kim
For fans of undercover stories.
Award-winning investigative journalist Suki Kim goes undercover in Pyongyang, North Korea, where she taught English to students. Over the next six months, she gains insight into how North Koreans behave, think, and live, while hiding her notes and photographs from censors.
Without You, There Is No Us offers a rare glimpse of a country so strict and censored that it largely remains a mystery to the outside world.
16. Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang
For fans of cooking and comedy.
Eddie Huang is known as a food personality and for the success of BaoHaus, his restaurant popular for its braised pork belly buns. His memoir chronicles his childhood as the son of parents who were “fresh off the boat” in America, and his journey to discovering himself by blazing through every American subculture there was, from obsessing over football, to partying and idolizing Tupac. This book inspired the hit ABC comedy series of the same name.
17. Not Quite Not White by Sharmila Sen
For fans of Indian Culture.
Sharmila Sen was only 12 when she emigrated from India to America. Starting again in a place with a completely different culture is hard for a child. Sharmila spends much of her life trying to assimilate into American whiteness. Embarking on a journey to find herself, she confronts the preconceived racial opinions and what it means to be white or colored.
Reading Books by Asian Authors
Literature is largely affected by geographical, social, and cultural thinking. What the West may generally know and follow is different from the East’s way of doing things.
You’re definitely missing out if your to-be-read list is composed mainly of western authors. Asian authors can certainly deliver the satisfaction that you get from reading books. There are fresh new perspectives, writing styles, ideas, and voices to explore.
So pick up one of these books and give it a try! Enjoy your reading!
What was the first book you read that was written by an Asian person? Share it in the comment section below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
