25 Must-Read Books to Immerse Yourself in Asia's Rich Literary World
Asia boasts some of the world's oldest languages, vibrant storytelling traditions, and a diverse cultural tapestry, making it a paradise for book lovers. From ancient myths and legends to modern classics, comics, poetry, novels, and memoirs, Asian literature spans India to Japan, Mongolia to Sri Lanka, and beyond into the diaspora. It includes epic hymns, modernist masterpieces, accounts of war and colonialism, and intimate stories of love, family, healing, and identity.
Curating a definitive list from such a vast body of work is challenging, but we've selected 25 standout titles offering glimpses into nations from Bangladesh to Laos. Ideal for trip planning or escaping lockdown blues, these books vividly bring Asian cities and homes to life—from Hanoi to Hong Kong.
Bangladesh
A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
Set in March 1971, Rehana Haque prepares a special party for her children, taken from her in the 1950s and now politically active university students. As the Bangladesh War of Independence erupts, it tests family bonds like never before. Tahmima Anam vividly portrays Dhaka's everyday life, making Bangladesh feel real and relatable beyond news headlines.
Cambodia
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
"Absence is worse than death," reflects young Raami in this PEN Hemingway Award finalist, inspired by the author's own survival under Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime before fleeing to the U.S. in 1981. Raami endures by clinging to cherished family stories, legends, and poems shared by her father amid the chaos.
China
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
This Man Booker Prize finalist traces a musical family's saga across China's Communist Revolution. Madeleine Thien masterfully blends multi-generational drama with a nested epic, blurring fiction and reality as characters navigate conservatories, factories, and the Gobi Desert amid political upheaval.
City Gate, Open Up by Bei Dao, translated by Jeffrey Yang
Returning home often feels disorienting, but imagine Beijing transformed by the Great Leap Forward. Renowned poet Bei Dao explores this in his memoir, navigating memories through the city's winding streets, capturing the alienation of a native turned stranger.
Hong Kong
Vietnam
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Flipping the colonial gaze, this novel follows Binh, a Vietnamese cook for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in 1930s Paris. Monique Truong evokes the Vietnamese diaspora's displacement, shifting between colonial Saigon and pre-WWII France, with glimpses of figures like Ho Chi Minh.
An Insignificant Family by Da Ngan, translated by Rosemary Nguyen
This 2005 prize-winning novel from Hanoi's Union of Writers follows Nguyen Thi My Tiep, a former guerrilla fighter turned writer defying norms for an authentic life. It mirrors author Da Ngan's own journey from Can Tho service in the Southern Liberation Forces to U.S.-based storytelling.
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