English books from Asia
Recommended English books (1231)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you speak English here are some English books from Asia for the next part of the "Read Around The World Challenge".
1011.
The Punkhawala and the Prostitute by Wesley Leon Aroozoo EN
SingaporeDescription:
Behind the golden façade of a land filled with opportunities dwell two destitute souls, shipped to Singapore in the late 1800s. Oseki, an ingenue forced into prostitution as a karayuki, grapples with being betrayed by her own father and transforms into a monster she can’t recognise. Gobind, a deaf convict from India, serves his sentence as a punkhawala to a British hunter obsessed with killing Rimau Satan, a man-eating tiger of mythic proportions. Whenever Gobind hunts with his master, his butchered memories lurk in the darkness, aching to pounce. When Oseki’s and Gobind’s paths intertwine, th... continue
1012.
The Queen who Ruled the Waves and Other Amazing Tales of Royalty from Indian History by Indira Ananthakrishnan EN
IndiaDescription:
A king who composed more than 400 songs. A princess who followed a beloved temple idol to the very end. Emperors who tamed wild cheetahs and kept zebras as pets. Queens who fought the mightiest and cruellest powers on land and sea. Determined warriors, artistic temple builders, wise administrators, prolific writers, unabashed food-lovers and expert musicians... Who were these incredible, multifaceted rulers from the past who stood out among hundreds of others? From Kattabomman to Krishnadevaraya, from Abbakka to Durgavati, from Velu Nachiyar to Shantala, and from Mahendravarman to Chhatrapati ... continue
1013.
The Question of Red by Laksmi Pamuntjak EN
IndonesiaDescription:
From award-winning Indonesian author Laksmi Pamuntjak comes a tale of profound love against the backdrop of myth, culture, and politics. In this sweeping saga of love, loss, revolution, and the resilience of the human spirit, Amba must find the courage to forge her own path. Amba was named after a tragic figure in Indonesian mythology, and she spends her lifetime trying to invent a story she can call her own. When she meets two suitors who fit perfectly into her namesake's myth, Amba cannot help but feel that fate is teasing her. Salwa, respectful to a fault, pledges to honor and protect Amba,... continue
1014.
The Quiet Ones by Glenn Diaz EN
Country: Asia / 
Philippines
Philippines
Description:
During a regular shift at the call center, Alvin Estrada discovers a way to embezzle money from the American telecom giant for which he mans the phones. Soon a couple of friends join in, and the operation proceeds smoothly up until they quit, vowing to take the secret to their graves. A month later, a phone call at 4 in the morning tells Alvin that the police are on their way. At once a workplace novel and a meditation on history and globalization, The Quiet Ones is a grimly humorous take on a soul-sapping, multi-billion-dollar industry. In interlocking narratives, it explores lives rendered m... continue
1015.
The Railway by Hamid Ismailov, Robert Chandler EN
Country: Asia / 
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Description:
Set mainly in Uzbekistan between 1900 and 1980, this compelling novel introduces to us the inhabitants of the small town of Gilas on the ancient Silk Route. Among those whose stories we hear are Mefody-Jurisprudence, the town's alcoholic intellectual; Father Ioann, a Russian priest; Kara-Musayev the Younger, the chief of police; and Umarali-Moneybags, the old moneylender. Their colorful lives offer a unique and comic picture of a little-known land populated by outgoing Mullahs, incoming Bolsheviks, and a plethora of Uzbeks, Russians, Persians, Jews, Koreans, Tatars, and Gypsies. At the heart o... continue
1016.
The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata EN
Description:
Andrea Hirata is an Indonesian novelist. His debut novel The Rainbow Troops (known as Laskar Pelangi in Indonesia) shattered national sales records, making him the best selling author in Indonesia to date, reached over 5 millions readers, and contributed significantly to the development of modern Indonesian literature. The Rainbow Troops, set on Belitong Island, Indonesia, tells the story of a tight-knit group of students and their teachers fighting for education and dignity, even as they face continual hardship. Fabulously rich in natural resources, Belitong is also home to chronic poverty an... continue
1017.
The Red Threads of Fortune by Neon Yang EN
Description:
The Red Threads of Fortune is one of a pair of unique, standalone introductions to JY Yang's Tensorate Series, which Kate Elliott calls "effortlessly fascinating." For more of the story you can read its twin novella The Black Tides of Heaven, available simultaneously. Fallen prophet, master of the elements, and daughter of the supreme Protector, Sanao Mokoya has abandoned the life that once bound her. Once her visions shaped the lives of citizens across the land, but no matter what tragedy Mokoya foresaw, she could never reshape the future. Broken by the loss of her young daughter, she now hun... continue
1018.
The red-haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk EN
TurkeyDescription:
** ORDER NIGHTS OF PLAGUE, THE NEW NOVEL FROM ORHAN PAMUK **Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature'Saturated with sympathy and sense of place, the book charts a boy's journey into manhood and Turkey's into irreversible change' Financial Times'An ending that makes you immediately start the book all over again.' The Sunday Times 'Enchanting.' Wall Street Journal'Many years have now gone by, and jealousy compels me to keep her name a secret, even from my readers. But I must provide a full and truthful account of what happened.'A studious young man spends a summer helping a master well-digger se... continue
1019.
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen EN
VietnamDescription:
A collection of stories written over a twenty-year period that examines the Vietnamese experience in America as well as questions of home, family, and identity.
1020.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid EN
PakistanDescription:
Changez, a young Muslim American, is living the American dream, with a Princeton education and high-paying job, until the events of September 11th force him to confront his personal allegiances.