Popular Asian Historical Fiction Books

Find historical fiction books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (136)

51.

Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Lebanon flag Lebanon
Description:
A 2023 Canada Reads Finalist Longlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize A vivid love letter to the 1980s and one woman's struggle to overcome the challenges of immigration. It's 1986, and Muna Heddad is in a bind. She and her son have moved to Montreal, leaving behind a civil war filled with bad memories in Lebanon. She had plans to find work as a French teacher, but no one in Quebec trusts her to teach the language. She needs to start making money, and fast. The only work Muna can find is at a weight-loss center as a hotline operator. All day, she takes calls from people responding to ad... continue

52.

House on Endless Waters : A Novel by Emuna Elon EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Israel flag Israel
Description:
“Elon powerfully evokes the obscurity of the past and its hold on the present, as we stumble through revelation after revelation with Yoel. As we accompany him on his journey...we share in his loss, surprise and grief, right up to the novel’s shocking conclusion.” —The New York Times Book Review “Emuna Elon’s powerful House on Endless Waters is essential Jewish fiction…a deeply immersive achievement that brings to life stories that must never be forgotten.” —USA TODAY “A story of love, loss, and yearning. Lyrically phrased and often powerfully visual…this deeply felt tale offers a rewarding me... continue

53.

How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
The first English translation of the classic Japanese novel that has sold over 2 million copies—a childhood favorite of anime master Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle), with an introduction by Neil Gaiman. First published in 1937, Genzaburō Yoshino’s How Do You Live? has long been acknowledged in Japan as a crossover classic for young readers. Academy Award–winning animator Hayao Miyazaki has called it his favorite childhood book and announced plans to emerge from retirement to make it the basis of his final film. How Do You Live? is narrated in two voices... continue

54.

How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Singapore flag Singapore
Description:
A beautiful, stunningly ambitious tale of endurance, identity, and memory, for fans of Min Jin Lee's Pachinko and Georgia Hunter's We Were the Lucky Ones.

55.

I Remember Abbu by Humayun Azad EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Bangladesh flag Bangladesh
Description:
A touching story of war, family, innocence, and memory from one of the top Bengali writers of all time. For the first time translated into English. Bangladesh, 1971: the war of independence from Pakistan has torn through peaceful villages and turned life upside down. In the midst of war, one young girl holds on as she discovers the world's unpredictability. During her father's prolonged absence, she reminisces about the essence of her abbu, an esteemed professor, loving community leader, and now unexpected warrior. She is moved by his quiet determination to preserve Bengali language and cultur... continue

56.

Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / India flag India
Description:
This is the first book in a trilogy on Shiva, the simple man whose karma re-cast his as our Mahadev, the God of Gods.

57.

In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa EN

Rating: 3 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Syria flag Syria
Description:
1980s Syria. Our young narrator is living a secluded life behind the veil in the vast and perfumed house of her grandparents. Her three aunts bring her up with the aid of their ever-devoted blind servant. Soon the high walls of the family home are unable to protect her from the social and political upheavals outside.

58.

In the shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey ratner EN

Rating: 4 (3 votes)
Country: Asia / Cambodia flag Cambodia
Description:
A beautiful celebration of the power of hope, this New York Times bestselling novel tells the story of a girl who comes of age during the Cambodian genocide. You are about to read an extraordinary story, a PEN Hemingway Award finalist “rich with history, mythology, folklore, language and emotion.” It will take you to the very depths of despair and show you unspeakable horrors. It will reveal a gorgeously rich culture struggling to survive through a furtive bow, a hidden ankle bracelet, fragments of remembered poetry. It will ensure that the world never forgets the atrocities committed by the K... continue

59.

Játim by Raja Alem ES

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Saudi Arabia flag Saudi Arabia
Description:
Játim es un relato que mantiene una sólida conexión con el lugar, la ciudad santa de La Meca. Se sitúa en un periodo poco delimitado, que puede ser a comienzos del siglo XX. En cualquier caso, es antes de que el Reino de Arabia Saudí surgiera como tal después de haberse independizado de Turquía. Es una novela con apariencia realista cuyo entramado se teje entre la realidad, la magia, la memoria colectiva, las prácticas religiosas, el simbolismo y las ambigüedad. En Játim se manifiesta una bisexualidad que le permite atravesar todas las barreras establecidas para separar a los sexos: la calle, ... continue

60.

Kim by Rudyard Kipling EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / India flag India
Description:
Kim, an Irish orphan, accompanies a holy man on his journey throughout India and his quest for a mystical river.