Popular Asian Cultural Books
Find cultural books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (74)
1.
99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochai EN
Country: Asia / 
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Description:
"Twelve-year-old Marwand's memories from his previous visit to Afghanistan six years ago center on his contentious relationship with Budabash, the terrifying but beloved dog who guards his extended family's compound in Logar. Eager to find an ally in this place that's meant to be 'home, Marwand approaches Budabash the way he would any dog on his American suburban block--and the results are disastrous: Marwand loses a finger and Budabash escapes. The resulting search for the family dog is an expertly told adventure, a ninety-nine-night quest that sends Marwand and his cousins across the landsca... continue
2.
A Life at Noon by Talasbek Asemkulov EN
Country: Asia / 
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Description:
"Azhigerei is growing up in Soviet Kazakhstan, learning the ancient art of the kuy from his musician father. But with the music comes knowledge about his country, his family, and the past that is at times difficult to bear. Based on the author's own family history, A Life at Noon provides us a glimpse into a time and place Western literature has rarely seen as the first post-Soviet novel from Kazakhstan to appear in English"--
3.
A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe EN
JapanDescription:
First pub. 1964. Author's most dramatic work, won him the prestigious Shincho Literary Prize. In the novel the narrator tells how he responds to the birth and problems posed by his handicapped child. Recipient of the 1994 Nobel prize.
4.
A Woman Like Her : The Short Life of Qandeel Baloch by Sanam Maher EN
PakistanDescription:
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020'The powerful story of a woman who was ahead of her time' Mishal Husain, presenter at BBC News'Terrific and necessary' Sonia Faleiro'This book is brilliant and terrifying' Meena Kandasamy_________________________ A beautiful woman in winged eyeliner and a low-cut top lies on a bed urging her favourite cricketer to win the next match. In another post, she pouts at the camera from a hot tub. She posts a selfie with a cleric, wearing his cap at a jaunty angle. Her posts are viewed millions of times and the comments beneath them a... continue
5.
At the Breakfast Table by Defne Suman EN
TurkeyDescription:
Told from four different perspectives, At the Breakfast Table is a story of hidden histories and family secrets, from the author of The Silence of Scheherazade. Buyukada, Turkey, 2017. In the glow of a late summer morning, family gather for the 100th birthday of the famous artist Shirin Saka. It ought to be a time of fond reminiscence, looking back on a long and fruitful artistic career, on memories spanning almost a century. But the deep past is something Shirin has spent a lifetime trying to conceal. Her grandchildren, Nur and Fikret, and great-grandchild, Celine, do not know what she's hidi... continue
6.
Description:
Publisher description: The setting is Japan's deep south, where the author himself spent some time teaching English in a boys' school. Into this conservative world, with its social proprieties and established pecking order, breezes Botchan, down from the big city, with scant respect for either his elders or his noisy young charges; and the result is a chain of collisions large and small.
7.
Çalıkuşu by Reşat Nuri Güntekin TR
Description:
Reşat Nuri Güntekin'in 1922 yılında ilk kez Vakit gazetesinde tefrika edilen en tanınmış eseridir. Fransız Lisesi mezunu gencecik, delişmen bir kız olan Feride'nin serüveni yaşadığı derin bir hayal kırıklığı sonrasında nişanlısını, ailesini İstanbul'da bırakarak Anadolu'nun küçük bir köyüne öğretmen olmasıyla başlar. Daha sonra bu köyü diğer kasabalar, şehirler izler. Önceleri her gittiği yerde Kurtuluş Savaşı'nın etkileri görülür, güç koşulların, sefaletin izlerine rastlanır. Sonraları... continue
8.
China Witness : Voices from a Silent Generation by Xinran EN
ChinaDescription:
In 1912, 5000 years of feudal rule ended in China. In 1949, Mao Zedong came to power. This book is a personal testimony from a normally silent generation, a huge major work of oral history which sums up, in their own words, the vast changes which have overtaken China and its people over a century.
9.
Culture and Imperialism by Edward W. Said EN
PalestineDescription:
A landmark work from the author of Orientalism that explores the long-overlooked connections between the Western imperial endeavor and the culture that both reflected and reinforced it. "Grandly conceived . . . urgently written and urgently needed. . . . No one studying the relations between the metropolitan West and the decolonizing world can ignore Mr. Said's work.' --The New York Times Book Review In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as the Western powers built empires that stretched from Australia to the West Indies, Western artists created masterpieces ranging from Mansfield P... continue
10.
Culture Shock! : Spain by Marie Louise Graff EN
SingaporeDescription:
Whether you travel for business, pleasure, or a combination of the two, the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series belongs in your backpack or briefcase. Get the nuts-and-bolts information you need to survive and thrive wherever you go. "Culture Shock!" country guides are easy-to-read, accurate, and entertaining crash courses in local customs and etiquette. "Culture Shock!" practical guides offer the inside information you need whether you're a student, a parent, a globetrotter, or a working traveler. Each "Culture Shock!" title is written by someone who's lived and worked in the country, and ea... continue