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. (134)
61.
L'architecte et le sultan by Elif Shafak FR
TurkeyDescription:
Istanbul, XVIe siècle. Le jeune Jahan débarque dans cette ville inconnue avec pour seul compagnon un magnifique éléphant blanc qu'il est chargé d'offrir au sultan Soliman le Magnifique. En chemin, il rencontrera des courtisans trompeurs et des faux amis, des gitans, des dompteurs d'animaux ainsi que la belle et espiègle Mihrimah. Il attirera bientôt l'attention de l'architecte royal, Sinan : une rencontre fortuite qui va changer le cours de son existence. Au coeur de l'Empire ottoman, quand Istanbul était le c... continue
62.
La piedra de la paciencia by Atiq Rahimi ES
Country: Asia / 
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Description:
En la mitología persa, sangue sabur, «la piedra de la paciencia», es una piedra mágica a la que uno le cuenta sus desgracias, sus sufrimientos, sus miserias, para confiarle todo lo que no nos atrevemos a revelar a los demás; La piedra escucha, absorbe como una esponja todas las palabras, todos los secretos, hasta que un buen día explota; Y ese día, uno queda liberado. En esta novela, localizada «en alguna parte de Afganistán, o en cualquier otro lugar», la piedra de la paciencia es un hombre tendido en un colchón en el suelo, en estado vegetativo a causa de una bala alojada en la nuca. A su la... continue
63.
Country: Asia / 
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Description:
The Dattas have lived in Bangladesh all their lives. Despite being members of a small Hindu community, they refuse to leave the country. And then, on 6 December 1992, the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya is demolished by a mob of Hindu fundamentalists. The nightmare inevitably arrives at the Dattas' doorstep, and their world begins to fall apart.
64.
ChinaDescription:
Gao Jialin, a stubborn, idealistic and ambitious young man from a small country village, life is upended when corrupt local politics cost him his beloved job as a schoolteacher, prompting him to reject rural life and try to make it in the big city.
65.
Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang EN
Description:
In 1940s Shanghai, beautiful young Jiazhi spends her days playing mahjong and drinking tea with high society ladies. But China is occupied by invading Japanese forces and things are not always what they seem in wartime. Jiazhi’s life is a front. A patriotic student radical, her mission is to seduce a powerful employee of the occupying government and lead him to the assassin’s bullet. Yet as she waits for him to arrive at their liaison, Jiazhi begins to wonder if she is cut out to be a femme fatale and coldly take Mr Yi to his death. Or is she beginning to fall in love with him? A passionate ta... continue
66.
Mama Hissa's Mice by Saud Alsanousi EN
KuwaitDescription:
From the winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction comes an apocalyptic and caustically funny novel about the power of friendship in a war-torn world that NPR calls "rich and resonant." Growing up together in the Surra section of central Kuwait, Katkout, Fahd, and Sadiq share neither ethnic origin nor religious denomination--only friendship and a rage against the unconscionable sectarian divide turning their lives into war-zone rubble. To lay bare the ugly truths, they form the protest group Fuada's Kids. Their righteous transgressions have made them targets of both Sunni and Shi'a ... continue
67.
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie EN
IndiaDescription:
The story of Saleem Sinal, born precisely at midnight, August 15, 1947, the moment India became independent. Saleem's life parallels the history of his nation.
68.
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli EN
PalestineDescription:
Minor Detail begins during the summer of 1949, one year after the war that the Palestinians mourn as the Nakba – the catastrophe that led to the displacement and expulsion of more than 700,000 people – and the Israelis celebrate as the War of Independence. Israeli soldiers capture and rape a young Palestinian woman, and kill and bury her in the sand. Many years later, a woman in Ramallah becomes fascinated to the point of obsession with this ‘minor detail’ of history. A haunting meditation on war, violence and memory, Minor Detail cuts to the heart of the Palestinian ex... continue
69.
Description:
From the author of 'The Good Women of China' comes the uplifting story of three sisters who, like so many migrant workers in today's China, leave their peasant community to seek their fortune in the big city.
70.
Night Birds and Other Stories by Khet Mar EN
MyanmarDescription:
Since the age of 19, Khet Mar has been persecuted by the Burmese government enduring arrests, torture, incarcerations, and threats to her life. She fought back through her writing, political activism, and social work until she was forced to flee the country in 2009. Her novel Night Birds was banned in 1993, her nonfiction piece Life Row blacklisted in 2007. The same year, the government censored several paragraphs of Night Flow, highlighted in this book.