Read Around Asia Challenge

Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.

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Best books from Asia (908)
881.

Sigh, Gone : A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
For anyone who has ever felt like they don't belong, Sigh, Gone shares an irreverent, funny, and moving tale of displacement and assimilation woven together with poignant themes from beloved works of classic literature. In 1975, during the fall of Saigon, Phuc Tran immigrates to America along with his family. By sheer chance they land in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a small town where the Trans struggle to assimilate into their new life. In this coming-of-age memoir told through the themes of great books such as The Metamorphosis, The Scarlet Letter, The Iliad, and more, Tran navigates the push and... continue

882.

The Crystal Messenger by Thị Hoài Phạm EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
This award winning book has been described as the 'renaissance of Vietnamese literature'. Written by a young woman in her twenties at the end of an era when Vietnam closed itself off from the world, it is widely regarded as one of the most important works of fiction ever to come out of that country. Ostensibly, The Crystal Messenger is a magical and moving story of two sisters' journeys to emotional and sexual maturity. But it is also a powerful allegory about the fate of North and South Vietnam, the struggle with reunification after the war, and the effect of consumerism and westernisation on... continue

883.

The Lover by Marguerite Duras EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
Set in prewar Indochina, this is the haunting tale of a tumultuous affair between an adolescent French girl and her Chinese lover. The author evokes life on the margins of Saigon in the waning days of France's colonial empire, and its representation in the passionate relationship between two unforgettable outcasts.

884.

Sea Sirens by Amy Chu EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
Dive into this visually stunning, middle-grade graphic novel about a spunky Vietnamese American surfer girl and her cantankerous talking cat who plunge into a fantasy world of oceanic marvels . . . and mayhem! Trot, a Vietnamese American surfer girl, and Cap'n Bill, her cranky one-eyed cat, catch too big a wave and wipe out, sucked down into a magical underwater kingdom where an ancient deep-sea battle rages. The beautiful Sea Siren mermaids are under attack from the Serpent King and his slithery minions--and Trot and her feline become dangerously entangled in this war of tails and fins. This ... continue

885.

The Zenith : A Novel by Duong Thu Huong EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
Memory is the one who builds you a permanent court of justice. Memory is the one at your side from whom you cannot run... A sweeping tale of thwarted love, political intrigue, and the price of power—“The Doctor Zhivago of Vietnam” (Boston Globe)—about Ho Chi Minh, the founding father of modern Vietnam, a man beloved by millions but shrouded in controversy and mystery Vietnam's most popular dissident writer, Duong Thu Huong has won acclaim for her exceptional lyricism and psychological acumen, as well as for her unflinching portraits of modern Vietnam and its culture and people. Built on 15 yea... continue

886.

The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
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.

887.

Catfish and Mandala : A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam by Andrew X. Pham EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
A collection of memoirs recounting the journey of a Vietnamese-American touring Vietnam and the Pacific rim in search of cultural identity.

888.

Dust Child by Que Mai Phan Nguyen EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
From the internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing, a propulsive and moving tale of wartime love, family, and loss, as an American GI, two Vietnamese bargirls, and an Amerasian man are forced to make decisions during and after the Việt Nam War that will reverberate throughout each other’s lives.

889.

The Best We Could Do : An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
An intimate and moving portrait of one family's journey from their war-torn home in Vietnam to new lives in America