Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (884)
31.
Layla and Majnun by Ganjavi Nizami, Niẓāmī Ganjavī EN
Country: Asia / 
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Description:
The text is a prose rendition of Nizami's 12th-century poetic masterpiece, in which he reshapes the legends of Majnun, the quintessential romantic fool, into a tale of the ideal lover. For the Sufis, Majnun represents the perfect devotee of the "religion of the heart," and the story is an allegory of the soul's longing for God. This is a beautiful production, and it includes a final chapter newly translated from the Persian by Omid Safi and Zia Inayat Khan.
32.
Days in the Caucasus by Banine EN
Country: Asia / Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Description:
A coming of age story and a portrait of a vanished world. It shows what it means to leave the past behind, yet how it haunts us.
33.
Los días del Cáucaso by Banine, ES
Country: Asia / Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Description:
UNO DE LOS MÁS ORIGINALES, DIVERTIDOS Y TREPIDANTES LIBROS AUTOBIOGRÁFICOS DEL SIGLO XX. El elegante, irónico y conmovedor retrato de una mujer y una época extraordinarias. «Con una prosa exquisita y una gloriosa capacidad para captar lo absurdo y lo cómico ;incluso en medio de los más trágicos sucesos;, Banine nos ofrece el relato de su embriagadora y turbulenta juventud, desde las orillas del mar Caspio hasta París». The Spectator «Tan vívida e ingeniosamente nos revela la autora un mundo por completo desconocido que, apenas comienzas Los días del Cáucaso, ya te encuentras del todo absorto e... continue
34.
Yummah by Sarah A. Al Shafei EN
BahrainDescription:
Khadeeja is a child who is forced into womanhood early. She is compelled to marry a man much older than she through arranged marriage and lives a world of hardships from then on. Her mother dies soon after her wedding, leaving her with a husband she hardly knows and two brothers she knows nothing of. Khadeeja learns to love her husband and win his love in return, but just as she thought her life was a beautiful love story her precious son dies from a scorpion bite. Grief and sadness become her new best friends. Her husband, whom she can't live without, abandons her without warning and she is l... continue
35.
Description:
Guy Kelton is a young man with a troubled mind. His shattered dream and the relentless mundane life he's been living, alone and broken away from his family, takes an unexpected toll on him, driving him to violent, reckless extremes. He falls deeper and deeper into a bloody abyss; through extremes that would eventually lead him to the most devastating discovery about his existence. Going through his mid-twenties, Patrick Roymint, lost and confused, still struggles to come to terms with the loss of his whole family many years ago. But soon as he decides to change all that and try to rebuild the ... continue
36.
The Pearl Thief by Noor Al Noaimi EN
Description:
This is a lovely little short story about Hassan, a poor Bahraini islander, who finds himself in desperate circumstances. Driven by the need to take care of his aging parents, he embarks on the unthinkable; a pearl diving quest... when he can't even swim! But can Hassan be more than he is? Can he leave his world of poverty and being looked-down upon, to finally be someone in life and provide for his family? Or will he always be a poor man's son, destined to a life of destitution and struggle?
37.
The Adult by Bronwyn Fischer EN
Description:
"Natalie, a college freshman from a remote small town, is drawn into an all-consuming affair with an older woman"--
38.
Country: Asia / 
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Description:
When the Barbri Mosque at Ayodhya, India, was destroyed by Hindu fundamentalists on December 6,1992, fierce mob reprisals took place against the Hindu minority in Muslim Bangladesh. These incidents form the backdrop for Dr. Taslima Nasrin's explosive and courageous book, "Shame", describing the nightmarish fate of one family within her country's small Hindu community.
39.
A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam EN
Country: Asia / Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Description:
• Stunning new novel from an award-winning and internationally acclaimed writer• Prequel to The Good Muslim, A Golden Age is an unforgettable story of a country torn apart by war and the consequences for one family.• 'Tahmima Anam's unflinching examination of the agonies of post-colonial nation-building sets the intimacy of personal life against a backdrop of national and religious conflict. Delicate, heart-wrenching and poetic, this is a novel of great poise and power.' Tash Aw, author of The Harmony Silk Factory• Will attract stellar review and interview coverage in all major newspapers• The... continue
40.
The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam EN
Country: Asia / Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Description:
One of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.After years away from her family, Maya Haque is on the journey home to Dhaka. But what if, as Maya discovers, everything you once knew has changed beyond recognition? What if you must re-learn what it means to be a good daughter? And how do you begin to understand a brother who has taken a path so different from your own? Maya faces these questions and many more in The Good Muslim, an extraordinary novel about faith, family and the long shadow of war.