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I compiled this reading list as a replacement for an outdated 2001 reading list titled, “Asian
Fiction.” When I began I asked myself, what could a patron in Florida possibly mean if he
or she expressed a desire to read “some Asian fiction,” and how might a librarian respond?
I decided several possibilities might interest such a reader, and compiled a reading list of
Asian fiction around broad categories of place and language (English books by writers from
Asia, or English books about Asia, or books about Asia translated into English). I hope my
categories are useful for a reader wishing to look across the majestic Pacific toward vast
Asia.
A word about my omissions and the scope of this reading list. Books about Central
Asia, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand are beyond the scope of this reading list, so by the
term, Asia, I do not mean those Asian countries or regions. In other words, it may be
helpful to think about the regions covered here as Asia Pacific (minus Australia & New
Zealand) plus South Asia. I compiled this list by focusing on fiction published from the mid-
1990s onward and on works our library system holds, so some classics and earlier works
(sad to say!) do not appear on this list. No doubt I have missed some writers and their
works that we do hold in our library system.
My categories for books by writers from Asia. The first four groups on this list
present fiction originally written in English by North American writers with ethnic
connections to East Asia or to Vietnam: fiction by Chinese American writers (USA &
Canada), by Japanese Americans, by Korean Americans, and by Vietnamese Americans.
“Southeast Asian Diaspora Fiction” is defined as English fiction by writers from various
Southeast Asia countries (but not Vietnam) and Pacific islands, including the State of
Hawaii. “South Asian Diaspora Fiction” is defined as English fiction by expatriate writers
from South Asia, that is, from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. “English
Fiction by Asian Writers” means English fiction by writers living in their home Asian
countries, the majority of whom hail from South Asia.
My categories for books about Asia. I defined “English Fiction About Asia” as books
about Asia, originally written in English by writers from various backgrounds. This group
includes books not appearing elsewhere, such as David Peace’s Tokyo Year Zero, as well as
books listed under other categories (such as Chinese American writers) if the books are
about Asia. Many books by expatriate writers are not about Asia and are not included in
this group. Books originally published in a language other than English are not included in
“English Fiction About Asia.” My final category, “Asian Fiction Translated into English,”
seems self-explanatory, and yet another occasion for us to think warmly of translators.
Chinese American Chan, Jeffrey Paul Eat Everything Before You Die: a Chinaman in
writers the Counterculture, 2004
Le, Thi Diem Thuy The Gangster We are all Looking For, 2003
Asian Fiction Translated Bao, Ninh The Sorrow of War: a novel of North Vietnam,
into English 1995