Books from China
198 popular chinese books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Asia Challenge" were written by authors from China.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
31.
Description:
A bestseller in China, Brothers is an epic and wildly unhinged black comedy of modern Chinese society running amok. Here is China as we've never seen it before, in a sweeping, Rabelaisian panorama of forty years of rough-and-rumble Chinese history, from the madness of the Cultural Revolution to the equally rabid madness of extreme materialism. Yu Hua, award-winning author of To Live, gives us a surreal tale of two comically mismatched stepbrothers, Baldy Li, a sex-obsessed ne'er-do-well, and the bookish, sensitive Song Gang, who vow that they will always be brothers—a bond they will struggle t... continue
32.
Butterfly Mother: Miao (Hmong) Creation Epics from Guizhou, China by Mark Bender EN
Description:
A collection of epics from the Miao (Hmong) ethnic group of southwest China. The poetic narratives, traditionally performed by two groups of singers, relate the creation of the world and the peoples and creatures in it. One of the major figures in one series of the songs is Butterfly Mother (Mai Bang), a personified butterfly who lays the eggs that eventually lead to the creation of the local peoples. Rich in cultural lore, these mythic narratives are virtual encyclopedias of traditional myths, legends, and folk customs of the Miao people.
33.
Description:
PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD WINNER • WHITING AWARD WINNER • Smart, moving, and funny, a unique coming-of-age story about a quirky, overworked narrator who seems to be on the cusp of a perfect life but finds herself on a new path of discoveries about everything she thought she knew. "Told in a hilarious deadpan that recalls Gish Jen and Nora Ephron." —O, The Oprah Magazine At first glance, the life of the narrator of Weike Wang’s debut novel seems ideal: she is studying for a prestigious PhD in chemistry that will make her Chinese parents proud (or at least satisfied), and her successful, supportive bo... continue
34.
China Cry : The Nora Lam Story by Nora Lam, Richard H. Schneider EN
Description:
Tells the true story of the love, courage, and struggles of one woman, Nora Lam, whose Christian faith led her to make the ultimate choice between life and death
35.
China Dream by Ma Jian EN
Description:
‘One of China’s greatest living novelists’ Guardian Blending fact with fiction, China Dream is an unflinching satire of totalitarianism. After decades of loyal service, Ma Daode, a corrupt and lecherous party official, has been appointed director of the China Dream Bureau, charged with promoting President Xi Jinping’s China Dream of national rejuvenation. But just as he is about to present his plan for a microchip that will be implanted into the brain of every citizen to replace all painful recollections with a collective dream of national supremacy, his sanity begins to unravel. Plagued by fl... continue
36.
China in Ten Words by Hua Yu, Yu Hua EN
Description:
Uses a framework of ten common phrases in the Chinese vernacular to offer insight into China's modern economic gaps, cultural transformations, and ubiquitous practices of deception.
37.
China Witness : Voices from a Silent Generation by Xinran EN
Description:
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.
38.
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah EN
Description:
Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair.
39.
Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua EN
Description:
From the acclaimed author of Brothers and China in Ten Words: here is Yu Hua’s unflinching portrait of life under Chairman Mao. A cart-pusher in a silk mill, Xu Sanguan augments his meager salary with regular visits to the local blood chief. His visits become lethally frequent as he struggles to provide for his wife and three sons at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Shattered to discover that his favorite son was actually born of a liaison between his wife and a neighbor, he suffers his greatest indignity, while his wife is publicly scorned as a prostitute. Although the poverty and betra... continue
40.
Death of a Red Heroine by Xiaolong Qiu EN
Description:
In this Anthony Award-winning debut, Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police must find the murderer of a National Model worker, and then risk his own life and career to see that justice is done. "A Loyal Character Dancer "is the latest in Qiu's Shanghai series featuring Inspector Chen. "A marvelously assured debut. . . . Engrossing, immensely readable."-"The Wall Street Journal"