Popular Asian Folklore Books
Find folklore books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (24)
1.
Above Us the Milky Way by Fowzia Karimi EN
Country: Asia / 
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Description:
Debut novel about a young family forced to flee their war-ravaged homeland, forced to leave behind everything & everyone beloved & familiar. Old family photographs & lush watercolor paintings based on medieval illuminated manuscripts interweave with remembrances, ghost stories/stories of the war dead, & fairy tales to conjure a story of war, of emigration & immigration, the remarkable human capacity to experience love & wonder amidst destruction & loss, & how to create beauty out of horror.
2.
Ash by Malinda Lo EN
ChinaDescription:
Forced into becoming an indentured servant when her family dies, Ash lives a lonely and desperate life with no hopes for the future, until she meets Kaisa, the King's royal Huntress, who teaches her to love, live, and dream once again.
3.
Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti by Kunzang Choden EN
BhutanDescription:
Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti is a collection of twenty-two stories set in four different regions of Bhutan. The presence of the yeti is ubiquitous to the kingdoms of the Himalayas, where beliefs and attitudes related to it go beyond scientific judgment and analysis. The Bhutanese consider the yeti, or the migoi, to be an essential part of the backdrop of their existence. Believed to possess supernatural powers enabling it to become invisible at will, the yeti often manifests itself in a tangible form and then suddenly vanishes, leaving behind nothing but an unexpected void. Folklore about the a... continue
4.
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho EN
MalaysiaDescription:
A finalist for the 2022 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel One of BookPage's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2021 One of Tor.com Reviewers' Choice Best Books of 2021 One of Book Riot's Best SFF Standalones of 2021 “Ghosts. Gods. Gangsters. Black Water Sister has it all…a wildly entertaining coming-of-age story for the twentysomething set, with a protagonist who is almost painfully relatable at times.”—Vulture "A twisty, feminist, and enthralling page-turner."—BuzzFeed "A sharp and bittersweet story of past and future, ghosts and gods and family."—Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselli... continue
5.
Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami EN
SyriaDescription:
Rafik Schami's award-winning novel. In the classical Arab tradition of tale-telling, here is a magical book that celebrates the power of storytelling, delightfully transformed for modern sensibilities by an award-winning author. The time is present-day Damascus, and Salim the coachman, the city's most famous storyteller, is mysteriously struck dumb. To break the spell, seven friends gather for seven nights to present Salim with seven wondrous "gifts"—seven stories of their own design. Upon this enchanting frame of tales told in the fragrant Arabian night, the words of the past grow fainter, as... continue
6.
IndiaDescription:
A young District Collector is posted to one of the furthest outposts of rural Rajasthan. As he becomes more and more involved with the lives and troubles of the common people in his district, he finds himself sucked deeper and deeper into the dark heart of the desert.
Pakistan8.
9.
Folk Tales of the Maldives by Xavier Romero-Frias EN
MaldivesDescription:
A collection of 80 traditional short stories and legends from the local oral tradition. These folk tales offer insights into the history, culture and beliefs of the people of the Maldives and into the world they live in.
10.
Folktales Of Bhutan by Kunzang Choden EN
Description:
From the author of Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti another dip into the library of the storytellers from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.Folktales of Bhutan is a collection of thirty-eight folktales and legends and is a first attempt by a Bhutanese to record in English the oral tradition of this kingdom in the eastern Himalayas. All of the stories recounted here were heard by the author when she was a child living in Bumthang in the central part of Bhutan and are the ones that she passes on to her children today, in the spirit of the oral tradition.In Bhutan's centuries of self-imposed isolation b... continue