Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1979)
1511.
Ibn Arabi's Small Death by Mohammad Hassan Alwan EN
Country: Asia / 
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Description:
Ibn Arabi’s Small Death is a sweeping and inventive work of historical fiction that chronicles the life of the great Sufi master and philosopher Ibn Arabi. Known in the West as “Rumi’s teacher,” he was a poet and mystic who proclaimed that love was his religion. Born in twelfth-century Spain during the Golden Age of Islam, Ibn Arabi traveled thousands of miles from Andalusia to distant Azerbaijan, passing through Morocco, Egypt, the Hijaz, Syria, Iraq, and Turkey on a journey of discovery both physical and spiritual. Witness to the wonders and cruelties of his age, exposed to the political rul... continue
1513.
1514.
Rebel : My Escape from Saudi Arabia to Freedom by Rahaf Mohammed EN
Country: Asia / Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Description:
A gripping memoir of bravery and sacrifice by a young woman whose escape from her abusive family and an oppressive culture in Saudi Arabia captivated the world
In early 2019, after three years of careful planning, Rahaf Mohammed finally escaped her abusive family in Saudi Arabia—but made it only to Bangkok before being stripped of her passport. If forced to return home, she was sure she would be killed, like other rebel women in her country. As men pounded at the door of her barricaded hotel room, she opened a Twitter account. The teenager reached out to the world, and the world answ... continue
1515.
The Doves Necklace : A Novel by Raja Alem EN
Country: Asia / Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Description:
When the body of a young woman is discovered in the Lane of Many Heads, an alley in modern-day Mecca, no one will claim it, as they are ashamed of her nakedness. As Detective Nasser pursues his investigation of the case, seemingly all of Mecca chimes in—including the Lane of Many Heads itself—in this “surreal, meditative take on a murder mystery” (The Guardian, Best Books of Summer). Nasser initially suspects that the dead woman is Aisha, one of the residents of the area, and searches her emails for clues. The world she paints embraces everything from crime and religious extremism to the explo... continue
1516.
White World by Saad Farooqi EN
Country: Asia / Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Description:
For Avaan, a gun in his hand feels as natural as breathing. As a Pakistani without citizenship, living under martial law and religious bigotry, violence has become a way of life. What respite he had from the world -- his brother, his family, and Doua, the love of his life -- was snatched away in a military raid. Now broken, Avaan finds himself involved in a civil war that poisons everything he's ever touched. The army shadows his every move, a mob boss wants him dead, and a legendary resistance leader has taken a keen interest in him. But there is a ray of hope: Avaan discovers that Doua is al... continue
1518.
Wolves of the Crescent Moon by Yousef Al-mohaimeed EN
Country: Asia / Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Description:
“The first great Saudi novel.” —The New York Sun Banned in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this provocative, fast-paced debut novel confirms what The Washington Post reported about its award-winning author: "Yousef Al-Mohaimeed is taking on some of the most divisive subjects in the Arab world . . . in a lush style that evokes Gabriel García Márquez." In a Riyadh bus station, a man comes across a file containing official reports about an abandoned baby. As he pieces together the shattered life documented within, a larger picture emerges of three outsiders—a Bedouin, an orphan, and a eunuch-linked ... continue
1520.
Between Two Rivers : Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History by Moudhy Al-Rashid EN
Country: Asia / Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Description:
Humanity's earliest efforts at recording and drawing meaning from history reveal how lives millennia ago were not so different from our own.