Global Reads: Books Set in East Asia

1
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck
13,920 members
264 reviews
4
3 Members
aulsmith, sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations
2
The Windup Girl
by Paolo Bacigalupi
6,247 members
304 reviews
½ 3.7
3 Members
aulsmith, sturlington, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations
sturlington: Bangkok, Thailand
3
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan
17,678 members
198 reviews
3.9
2 Members
ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda
4
The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson
11,211 members
207 reviews
4.1
2 Members
aulsmith, sturlington
Explanations
5
The Quiet American
by Graham Greene
8,074 members
181 reviews
4
2 Members
ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda
6
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
by David Mitchell
5,949 members
316 reviews
4.1
2 Members
aulsmith, sturlington
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan
7
Lost Horizon
by James Hilton
3,983 members
101 reviews
3.9
2 Members
aulsmith, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations
aulsmith: Tibet - ish
8
The Orphan Master's Son
by Adam Johnson
3,973 members
288 reviews
4.1
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963
9
An Artist of the Floating World
by Kazuo Ishiguro
3,888 members
103 reviews
3.8
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations
10
The Painted Veil
by W. Somerset Maugham
3,469 members
137 reviews
3.9
2 Members
inge87, ahef1963
11
Convenience Store Woman
by Sayaka Murata
3,076 members
197 reviews
3.8
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963
12
The Makioka Sisters
by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
2,188 members
43 reviews
4.1
2 Members
aulsmith, ahef1963
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan
13
Hiroshima (Expanded edition)
by John Hersey
1,972 members
37 reviews
4.1
2 Members
aulsmith, cej1027
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan
14
Midnight in Peking
by Paul French
738 members
50 reviews
3.8
2 Members
inge87, sturlington
Explanations
15
Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden
36,736 members
562 reviews
4
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963,ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations
16
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See
11,281 members
443 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
17
The Three-Body Problem
by Cixin Liu
8,876 members
413 reviews
3.8
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
18
Shōgun
by James Clavell
8,049 members
135 reviews
½ 4.3
Member
ahef1963
19
The Bonesetter's Daughter
by Amy Tan
7,938 members
115 reviews
3.8
Member
aulsmith
20
The Kitchen God's Wife
by Amy Tan
6,965 members
80 reviews
3.8
Member
ahef1963
21
Dance Dance Dance
by Haruki Murakami
5,997 members
97 reviews
3.9
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
22
The Lover
by Marguerite Duras
5,178 members
155 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
23
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
by Eleanor Coerr
4,980 members
97 reviews
3.9
2 Members
inge87, aulsmith,ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan
24
The Sympathizer
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
3,961 members
155 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
25
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong
3,863 members
134 reviews
3.9
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
26
The Vegetarian
by Han Kang
3,472 members
290 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
sturlington
27
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
3,095 members
112 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
28
Bridge of Birds
by Barry Hughart
2,522 members
96 reviews
½ 4.4
Member
aulsmith
29
Under Heaven
by Guy Gavriel Kay
1,899 members
118 reviews
4.1
Member
aulsmith
30
She Who Became the Sun
by Shelley Parker-Chan
1,876 members
52 reviews
4
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
31
The Devotion of Suspect X
by Keigo Higashino
1,852 members
241 reviews
3.8
Member
ahef1963
32
The Sound of Waves
by Yukio Mishima
1,812 members
42 reviews
3.8
Member
inge87
33
The Coroner's Lunch
by Colin Cotterill
1,712 members
141 reviews
3.8
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Laos
34
The Leavers
by Lisa Ko
1,433 members
59 reviews
3.8
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
35
The Good Woman of Setzuan
by Bertolt Brecht
1,215 members
14 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: China
36
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar
by Paul Theroux
1,059 members
34 reviews
4.1
Member
MissBrangwen
37
River of Smoke
by Amitav Ghosh
1,042 members
54 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
Explanations
38
Earthlings
by Sayaka Murata
999 members
57 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
sturlington
39
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
982 members
24 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Thailand
40
Tales from the Cafe
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
869 members
27 reviews
3.8
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
41
The Keys of the Kingdom
by A. J. Cronin
862 members
23 reviews
3.9
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: China
42
Confessions
by Kanae Minato
804 members
43 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
43
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
by Dorothy Hoobler
802 members
14 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
44
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee
by Robert Van Gulik
784 members
17 reviews
3.8
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: China
45
The Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May
by Mark Z. Danielewski
744 members
19 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
46
Heart of the Sun Warrior
by Sue Lynn Tan
731 members
15 reviews
3.9
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
47
Fragrant Harbour
by John Lanchester
628 members
27 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Hong Kong
48
The Magic Fish: A Graphic Novel
by Trung Le Nguyen
604 members
36 reviews
½ 4.4
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
49
The Chinese Nail Murders
by Robert van Gulik
568 members
9 reviews
4.1
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
50
Kowloon Tong
by Paul Theroux
531 members
9 reviews
3.2
Member
bluepiano
51
Before Your Memory Fades
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
514 members
15 reviews
3.9
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
52
Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China
by Fuchsia Dunlop
473 members
16 reviews
4.1
Member
inge87
53
Lonely Castle in the Mirror
by Mizuki Tsujimura
438 members
16 reviews
4
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
54
Ransom
by Jay McInerney
438 members
7 reviews
3.1
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
55
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow
by Natasha Pulley
363 members
15 reviews
4
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
56
Diary of a Void
by Emi Yagi
311 members
8 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
WendyRobyn
Explanations
WendyRobyn: Japan
57
The Hole
by Pyun Hye-young
306 members
12 reviews
½ 3.4
Member
sturlington
58
A Dragon Apparent: Travels in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam
by Norman Lewis
211 members
8 reviews
3.9
Member
inge87
59
Thank You and Okay: An American Zen Failure in Japan
by David Chadwick
210 members
6 reviews
4
Member
aulsmith
60
The Frangipani Hotel: Fiction
by Violet Kupersmith
183 members
39 reviews
3.8
Member
inge87
61
The Mikado [libretto]
by William Schwenck Gilbert
172 members
6 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan
62
Peking Picnic
by Ann Bridge
148 members
4 reviews
3.9
Member
inge87
63
Plum Rains
by Andromeda Romano-Lax
137 members
5 reviews
3.8
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
64
Inspector Saito's Small Satori
by Janwillem Van de Wetering
114 members
5 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan
65
The Teahouse of the August Moon
by Vern Sneider
109 members
5 reviews
3.9
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan
66
Marco Polo and The Sleeping Beauty
by Avram Davidson
82 members
3.2
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: China
67
Mad About the Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia
by John Keay
70 members
2 reviews
3.9
Member
MissBrangwen
68
Mr. Moto Is So Sorry
by John P. Marquand
66 members
2 reviews
½ 3.3
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Japan and China
69
The 38 Million Dollar Smile
by Richard Stevenson
59 members
1 review
½ 3.6
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Thailand
70
The Boy in the Earth
by Fuminori Nakamura
57 members
1 review
½ 3.3
Member
ManWithAnAgenda
72
Sayonara Bar
by Susan Barker
39 members
3 reviews
3.8
Member
bluepiano
73
The Land of the Five Flavors
by Thomas O. Höllmann
37 members
3 reviews
½ 3.3
Member
inge87
74
The King and I (Libretto)
by Richard Rodgers
25 members
3.8
Member
aulsmith
Explanations
aulsmith: Thailand
75
The Backpacker's Father
by Gunnar Kopperud
13 members
½ 2.5
Member
bluepiano
77
Sputnik Sweetheart
by Haruki Murakami
6,821 members
142 reviews
½ 3.7
78
Pachinko
by Min Jin Lee
6,545 members
284 reviews
4.1
79
Crazy Rich Asians
by Kevin Kwan
5,619 members
227 reviews
½ 3.7
80
Ghostwritten
by David Mitchell
3,968 members
122 reviews
4
81
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demick
3,221 members
177 reviews
½ 4.4
82
Matterhorn
by Karl Marlantes
2,806 members
135 reviews
½ 4.3
83
The Memory Police
by Yoko Ogawa
2,190 members
94 reviews
½ 3.7
84
The Island of Sea Women
by Lisa See
1,684 members
96 reviews
4.1
85
The Heist
by Janet Evanovich
1,674 members
80 reviews
½ 3.6
86
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
by Nghi Vo
1,251 members
66 reviews
4.1
87
Finding Moon
by Tony Hillerman
1,198 members
10 reviews
½ 3.5
88
The Gift of Rain
by Tan Twan Eng
1,149 members
85 reviews
4.2
89
The Lotus Eaters
by Tatjana Soli
1,053 members
90 reviews
4
90
In the Shadow of the Banyan
by Vaddey Ratner
1,031 members
68 reviews
4.1
91
The Refugees
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
971 members
51 reviews
3.9
92
Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales
by Yoko Ogawa
867 members
48 reviews
3.9
93
Real World
by Natsuo Kirino
805 members
35 reviews
½ 3.3
94
Six Four
by Hideo Yokoyama
800 members
36 reviews
½ 3.4
95
Killed at the Whim of a Hat
by Colin Cotterill
460 members
52 reviews
½ 3.6
96
The Headmaster's Wager
by Vincent Lam
369 members
30 reviews
4
97
The Graveyard Apartment
by Mariko Koike
349 members
21 reviews
½ 3.3
98
Star of the North
by D.B. John
297 members
17 reviews
4.2
99
Bangkok Wakes to Rain
by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
276 members
12 reviews
½ 3.6
100
Penance
by Kanae Minato
238 members
21 reviews
½ 3.7