The best novels that capture modern global queer experiences

By Saleem Haddad

Who am I?

Saleem Haddad was born in Kuwait City to an Iraqi-German mother and a Palestinian-Lebanese father. He has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières and other international organisations in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, and Egypt. His first novel, Guapa, is a political and personal coming-of-age story of a young gay man living through the 2011 Arab revolutions. The novel received critical acclaim from the New Yorker, The Guardian, and others. It was awarded a Stonewall Honour and won the 2017 Polari First Book Prize. His directorial debut, Marco, premiered in March 2019 and was nominated for the 2019 Iris Prize for ‘Best British Short Film’.

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The books I picked & why

My Tender Matador

By Pedro Lemebel, Katherine Silver (translator),

Why did I love this book?

Set in Santiago, Chile, in 1986, Lemebel weaves an unconventional love story between an aging cross-dresser and a young revolutionary. Queerness suffuses the luscious, camp, and irreverent sentences of the novel, and does not shy away from challenging all forms of convention. By splicing the narrative between the different voices and perspectives of the ‘Queen of the Corner’ and Chile’s dictator Pinochet, queerness brushes up, mingles, and challenges the rigid perspectives of military dictatorship, reminding us of the revolutionary potential of queerness.

My Tender Matador

By Pedro Lemebel, Katherine Silver (translator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked My Tender Matador as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Centered around the 1986 attempt on the life of Augusto Pinochet, an event that changed Chile forever, My Tender Matador is one of the most explosive, controversial, and popular novels to have been published in that country in decades. It is spring 1986 in the city of Santiago, and Augusto Pinochet is losing his grip on power. In one of the city's many poor neighborhoods works the Queen of the Corner, a hopeless and lonely romantic who embroiders linens for the wealthy and listens to boleros to drown out the gunshots and rioting in the streets. Along comes Carlos, a…

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In the Spider's Room: A Novel

By Muhammad Abdelnabi, Jonathan Wright (translator),

Why did I love this book?

Written from the perspective of one of the victims of the infamous 2001 Queen Boat scandal, when 52 men were arrested and put on trial in Egypt during a raid on a gay party, In the Spider’s Room is an intense depiction of living in a society that fears and rejects any form of queerness. Unflinching, claustrophobic, and suffocating, Abdelnaby does not shy away from exploring what happens when one is presented with no avenues for expressing their desires and sense of self.

In the Spider's Room: A Novel

By Muhammad Abdelnabi, Jonathan Wright (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In the Spider's Room as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A sensitive and courageous account of life as a gay man in Egypt and Winner of the 2019 Prix de la Littérature Arabe

Hani was out for an evening stroll near Cairo’s Tahrir Square when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. An informant had identified him, and he was thrown into the back of a police truck. There began a seven-month nightmare as he was swept up, along with fifty other men, in the infamous Queen Boat affair that targeted Egypt’s gay community.

Finally free, but traumatized into speechlessness, Hani writes down the events of his life―his first sexual…

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Coming soon!

Notes of a Crocodile

By Qiu Miaojin, Bonnie Huie (translator),

Why did I love this book?

Miaojin was one of the first openly lesbian writers in Taiwan, and wrote two novels before dying by suicide in Paris. Notes of a Crocodile follows the lives of a group of college-aged queer misfits in 1990s Taiwan. Heartfelt, melodramatic, and filled with youthful naiveté, the novel is also an experimentation in form, with different sections written as diaries, narrative, and even surrealist documentary-style sections on crocodiles, the novel emotes the feelings of punky, melancholic angst of being young and queer in a society that does not understand you.

Notes of a Crocodile

By Qiu Miaojin, Bonnie Huie (translator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Notes of a Crocodile as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize Longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize A New York Times Editors' Choice
The English-language premiere of Qiu Miaojin's coming-of-age novel about queer teenagers in Taiwan, a cult classic in China and winner of the 1995 China Times Literature Award.

An NYRB Classics Original

Set in the post-martial-law era of late-1980s Taipei, Notes of a Crocodile is a coming-of-age story of queer misfits discovering love, friendship, and artistic affinity while hardly studying at Taiwan's most prestigious university. Told through the eyes of an anonymous lesbian narrator nicknamed Lazi, this cult classic is a…

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Lesbian romance

Freshwater

By Akwaeke Emezi,

Why did I love this book?

Freshwater is difficult to describe, and is best approached with an open mind and no expectation. Emezi has described the novel as an autobiography of their discovery of themselves as ogbanje, a spirit within Igbo mythology. What strikes me about Freshwater is its radically new approach to understanding and talking about mental health and transness, or rather, the presence of different selves within the body. It is a subtly decolonial story, and the experience of reading it can profoundly change the way we perceive ourselves and others.

Freshwater

By Akwaeke Emezi,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Freshwater as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Completely blew me away.' Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under

'One of the most dazzling debuts I've ever read.' Taiye Selasi, author of Ghana Must Go

'I'm urging everyone to read it.' Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure

Ada has always been unusual. Her parents prayed her into existence, but something must have gone awry. Their troubled child begins to develop separate selves and is prone to fits of anger and grief.When Ada grows up and heads to college in America, a traumatic event crystallises the selves into something more powerful. As Ada fades into the background of her…

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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

By Ocean Vuong,

Why did I love this book?

An autobiographical novel structured as a sensitive and soul-searching letter from a son to his illiterate mother. Vuong cares deeply about the characters in his novel, Vietnamese refugees arriving and building a life for themselves in the U.S.A, and he holds them protectively within the folds of the gorgeous and vivid prose. The novel subverts and expands our notions of Vietnamese-US history, reminding the reader of the violence inherent in the creation of an American identity.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

By Ocean Vuong,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

Longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction, the Carnegie Medal in Fiction, the 2019 Aspen Words Literacy Prize, and the PEN/Hemingway Debut Novel Award

Shortlisted for the 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Winner of the 2019 New England Book Award for Fiction!

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2019 by Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, Nylon, The Week, The Rumpus, The Millions, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more.

"A lyrical work of self-discovery that's shockingly intimate and insistently…

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5 book lists we think you will like!

The best books about Vietnam from a multitude of sources

The best contemporary fiction that will make you think

The best non-songwriting books for songwriters

The best first-person novels

The best novels of an otherworldly Taiwan

Interested in queer topics and characters, gay topics and characters, and cultural heritage?

9,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about queer topics and characters, gay topics and characters, and cultural heritage.

Queer Topics And Characters Explore 165 books about queer topics and characters

Gay Topics And Characters Explore 120 books about gay topics and characters

Cultural Heritage Explore 13 books about cultural heritage

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like Street Without Joy, Pachinko, and The Quiet American if you like this list.

Street Without Joy

By Bernard B. Fall,

From the list on Vietnam from a multitude of sources.

By Myra MacPherson Author

Why did Myra love this book?

This brilliant classic of military history and human folly, first published in 1961, should have been read by America’s “best and brightest” architects of America’s 10-year fiasco. French Journalist and historian Bernard Fall vividly captured the sights, sounds, and smells of the brutal conflict between the French and the Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists. I get angry every time I think of the arrogance of America’s leaders who never examined Fall’s insightful warnings of the futility of jungle fighting that would defeat the United States in the bloody years to follow. Fall’s blueprint for disaster graphically shows that even with lethal modern military force, the French could not defeat the hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, booby traps, and nighttime raids that would become drastically familiar to American troops. The final French downfall ended at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Street Without Joy has remained in print for half a century and I stress that it should still be required reading.

Street Without Joy

By Bernard B. Fall,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Street Without Joy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published in 1961 by Stackpole Books, Street without Joy is a classic of military history. Journalist and scholar Bernard Fall vividly captured the sights, sounds, and smells of the brutal-- and politically complicated--conflict between the French and the Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists in Indochina. The French fought to the bitter end, but even with the lethal advantages of a modern military, they could not stave off the Viet Minh insurgency of hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, booby traps, and nighttime raids. The final French defeat came at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, setting the stage for American involvement and a far bloodier…

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History

Pachinko

By Min Jin Lee,

From the list on taking you all over the world in good company.

By Betsy Woodman Author

Why did Betsy love this book?

Wow! I felt intimately connected to the family depicted in this turbulent but big-hearted saga. I rooted for them at every turn, from their humble beginnings in Korea through their struggles as immigrants in Japan. The world changes dramatically from 1910 to 1989, but despite tragedy, they hold tight to their values of loyalty, hard work, independence, and honesty. Inspiring.

Pachinko

By Min Jin Lee,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Pachinko as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* The million-copy bestseller*
* National Book Award finalist *
* One of the New York Times's 10 Best Books of 2017 *
* Selected for Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club *

'This is a captivating book... Min Jin Lee's novel takes us through four generations and each character's search for identity and success. It's a powerful story about resilience and compassion' BARACK OBAMA.

Yeongdo, Korea 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a fifteen-year-old girl. The couple have one child, their beloved daughter Sunja. When Sunja…

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The Quiet American

By Graham Greene,

From the list on political crime fiction.

By David Hagerty Author

Why did David love this book?

Before the U.S. entered the war in Vietnam, Graham Greene forecast its disastrous consequences. His love triangle, set amid the escalating conflict, perfectly captures the naiveté of American interventionism overseas. I love the subtext of the tale, which is narrated by an embittered British journalist. Although it’s never spoken, we intuit that he is addicted to opium and living the life of a dissolute expatriate. Fowler watches in horror as a U.S. diplomat tries to steal both the woman and the country he has adopted. He claims impartiality and indifference until he cannot any longer.

The Quiet American

By Graham Greene,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Quiet American as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Graham Greene's classic exploration of love, innocence, and morality in Vietnam

"I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused," Graham Greene's narrator Fowler remarks of Alden Pyle, the eponymous "Quiet American" of what is perhaps the most controversial novel of his career. Pyle is the brash young idealist sent out by Washington on a mysterious mission to Saigon, where the French Army struggles against the Vietminh guerrillas.

As young Pyle's well-intentioned policies blunder into bloodshed, Fowler, a seasoned and cynical British reporter, finds it impossible to stand safely aside as an observer. But…

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The best novels that capture modern global queer experiences

Who am I?

I wrote...

Guapa

What is my book about?

The books I picked & why

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in queer topics and characters, gay topics and characters, and cultural heritage?

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

Who am I?

Myra's book list on Vietnam from a multitude of sources

Why did Myra love this book?

Who am I?

Betsy's book list on taking you all over the world in good company

Why did Betsy love this book?

Who am I?

David's book list on political crime fiction

Why did David love this book?