Here are 100 books that Dreams of Joy fans have personally recommended if you like
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Born and raised in China, I moved to Canada in my late 20s to pursue a master's degree and stayed here, becoming a first-generation immigrant. But home is always home—my ancestors lived and died on that land. My country's history, culture, traditions, and social structures deeply fascinate me, especially its modern history, which has profoundly shaped me. China's history is rich, captivating, and often brutal, and I believe the world needs to know what we have gone through. The five books I recommend, including works by two Nobel Prize-winning authors, are literary masterpieces. They not only offer deep insights into China's modern history but also showcase extraordinary literary artistry.
I first listened to this book about 20 years ago, and to write this article, I revisited it. In 20 years, many things have changed. Yet, my love for this book remains as strong as ever. I love its simple opening sentence and foreshadowing closing sentence. I love the details—the vivid, realistic descriptions of the characters, emotions, setting, culture, customs, and language. I felt immersed in the scenes, right alongside the characters. Using a Chinese expression, the book flows smoothly and naturally, like clouds and water. I believe this book represents the pinnacle of Pearl S. Buck’s career, not just because it won the Nobel Prize for Literature but because the quality of the writing is truly extraordinary.
I must also mention that Anthony Heald narrates this audiobook. His voice is captivating and mesmerizing; I believe he’s one of the best narrators in the world. I recently watched a short…
Born and raised in China, I moved to Canada in my late 20s to pursue a master's degree and stayed here, becoming a first-generation immigrant. But home is always home—my ancestors lived and died on that land. My country's history, culture, traditions, and social structures deeply fascinate me, especially its modern history, which has profoundly shaped me. China's history is rich, captivating, and often brutal, and I believe the world needs to know what we have gone through. The five books I recommend, including works by two Nobel Prize-winning authors, are literary masterpieces. They not only offer deep insights into China's modern history but also showcase extraordinary literary artistry.
I love this book for its epic structure, character development, intricate and complex plotlines, rich imagination, poetic language, and use of magical realism.
The book spans several decades, covering significant events in 20th-century China from the 1920s to the 1990s across four generations. Through this multi-generational lens, Mo Yan explores themes of family, identity, and the impact of historical events on individual lives. Each character is so unique that after reading the book, I wrote a group of poems, two to four lines for each of the fifteen main and supporting characters. For protagonist Jin Tong, I wrote, “You are the hope of the Shangguan family, yet you live so pathetically.”
For his mother, I wrote, “The old cow eats grass, but what it gives is milk; the mother swallows tears, but what flows out is blood.” Mo Yan's sharp insights, profound reflections, and vivid prose reveal the harsh realities…
Each of the seven chapters represents a different time period, from the end of the Quing dynasty, up through the Japanese invasion in the 1930s, the civil war, the Cultural Revolution, and the post-Mao years. This novel is the author's vision of the 20th century.
Born and raised in China, I moved to Canada in my late 20s to pursue a master's degree and stayed here, becoming a first-generation immigrant. But home is always home—my ancestors lived and died on that land. My country's history, culture, traditions, and social structures deeply fascinate me, especially its modern history, which has profoundly shaped me. China's history is rich, captivating, and often brutal, and I believe the world needs to know what we have gone through. The five books I recommend, including works by two Nobel Prize-winning authors, are literary masterpieces. They not only offer deep insights into China's modern history but also showcase extraordinary literary artistry.
Like most readers, I love a story with intense conflict, high stakes, dilemmas, and tension. In this book, the clever setup allows the author to weave them seamlessly into the narrative.
The story is set during the late Qing Dynasty in China. The heroine, Sun Meiniang, is compelled to marry the imbecile Zhao Xiaojia due to her large feet. Her father, Sun Bing, remarries, but tragedy strikes when German soldiers kill his new wife and their young children before his eyes. Driven by revenge, Sun Bing leads the townspeople in sabotaging the Germans' railroad and ambushing their soldiers.
Simultaneously, Sun Meiniang falls in love with the county magistrate, a married man, Qian Ding, who is forced to arrest her father. Adding to the conflict, her father-in-law, the notorious executioner Zhao Jia, returns and takes pride in executing Sun Bing using the torturous sandalwood death. This means both her father-in-law and…
This powerful novel by Mo Yan - one of contemporary China's most famous and prolific writers - is both a stirring love story and an unsparing critique of political corruption during the final years of the Qing Dynasty, China's last imperial epoch.
Sandalwood Death is set during the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1901) - an anti-imperialist struggle waged by North China's farmers and craftsmen in opposition to Western influence. Against a broad historical canvas, the novel centers on the interplay between its female protagonist, Sun Meiniang, and the three paternal figures in her life. One of these men is her biological father,…
I am a novelist, whose Persian family is comprised of a colorful cast of characters, who supply me with invaluable fodder for my historical novels. Years ago, my grandfather, Dr. Habib Levy, recounted how, when he was the dentist of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the King of Iran, the king commanded him to convert to Islam. Aware he might be uttering his last words, my grandfather had replied, “Your Majesty, a man who turns his back to his faith is a traitor, and his Majesty will not want a traitor for a dentist.” Now, after decades, this long past scene became the inspiration for my fifth historical novel, Love and War in the Jewish Quarter.
A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.
Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the anti-Semitic Governor General, the most powerful man in the country. Dr. Yaran falls in love with the Governor General’s defiant wife, Velvet, upending not only the life of the doctor’s beloved daughter, but the entire community. In his quest to save everything and everyone he loves, Dr. Yaran will navigate…
A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.
Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the anti-Semitic Governor General, the most powerful man in the country. Dr. Yaran falls in love with the Governor General’s defiant wife, Velvet, upending not only the life of the doctor’s beloved daughter, but the entire community. In his quest to save everything and everyone he loves, Dr. Yaran will navigate…
Born and raised in China, I moved to Canada in my late 20s to pursue a master's degree and stayed here, becoming a first-generation immigrant. But home is always home—my ancestors lived and died on that land. My country's history, culture, traditions, and social structures deeply fascinate me, especially its modern history, which has profoundly shaped me. China's history is rich, captivating, and often brutal, and I believe the world needs to know what we have gone through. The five books I recommend, including works by two Nobel Prize-winning authors, are literary masterpieces. They not only offer deep insights into China's modern history but also showcase extraordinary literary artistry.
I love this book for its unique perspective. Most war stories feature heroic protagonists—whether fighting on the front lines, operating behind enemy lines, or innocent victims enduring hardship and struggling to survive. However, this book presents a group of characters who ordinarily would be unlikely to cross paths. A Roman Catholic priest and a deacon in an American church during the Japanese occupation of Nanking in China were tasked with protecting 16 schoolgirls. They unexpectedly become entangled with 13 young prostitutes from a famous brothel and three injured Chinese soldiers.
The priest faces an impossible dilemma: allowing the prostitutes to stay means there will be less food and water for everyone, but turning them away could lead to their deaths. The presence of the injured soldiers complicates matters further; if discovered, the church would lose its neutrality and risk a raid by Japanese soldiers, endangering everyone inside.
December 1937. The Japanese have taken Nanking. A group of terrified schoolgirls hides in the compound of an American church. Among them is Shujuan, through whose thirteen-year-old eyes we witness the shocking events that follow.
Run by Father Engelmann, an American priest who has been in China for many years, the church is supposedly neutral ground in the war between China and Japan. But it becomes clear the Japanese are not obeying international rules of engagement. As they pour through the streets of Nanking, raping and pillaging the civilian population, the girls are in increasing danger. And their safety is…
I was living in Xinjiang on 9/11 and got to witness the swiftness with which the state imposed strict regulations that harmed the Uyghur community. For me, this was an indelible lesson in the abuses of power and authority on people who just wanted to work, raise families, and enjoy their lives. Since then I’ve tried to raise awareness, first in my memoir, The Tree That Bleeds, then in my journalism. I hope my work helps people think about how to respond as both politically engaged citizens and consumersto one of the worst human rights violations of the 21st century.
This book is an ethnographic account of Uyghur suburban life in the mid-1990s, which might sound very far removed from the political and humanitarian crisis going on in the region today. Yet the portrait it offers of Uyghur family life, market trading, informal socializing, and forms of religious devotion has arguably never been more important, given that the Chinese state has been targeting precisely these benign, everyday practices and beliefs in recent years by separating children from their parents, sending officials to live with Uyghur families, and destroying traditional Uyghur homes. Reading it is an immersive, often funny, experience, which should make people understand the consequences of the state-sponsored violence these communities have been subjected to.
The Uyghurs, a Turkic group, account for half the population of the Xinjiang region in northwestern China. This ethnography presents a thick description of life in the Uyghur suburbs of Yining, a city near the border with Kazakhstan, and situates that account in a broader examination of Uyghur culture. Its four sections explore topics ranging from family life to market trading, from informal socializing to forms of religious devotion. Uniting these topics are an emphasis on the role folklore and personal narrative play in helping individuals situate themselves in and create communities and social groups, and a focus on how…
“Old Shanghai” is in my blood: though raised in Hong Kong, I was surrounded by all things Shanghai through my parents and their friends, who had grown up during Shanghai’s 1930s heyday. The classical culture … the modern glamour … the breathtaking scandals! Since childhood I’ve searched for connections to my heritage; this fascination led me, years later, to write Remembering Shanghai with my mother, by then in her eighties. Having immersed myself in Shanghai history and culture most of my life, I am passionate about intimate, authentic stories that are told against a rich historical backdrop—the kind that make reviewers say “you can’t make this up!”
A great deal has been written about the Jewish refugees who flooded into Shanghai during World War II, but that’s not the case with the story of the wealthy Sephardic Jewish families who arrived in the early days of opium trading and built fabulous fortunes. In Last Kings of Shanghai, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jonathan Kaufman weaves the epic tale of the Sassoons and the Kadoories, stretching from Baghdad to Shanghai to London and Hong Kong. It’s a story of business acumen and political intrigue, of wartime survival and the choices that saw one family perpetuate its wealth and influence in China, and the other fade into history.
"In vivid detail... examines the little-known history of two extraordinary dynasties."--The Boston Globe
"Not just a brilliant, well-researched, and highly readable book about China's past, it also reveals the contingencies and ironic twists of fate in China's modern history."--LA Review of Books
An epic, multigenerational story of two rival dynasties who flourished in Shanghai and Hong Kong as twentieth-century China surged into the modern era, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
The Sassoons and the Kadoories stood astride Chinese business and politics for more than one hundred seventy-five years, profiting from the Opium Wars; surviving Japanese occupation; courting Chiang Kai-shek; and…
I believe that we betray the past when we treat it as the past, and we abandon our ancestors, actual and spiritual, when we dehumanize them as denizens of history, as fundamentally different from us in terms of their lusts and appetites and political nuances and strange senses of humor and nose picking and dance moves and love. Novels, I think, are a powerful mode for understanding and perhaps even undoing the cultural patterns that would have us believe that history is behind us and that the past is not part of the forever dance of the present.
Incredible. Like a great Russian novel, this book asks its readers for effort, time, and patience, but it all pays off one thousand times over. It is a story about how quiet lives come up against the sky-high pile of debris known as history, the beauty of art, and kindness amidst the wreckages and catastrophes of human politics.
"In a single year, my father left us twice. The first time, to end his marriage, and the second, when he took his own life. I was ten years old."
Master storyteller Madeleine Thien takes us inside an extended family in China, showing us the lives of two successive generations-those who lived through Mao's Cultural Revolution and their children, who became the students protesting in Tiananmen Square. At the center of this epic story are two young women, Marie and Ai-Ming. Through their relationship Marie strives to piece together the tale of her fractured family in present-day Vancouver, seeking answers…
I “discovered” historical fiction when a teen and have devoured it ever since. When my parents took me to the Cowpens National Battlefield in South Carolina in 9th grade, I realized just how much I enjoyed learning about history in real life. I found that reading historical fiction breathed life into what can be a very dull read, so I wanted to bring history to life with my own words. Visiting historical properties has become a big passion of mine! Every trip I take includes a visit to some historical site or another. I’ve been writing historical fiction/romance/fantasy since the late 1990s.
If you’re looking to virtually experience Asian culture, I’d highly recommend this story. Not only the language used, the expressions used, but also the décor, the clothing, the food, the religious rituals, and rites. All is woven into a beautiful tapestry of life and people in Malay. The story explores the tensions between tradition and modernizing. Especially, in this case, the Western influences on the traditions and expectations of the Asian cultures. I was reminded of the tension between my mother and myself “merely” because of the age difference, not a cultural difference. Mom was 42 when I was born, 60 when I graduated high school. Expectations had most definitely shifted by then!
Facing challenges in an increasingly colonial world, Chye Hoon, a rebellious young girl, must learn to embrace her mixed Malayan-Chinese identity as a Nyonya-and her destiny as a cook, rather than following her first dream of attending school like her brother.
Amidst the smells of chillies and garlic frying, Chye Hoon begins to appreciate the richness of her traditions, eventually marrying Wong Peng Choon, a Chinese man. Together, they have ten children. At last, she can pass on the stories she has heard-magical tales of men from the sea-and her warrior's courage, along with her wonderful kueh (cakes).
I’ve always been fascinated by Chinese culture. My great uncle owned an import-export shop in 1920s Montreal and many of the things in his shop decorated my family home. An aunt who worked in Toronto’s Chinatown took me to see a Chinese opera performance and this began my journey to understand Chinese thought and culture first with an MA in Chinese poetry and then with a Ph.D. in East Asian Studies. After I learned that Sun Yatsen had visited Manitoba, where I had moved for work, my attention turned to Chinese nationalism. More than 15 years later, my research and work on KMT culture continues.
Denise Chong explores a similar period of Chinese Canadian history in Lives of the Family: Stories of Fate & Circumstance. Similar to my own book, Lives of the Family looks beyond Vancouver and British Columbia Chinatowns to tell the story of Chinese Canadian migrants, whose lives straddled continents, who ran successful businesses, and were involved with the KMT.
International bestselling author of The Concubine's Children, Denise Chong returns to the subject of her most beloved book, the lives and times of Canada's early Chinese families. In 2011, Denise Chong set out to collect the history of the earliest Chinese settlers in and around Ottawa, who made their homes far from any major Chinatown. Many would open cafes, establishments that once dotted the landscape across the country and were a monument to small-town Canada. This generation of Chinese immigrants lived at the intersection of the Exclusion Act in Canada, which divided families between here and China, and 2 momentous…
I’ve always loved “big books,” novels that are described as sagas and chronicles yet whose primary focus is on singular, nuanced characters. I like seeing the ways that lives intersect and reflect each other across decades, and I enjoy being immersed in one world and then dropped, with the turn of a page, into another equally engrossing one. I am the author of the novel Rebellion as well as numerous short stories and essays. Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, I spent several years living in China and a year as the Writer-in-Residence at St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. I now live in Wisconsin, where I write and teach creative writing.
I first read Maxine Hong Kingston in college, but I can’t remember if I was assigned China Men or The Woman Warrior (the more famous counterpoint to China Men).All I know is that whichever one I read, I loved it so much that I immediately sought out the companion piece, which I also loved. In China Men, Kingston weaves together fiction and nonfiction, history and myth, story and memory. Is it a novel? A tapestry? I’m not quite sure what to call it, and that’s part of what I love about the book. Brief interludes of two or three pages present a single scene; longer stories narrate entire sagas. I love that this volume covers so much literal ground but ultimately feels incredibly personal.
The author chronicles the lives of three generations of Chinese men in America, woven from memory, myth and fact. Here's a storyteller's tale of what they endured in a strange new land.