The 2022 Winter Olympics are well underway now in China. But watching the opening ceremony a couple weeks ago reminded me of some of the most beautifully written modern stories set in China or featuring Chinese main characters. Below are my top favorite pieces of Chinese or Chinese-American literature that I’ve read most recently.
White Ivy by Susie Yang
Ivy Lin, a first generation American from a Chinese family, is a thief and a liar, though you would never know by looking at her. Growing up in Boston, she has worked hard to fit in with her classmates including the Speyers, a stereotypical Wasp family. But Ivy may not be the only one harboring a secret identity. If Ivy gets everything she thinks she wants, will she truly be happy? Or does happiness lie in an unexpected place?
Susie Yang is ingenious in how she weaves the story of Ivy’s Chinese roots, her unstoppable will and her undeniable blind spots when it comes to ambition. I was fortunate enough to be in a book club who spoke with Yang about her debut novel and it left us all waiting in anticipation for her next story.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
I’ve written about this book over the years. But the undeniable truth woven throughout this book is the misunderstanding that comes when American-born Chinese Rachel Chu falls for the most eligible bachelor in Singapore and heir to one of the largest fortunes in Asia. Will love prevail over all obstacles? Or will Rachel be found out for the imposter and gold digger Will’s family believes she truly is.
Among other things, this novel gives us an intimate look at the wealth and lifestyle that has infiltrated Singapore. From Chinese superstitions that will never go out of fashion to the night life, food and fashion of modern day Singapore, the descriptions in this novel will transport you across the Pacific.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China follows three generations of women as they experience some of the most extraordinary political upheaval in China’s history. While this is not actually fiction, but a retelling of Jung Chang’s own family history, it still depicts an extraordinary time in the history of China that I couldn’t leave it off the list.
Chang’s grandmother has bound feet and is married off at an early age to be a concubine of a high-ranking General in order for her to escape the poverty she was born into. Bao Qin was taken from the General’s household when her mother feared for her life after the General passed away and she was raised in Manchuria by her mother and new father, a doctor. Bao eventually joined the Communist Party and worked her way up the ranks meeting her husband, a high ranking communist official. Eventually she had Jung and four other children. While Jung started out as a member of the communist party, the eventual downfall of her parents within the party leading to the untimely and painful death of her father led her to disavow the party and eventually move out of the country.
Jung’s descriptive language and exotic backdrops leave the readers in awe and sickened all at the same time. The flow of the story allows for a story-like reading that makes you forget that you are reading the real life experiences of actual people.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is a timeless immigrant story focusing on four mothers who immigrated to San Francisco, CA from China and their four American-born Chinese daughters. Through a string of short stories, we follow the stories of these four immigrant families from post-World War II China to the United States and how their experiences have impacted their view on life. Each family is connected by the fact that they play Mahjong together every week and come to call their group the Joy Luck Club.
Again, the beautifully written and exotic subjects provided by Amy Tan in this novel transport readers to a different time and place. It gives us a taste of the perspective from immigrants and first generation Americans that, at the time the novel was written, was sorely lacking in modern literature.
What’s next on the horizon?
While I thoroughly enjoyed each of these books and some I admit to reading over and over again on a regular basis, there are still more pieces of work by Chinese and Chinese-American authors that I can’t wait to read.
Next on my list is Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen, her debut novel. Published last year, this book is a collection of stories that show us a unique perspective on modern China and how it has risen to what it is today. I can’t wait to begin reading this recently published book that has captured the imagination of a wide audience including former President, Barack Obama.
Find these reads on Amazon
Tell me what Chinese or Asian literature have you been reading recently?
Leave your answer in the comments below.
Bonus: See my review for The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson – an amazing fictionalized look inside the walls of North Korea.
