70+ Asian Books to Read in 2023

From family sagas to aliens’ hunt for food to cozy crime to books that serve scandalous inside scoops of the publishing world, this list is sure to tickle all your senses. Here’s a long list of exciting Asian books to add to your reading list in 2023.

This list of anticipated Asian books published in 2023 is divided into sections to help you navigate faster. Many titles fall under more than one section/genre, and their placement in a particular section is a random choice. For example, if you are looking for crime thrillers, don’t forget to comb the Translated section in addition to the Crime-ish section. This list is by no means a definitive one. When I began collecting title names, I had no idea how ambitious and time consuming this project was. Even though this list arrives late, I hope it was worth the wait. I hope you find at least a few Asian books published in 2023 that you were not aware of. (Fingers crossed they end up as good reads for you). If you find a title missing in this list, that’s because of my own constraints on time (and length of the post). You might find my own reading interests creeping in the list—this is more fiction than non-fiction though I have included a few memoirs at the end. It also doesn’t include many titles of some of my favorite genres, like middle grade fantasy (though you will find a few scattered through the sections). I wish the fantasy section was longer; I’ve mostly listed titles that I am more inclined to pick up. Maybe I’ll edit in more titles to this list when time permits, but for now there are 70+ Asian books to get excited about.

Please note that the term ‘Asian books’ is a loose interpretation. In this list you might find books by authors from Asia, authors of Asian origin residing elsewhere, Asian-American authors, and books set in Asia. Also there are a few books published towards the end of 2022 that were too good to skip, even though this is a 2023 book list. Enjoy!

Table of Contents

1. Crime-ish books from Asia 2023
2. Translations from Asia 2023
3. Fiction from Asia 2023
4. Fantasy from Asia 2023
5. Lighter reads from Asia 2023
6. Literary/Historical/Thought provoking fiction from Asia 2023
7. Family sagas from Asia 2023
8. Short stories from Asia 2023
9. Memoirs from Asia 2023

 

Crime-ish Asian Books 2023

Here are some crime books from Asia to read in 2023. Some of these are more literary than crime, hence I’m naming this section ‘crime-ish’. Don’t forget to check out the translated section in this post for more crime thrillers.

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

“Equal parts crime thriller and family saga, transporting readers from the dusty villages of Uttar Pradesh to the urban energy of New Delhi, Age of Vice is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden romance, and the consequences of corruption. It is binge-worthy entertainment at its literary best.”
(January)

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

Rumours about a young woman killing her husband spread. Other women come to her to help them get rid of their no-good husbands.
(January)

The Blue Bar by Damayanti Biswas

“On the dark streets of Mumbai, the paths of a missing dancer, a serial killer, and an inspector with a haunted past converge in an evocative thriller about lost love and murderous obsession.”
(January)

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Three women who work in the homes of Singapore’s elite and band together to solve a murder mystery involving one of their own.

Also Read : 12 Korean books to read now

Translations from Asia 2023

Here are some translations from Asia published in 2023. You will find different genres in this list, from family sagas to magical realism to crime to social commentary.

The Sthory of Two Wimmin Named Kalyani and Dakshayani by R. Rajasree, translated by Devika J

“Female friendship in the rural worlds of north Malabar, through the lives of two rural women, Kalyani and Dakshayani”
(Dec, 2022)

Anthill by Vinoy Thomas, translated by Nandakumar K

Translated from Malayalam, Anthill is set in a village at the border of Kerala and Karnataka where settlers fleeing from shameful secrets find a new home and beginning. It is “the story of common people who tried to wriggle out of the shackles of family, religion and other restraining institutions, but eventually also struggle to civilize themselves-from their beginnings of a hillbilly existence and life as a promiscuous community.”
(Dec, 2022)

The Nemesis by Manoranjan Byapari, translated by V. Ramaswamy

The second book in the Chandal Jibon trilogy, translated from Bengali. “Set in late 1960s and early 1970s when the rumblings of liberation grew louder in East Pakistan and refugees came pouring into India, seeking asylum in the camps of West Bengal.”
(January)

Black soil by Ponneelan, J. Priyadarshini

Black Soil translated from Tamil “lays bare the atrocities faced by the farmers and the human cost of building a better tomorrow.”
(January)

Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda, translated by Philip Gabriel

“Riku Onda immerses us in the world of music—from piano masterpieces to the buzz of bees and the rumble of thunder” in this book about friendship set in a coastal town in Japan.
(January)

Assassin by K. R. Meera, translated by J. Devika

Translated from Malayalam, this “literary thriller explores questions of identity, gender and power, and reflects on the fate of Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy in post-independence India – a place where power, patriarchy, caste and money all conspire to shape the contours of our daily lives.”
(January)

People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice by Ao Omae, translated by Emily Balistrieri

Short stories exploring “gender, friendship, romance, love, human interaction and its absence, and how a misogynistic society limits women and men.”

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell

Winner of 2022 International Booker Prize, If you couldn’t pick up this tome last year, there’s no better time than now. The US edition is published this year. Translated from Hindi, Tomb of Sand is “a playful, feminist, and utterly original epic set in contemporary northern India, about a family and the inimitable octogenarian matriarch at its heart.”

The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, translated by Ho-Ling Wong

Crime. “A small group of acquaintances pay a visit to the remote, castle-like Mill House, home to the reclusive Fujinuma Kiichi, son of a famous artist, who has lived his life behind a rubber mask ever since a disfiguring car accident. This year, however, the visit is disrupted by an impossible disappearance, the theft of a painting and a series of baffling murders.”
(February)

Dattapaharam by V.J. James, translated by Ministhy S.

A surreal novel translared from Malayalam, ruminating on “solitude, man’s connection with nature and the strings that attach us to this world”
(February)

Walking Practice by Dolki Min, translated by Victoria Caudle

For fans of Netflix show Squid Game, “this radical literary sensation from South Korea about an alien’s hunt for food that transforms into an existential crisis about what it means to be human.”
(March)

Greek Lessons by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won

A man who loses his vision meets a woman who lost her language.”Greek Lessons is the story of the unlikely bond between this pair and a tender love letter to human intimacy and connection.”
(April)

I Went To See My Father by Kyung-Sook Shin, translated by Anton Hur

Translated from Korean, this novel follows “a woman’s efforts to reconnect with her aging father, uncovering long-held family secrets.”
(April)

Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada, translated by Haydn Trowell

“An ordinary housewife finds herself haunted by visions of a mushroom cloud and abruptly leaves her husband and son to travel alone to the city of Nagasaki, where she soon begins an affair with a young half-Russian, half-Japanese man.”
(June)

The Divine Sword by Rita Chowdhury, translated by Reeta Borbora

Translated from Assamese, The Divine Sword throws light on the social and cultural aspects of Assam’s history through the story of a woman of royal lineage.
(May)

The Devil’s Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Jim Rion

Crime. Another locked room mystery from Japan’s greatest crime writer featuring the observant and intelligent detective Kosuke Kindaichi. I am a Kindaichi fan and I cannot wait for this book.
(June)

Also Read: Japanese golden, cosy mysteries

The End of August by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles

Historical fiction. Family saga.
“A multi-generational novel about a Korean family living under Japanese occupation.”
(August)

The Owl Cries by Hye-young Pyun, translated by Sora Kim-Russel

A slow-burning noir thriller with a touch of horror and the uncanny, translated from Korean.

The Rope Artist by Fuminori Nakamura, translated by Sam Bett

Pulpy crime translated from Japanese. “Two detectives. Two identical women. One dead body—rapidly becoming two, then three, then four. All knotted up in Japan’s underground BDSM scene and kinbaku, a form of rope bondage which bears a complex cultural history of spirituality, torture, cleansing, and sacrifice.”
(May)

Counterweight by Djuna, translated by Anton Hur<

Counterweight is part cyberpunk, part hardboiled detective fiction, and part parable of South Korea’s neocolonial ambition and its rippling effects.”
(July)

Fiction from Asia 2023

As evident from the title, this section is a mix of genres. It includes Asian books of 2023 that could not perhaps be listed elsewhere in this blog post or books that seemed better under the umbrella of ‘fiction’ than another category. You will find all kinds of books here—thought provoking books on identity, horror or maybe a contemporary novel.

Central Places by Delia Cai

A young woman brings her white fiancé home to meet her Chinese immigrant parents, toppling her carefully constructed life.
(January)

Inheritors by Nadeem Zaman

Nisar Chowdhury returns to Dhaka, the city of his forefathers, from Chicago, feeling estranged to both. The city has changed and he has to wade through deceit, guile, friendship and love.
(February)

 

The Laughter by Sonora Jha

An aging white male college professor develops an obsession with his Pakistani Muslim colleague in this “portrait of privilege, radicalization, class, modern academia” and “white rage in America.”
(February, 2023)

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Horror. “A house with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.”
(February)

 

Y/N by Esther Yi

a Korean American copywriter living in Berlin whose obsession with a K-pop idol sends her to Seoul on a journey of literary self-destruction.
(March)

Wandering souls by Cecile Pin

Historical fiction. Three Vietnamese siblings seek refuge in the UK. “A sweeping meditation on love, ancestry, and the power of storytelling.”
(March)

 

Sea Change by Gina Chung

Magical Realism. Ro’s only companion is a giant Pacific octopus. When the octopus is sold to a wealthy investor intent on moving her to a private aquarium, Ro finds herself on the precipice of self-destruction.
(April)

Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

“An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage in this witty, big-hearted debut.”
(May)

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

An adventurous tale about a Chinese pirate queen and her fight to safeguard her crew. Historical.
(June)

Also Read : 6 books from Japan

All the Yellow Suns by Malavika Kannan

YA. “A coming-of-age story about a queer Indian American girl exploring activism and identity through art, perfect for fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.”
(July)

Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

Debut novel. “A Vietnamese Canadian family who will do whatever it takes to keep their no-frills nail salon afloat after a multimillion-dollar chain opens across the street.”
(July)

Lighter reads/Satire

I am always in the hunt for light reads and fun books that give you a good time. Here are a few fun Asian books of 2023 for those relaxing weekends.

All the Right People by Priyanka Khanna

Glittering, whip-smart and incredibly fun, All The Right People takes you into the hidden, privileged world of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Bombay, Delhi and London
(Nov, 2022)

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen

A matchmaker continuing her family’s legacy of matches based on Chinese Zodiac signs vs LA’s most eligible bachelor and his dating app.
(January)

The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao

A working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore’s high society by fraud and is scared of being exposed. Ft. a mysterious gossip columnist.
(January)

Your Driver is Waiting by Priya Guns

A queer Sri Lankan taxi driver tells her life story and her romance with a white woman. Funny social satire.
(February)

This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang

YA romcom about an aspiring teen writer has to fake date the actor heartthrob of her class after her essay goes viral.
(February)

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

An elderly tea shop owner in San Francisco’s China Town solves a murder case.
(March)

Yellowface by RF Kuang

“New York Times bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American” in this fast paced, razor sharp book about identity and publishing. I loved this scandalous book that spills the tea on the world of publishing.
(May)

Jana goes Wild by Farah Heron

Rom-com. “One woman trying to shed her perfect image at a destination wedding with hilarious—and moving—results.”

Also Read : 18 Fun Asian books to binge

To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai

“One woman must mastermind a jewelry heist during the wedding of the season in this hilarious romantic-comedy.”
(July)

Tastes like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma

Romcom inspired by Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing
(August)

Historical/Literary/Thought-provoking

This list includes literary fiction, historical fiction and more thought provoking Asian books published in 2023. You might notice that these books may fall in other categories in this blog post as well.

The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra

An Indo-Pak love story split apart by political forces. “Filled with exquisite descriptions of perfume and calligraphy” and the terror of partition.
(Dec, 2022)

Also Read : Review : Remnants of a separation by Aanchal Malhotra

Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan

Set during the early year’s of Sri Lanka’s three decade long civil war. About family and the portrait of a woman fractured by war.
(January)

The Dream Builders by Oindrila Mukherjee

Debut novel. Written from the perspectives of ten different characters, this novel “explores class divisions, gender roles, and stories of survival within a society that is constantly changing and becoming increasingly Americanized. It’s a story about India today, and people impacted by globalization everywhere.”
(January)

The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng

A boy in coastal Singapore discovers he has the magical ability to locate movable islands that no one else can find. A coming-of-age story combining British colonialism, the World War II Japanese occupation, and the pursuit of modernity.
(March)

Also Read : Debut novels from Asia about shadowless people and immortality

Chlorine by Jade Song

Debut novel about “immigration, sapphic longing, and fierce, defiant becoming.” It “blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale.”
(March)

Our Best Intentions by Vibhuti Jain

A father and daughter re-examine their familial bonds and place in the community. It explores “how easily friendships, careers, communities, and individual lives can unravel when the toxicity of privilege and racial bias are exposed.”
(March)

The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong

“A graphic novelist loses control of his own narrative as he attempts to write a polished retelling of his fraught upbringing in 1980s Chinatown.”

Family sagas from Asia 2023

Family sagas are my favourite! Here are some families and intergenerational stories to to follow in 2023. Don’t forget to check the other sections in this post where you might find a lone family saga.

The Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

One of the most anticipated Asian books of 2023, The Dust Child is a “saga about family secrets, hidden trauma, and the overriding power of forgiveness, set during the war and in present-day Vietnam”
(March)

A History of Burning by Janika Oza

An intergenerational saga spanning continents from the British colonial rule in India to South Asian expulsion from Uganda to Toronto.
(May)

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

“Three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family’s inherited burdens, buried secrets, and unlikely love stories.”
(June)

Also Read : : Book list : 9 multigenerational family sagas

History’s Angel by Anjum Hasan

Set in contemporary Delhi exploring the life of Muslims in India and the force and consequence of remembering your people’s history under an establishment that wants to forget.
(July)

SF and Fantasy from Asia 2023

This section includes a few books in the SF and fantasy genre. If you are an enthusiast, be sure to go hunting for more excellent recs.

All Those Who Wander by Kiran Manral

A classic time-travel novel where the past, present and future exist at once.
(January)

MAITHALI AND THE MINOTAUR: FOREST OF FORGOTTEN FEARS by C. G. Salamander, illustrated by Rajiv Eipe

Monsters and friends. A middle grade graphic novel “set in an outlandish world where nothing is as it seems.”

Also Read : Amazing middle grade fantasy books

Meru by S. B. Divya

“One woman and her pilot are about to change the future of the species in an epic space opera about aspiration, compassion, and redemption by Hugo and Nebula Award finalist S. B. Divya.”
(February)

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Fantasy. Gothic infused fairytale about vicious lies, secrets, betrayal and a cursed friendship.
(February)

Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf

Middle grade. A Malaysian spin of Little Red Riding Hood.
(March)

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

This dult epic fantasy inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, is a “fiery collision of power plays, spilled blood, and romance amidst a set of deadly games.”
(July)

The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma

“An ancient prophecy comes for an assassin, a princess, and a king.”
(August, 2023)

Short stories from Asia 2023

I love a good short story collection and this year’s line-up of Asian short stories looks amazing!

Welcome Me to the Kingdom by Mai Nardone

“Shifting between the gothic and the tenderhearted”, this debut short story collection follows three families striving to control their own destinies in a merciless, sometimes brutally violent Bangkok of the late twentieth century.
(February)

Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality by Lindsay Wong

“From Shanghai to Vancouver, the women in this collection haunt and are haunted by first loves, troublesome family members, and traumatic memories.” Short stories intertwining horror, the supernatural, mythology, and contemporary life.
(February)

8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee

Set in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. 8 dark stories about a shape shifting trickster—as a slave, an escape artist, a murderer, a terrorist, a spy, a lover, and a mother—in a portrait of Korean history.
(June)

Also Read : 6 short story collections to read in 2022

When the Hibiscus Falls by M Evelina Galang

17 stories “nimbly traversing borderlines, mythic and real, in the lives of Filipino and Filipino American women and their ancestors.”
(June)

Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated by Tiffany Tsao

12 stories that ask the question what it means to be happy. “Queer Indonesian writer Norman Erikson Pasaribu blends together speculative fiction and dark absurdism, drawing from Batak and Christian cultural elements.”

Also Read : 5 Asian short story collections

Memoirs from Asia 2023

This list, as you might have noticed, mostly focuses on fiction from Asia in 2023. There are many more non-fiction titles being published this year than what’s listed here. This section on memoirs includes a handful of them.

Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family by Rabia Chaudry

“At once an ode to Pakistani cuisine, including Chaudry’s favorite recipes; a love letter to her Muslim family both here and in Lahore; and a courageously honest portrait of a woman grappling with a body that gets the job done but refuses to meet the expectations of others.”
(Nov, 2022)

The Book Beautiful : A Memoir of Collecting Rare and Fine Books by Pradeep Sebastian

About the pleasures of bibliophily. Read for “the camaraderie between fellow collectors and dealers, bibliographic connoisseurship, the thrill of the chase, and the joy of striking a juicy bargain”; “cloistered nuns who printed impeccable fine press books, or the famous printer who lived in a one-room apartment at a YMCA with his small handpress tucked under his bed” and more.
(January)

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee

Debut. YA graphic memoir. “About a Korean-American girl’s coming-of-age story—and a coming home story—set between a New Jersey suburb and Seoul, South Korea.”
(March)

Family Style by Thien Pham

YA graphic memoir. “A Vietnamese immigrant boy’s search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do”
(June)

A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung

“A searing memoir of class, inequality, and grief–a daughter’s search to understand the lives her adoptive parents led, the life she forged as an adult, and the lives she’s lost.”
(April)

Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero

“A trans pageant queen from the Philippines went back into the closet to model in New York City, until she realized that living her truth was the only way to step into her full power.”
(May)

Owner of a Lonely Heart by Beth Nguyen

“Mother-daughter relationship fragmented by war and resettlement.”
(July)

The ultimate list of Asian books of 2023 to add to your reading list Click To Tweet This list is a labour of love. I apologize for accidental errors that have crept in. The month of publication might differ across UK, US and elsewhere. I’ll keep updating this list if time permits.

If I’ve missed out your anticipated release from Asia, do leave a comment and share the title with everyone. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading.
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