Book reviews: recent Asian fiction I read
As you may know, I love reading. As a child, I spent the afternoons when I didn’t have school in the library. I probably read all the books series of Enid Blyton, then moved on to German kids’ detective book series. I loved The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin and even met the one penpal turned into friend that I’m still in touch with today through a fanpage of their readers.
However, for some reason, in my 20s and early 30s I stopped reading. Not entirely, but enough that it feels like for 15 years of my life, reading did not really play an important part. In that season of my life, I moved out of my parents’ home, studied in France and the UK, spent time with new friends and visited old ones all over Europe. I traveled a lot, met my husband, traveled more with him and probably spent a decent amount of time watching TV series.
It’s only in the past couple of years, after becoming a mother, that I found back to the joy of reading books - and I even went beyond the fiction that I used to love to discover non-fiction topcis that I am passionate about. So I thought I’d just on an irregular basis some books that I recently read and the main plot of ideas that stuck with me.
This year, I started reading some Asian fiction, after my mother passed me on a book by Singaporean author Imran Hashim. I researched books by similar authors and came across a couple that were included in the Kindle unlimited subscription, which I got a good deal for. Here are the books I’ve read in the past couple of months:
Annabelle Thong - Imran Hashim: an easy read that follows Annabelle, a school teacher from Singapore who decides to pursue a masters degree in Paris. The story shows the cultural clashes between East and West, but in my opinion it also picks up many clichés and extremes from both worlds. If you are looking for a quick, easy and entertaining read, definitely go for it! It’s probably one of the books I’d enjoy reading on a holiday by the pool - but not necessarily a book I’ll keep and read again in the future.
The Woman who breathed two Worlds - Chin Yoke: it’s been a long while since I last read historical fiction and it has never been my favourite genre, but this book captivated me. It’s the story of a little girl born in the South of Thailand whose family then emigrates to Penang. She finally settles in Ipoh when she gets married, but as tragedy strikes and her husband suddenly passes away, she has to find ways to make ends meet for herself and her children. It’s the story of a woman who fights to teach her children the traditional customs of her family, in a society where these are less and less important. And it’s a story that will leave you wishing you could taste all the delicious and colourful cakes that she bakes throughout the book in order to survive and support herself and her children financially.
When the Future comes too soon - Chin Yoke: this book starts where the previous book ends: with the invasion of Malaya by Japanese troops in 1941. The story follows the family of the main caracter of “The Woman who breated two Worlds”’s son and mainly her daughter-in-law as they navigate this dark period of history. As a wealthy family, they suddenly see all their privileges and financial resources disappear and need to fight in order to survive. Just like the previous book, this one puts forward the role of the women in the household - not only to raise the children but also to find ways to feed the family in a country ravaged by war and then rebuilding itself.
A Taste of Ginger - Mansi Shah: a book about finding your roots and the conflicts of growing up as an Indian immigrant in the US. I never reflected on this perspective, but I realise that in a way, there are many conflicts and feelings that are put forward in this book, that I’ve felt myself growing up with parents from two different countries and cultures. That idea of never really belonging entirely because you are different, of feeling like there is a part of you that is missing but also not really being a part of the culture of your parents. I loved to watch the story unfold and it was an easy and captivating read that made me laugh, cry and feel with the main caracter Preeti and her family.
The Direction of the Wind - Mansi Shah: in this book, Sophie travels from India to Paris and then to LA in search of her mother - mother that she had believed had died over 20 years ago, only to find out when her father passed away, that she had actually left the family to become an artist in Paris. The book narrates Sophie’s journey into the past while at the same time telling the story of her mother and how she ran away in the hopes of finding a better life. Both of Mansi Shah’s books talk about Indian families from a higher caste who lead a rather wealthy life in their home country, but then immigrated to the West in search of a better life - only to find themselves struggling for the first time in their lives. It shows the paradoxes that immigration can bring with it, the challenges for families to follow their dreams but also survive in a society where they are “different”. I love how the author doesn’t give a “black or white” image of culture and immigration but in the end creates a lovely balance of opening up to new experiences but at the same time staying true to yourself and who you choose to be.
The Candid Life of Meena Dave - Namrata Patel: the main setting of this book is in my opinion quite random - a girl inherits an apartment in a house that has belonged to the family of Indian immigrants to Boston for generations. The aunties who live there welcome her more or less openly, curious about this girl who doesn’t seem to be a direct descendent of the woman who recently passed away. The book is a search for answers from the past, the healing of old wounds, a love story, an escape from reality into work live and ultimately a newfound home. I know that with culture comes also responsibility and though many traditional Asian cultures live very differently from us, this book made me want to live in a small community like this, where families support each other, doors are left unlocked and there is always someone bringing over food.
Scent of a Garden - Namrata Patel: I loved this book which allowed me to travel from Paris to sunny California and discover some insights of the hotel and perfume industries. It’s the story of a girl who was raised to focus on her career, but when she has a huge setback, she returns home to California, to her Indian culture and her somewhat estranged parents. She wonders if the path she’s been following is really one that she chose, or that her family pushed her to follow through with throughout her whole life. I loved the different relationships that the author explored in the book - and at the same time, I’d probably have continued reading another 100 pages, had the book been longer.
Sweet Offerings - Chang Ling Yap: another historical fiction, similar to the Chin Yoke books. It follows Mei Lin, who grows up in a poor family and is sent away to become the first wife of a rich Chinese man. The story follows her through quite a long span of her life, how the family lives through the Japanese occupation of Malaya, as she becomes a mother herself, how her husband has a second wife and then starts to bring another woman into the household. As a mother, the most heartbreaking part to read where the years she spends away from her children, in order to escape her violent husband. At the same time, it’s a story about friendship and female bonding, with the support that her husband’s second wife gives Mei Lin in this difficult period of time.