Loved the thesis of this piece. Americans don’t read enough books from authors outside the states. To me the purpose of reading literature is to get outside your worldview, open your eyes, be uncomfortable and “travel” intellectually. To read something that’s not necessarily relatable to you. I’ll look into these recommendations. Every time I read literature written by someone born and raised in a different country from my own I always feel like I learned beyond.
I read a good amount of Japanese literature. If you're in a bookstore looking for good, recent literary fiction, a good strategy is to look for Japanese author names. They take the craft seriously, and it's an artistically conservative culture, so the stories usually lack the kind of didactic left-wing politics that have invaded American literary fiction.
Hi Daniel! I love many Japanese women authors in translation. I'm not sure I agree that didactic left-wing politics have invaded American literary fiction -- if anything I sometimes think our emphasis on subtlety and restraint impedes our writers from speaking with their full chests -- but I really appreciate this note.
Yes, the women are good. I've enjoyed Yoko Ogawa and Natsuo Kirino. But you should try reading some men too, it won't kill you. I recently read a short novel called Lion Cross Point by Masatsugu Ono which was pretty good.
I agree about the excessive "subtlety and restraint" in some American writing. I often feel like we get either bland writing about nothing, or a superficial political screed.
Interestingly the Japanese writers I read are often pretty subtle but they pull it off. And occasionally they are over-the-top (Kirino) or feminist (Hiroko Oyamada) and that works too. I think American writers are too often trying to write to a template.
I will add a few Pakistani writers: Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mothsmoke), Mohammed Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes) and Kamila Shamsie (Home Fire, Burnt Shadows)
In terms of Indian writers, I would recommend Qurratulain Hyder (My Temples, Too, River of Fire)--both of which were translated by the author herself from the original Urdu. Also, I'm not sure why you forgot to mention Arundhati Roy. God of Small Things is an all time classic.
Hi Kabir! Thanks for reading, and for your thoughtful suggestions. I adore both Mohsin Hamid and Kamila Shamsie! I believe both of them are actually diasporic (British) which is why I didn't include them in this list about writers living and working on the subcontinent. I did not forget Arundhati Roy -- I wanted to give less "famous" writers airspace -- but she is one of my greatest role models in life! I would recommend my friend Bobuq Sayed's writing on Roy and how significant her choice is to remain committed to India's future instead of going on the global postcolonial circuit lol
Mohsin Hamid lives in Lahore. According to Wikipedia, he “divides his time between Pakistan and abroad”. I believe you are correct that Kamila Shamsie is London-based.
Thank you for the reccs, quite a few are going right on the TBR! I'd like to add Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag, perhaps the best novella by a living author I've ever read. It's also translated from Kannada, by Srinath Perur, a fascinating person whose Wikipedia is well worth a read.
There are problems with the notion of Francophonie (don't get me wrong), but I wish we as Anglophones had a similar conception of just how broadly spoken English is, and how much cool shit L2 speakers are up to. Every time I see someone mourn the death of litfic on here I want to say, "Well it may be pretty bad in America, but have you read Ghachar Ghochar?"
Fascinating essay, Malavika! We wanted to add another South Asian book to your radar: Cuckhold by Kiran Nagarkar -- it feels, much more so than other Indian authors (even powerhouses like Rushdie and Arundhati Roy) so Indian and independent from the overbearing influence of colonialism and the English novel-writing tradition. We wrote a full review of it here if you're interested:
Loved the thesis of this piece. Americans don’t read enough books from authors outside the states. To me the purpose of reading literature is to get outside your worldview, open your eyes, be uncomfortable and “travel” intellectually. To read something that’s not necessarily relatable to you. I’ll look into these recommendations. Every time I read literature written by someone born and raised in a different country from my own I always feel like I learned beyond.
Thank you for reading!
I read a good amount of Japanese literature. If you're in a bookstore looking for good, recent literary fiction, a good strategy is to look for Japanese author names. They take the craft seriously, and it's an artistically conservative culture, so the stories usually lack the kind of didactic left-wing politics that have invaded American literary fiction.
Hi Daniel! I love many Japanese women authors in translation. I'm not sure I agree that didactic left-wing politics have invaded American literary fiction -- if anything I sometimes think our emphasis on subtlety and restraint impedes our writers from speaking with their full chests -- but I really appreciate this note.
Yes, the women are good. I've enjoyed Yoko Ogawa and Natsuo Kirino. But you should try reading some men too, it won't kill you. I recently read a short novel called Lion Cross Point by Masatsugu Ono which was pretty good.
I agree about the excessive "subtlety and restraint" in some American writing. I often feel like we get either bland writing about nothing, or a superficial political screed.
Interestingly the Japanese writers I read are often pretty subtle but they pull it off. And occasionally they are over-the-top (Kirino) or feminist (Hiroko Oyamada) and that works too. I think American writers are too often trying to write to a template.
I will add a few Pakistani writers: Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mothsmoke), Mohammed Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes) and Kamila Shamsie (Home Fire, Burnt Shadows)
In terms of Indian writers, I would recommend Qurratulain Hyder (My Temples, Too, River of Fire)--both of which were translated by the author herself from the original Urdu. Also, I'm not sure why you forgot to mention Arundhati Roy. God of Small Things is an all time classic.
Hi Kabir! Thanks for reading, and for your thoughtful suggestions. I adore both Mohsin Hamid and Kamila Shamsie! I believe both of them are actually diasporic (British) which is why I didn't include them in this list about writers living and working on the subcontinent. I did not forget Arundhati Roy -- I wanted to give less "famous" writers airspace -- but she is one of my greatest role models in life! I would recommend my friend Bobuq Sayed's writing on Roy and how significant her choice is to remain committed to India's future instead of going on the global postcolonial circuit lol
Thanks for the response.
Mohsin Hamid lives in Lahore. According to Wikipedia, he “divides his time between Pakistan and abroad”. I believe you are correct that Kamila Shamsie is London-based.
Also, I have to recommend Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy"
Adding to my reading list - thank you for sharing ! ♥️
Thanks for reading
Thank you for the reccs, quite a few are going right on the TBR! I'd like to add Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag, perhaps the best novella by a living author I've ever read. It's also translated from Kannada, by Srinath Perur, a fascinating person whose Wikipedia is well worth a read.
There are problems with the notion of Francophonie (don't get me wrong), but I wish we as Anglophones had a similar conception of just how broadly spoken English is, and how much cool shit L2 speakers are up to. Every time I see someone mourn the death of litfic on here I want to say, "Well it may be pretty bad in America, but have you read Ghachar Ghochar?"
Ooh thanks so much for this recommendation! It's the whole reason I wrote this post, to get to hear from smarties like you! ty ty
im not american but am still grateful for this list! you sold me on "the weaving of my life" and "quarterlife" - hopefully my next reads!!
Ty so much for reading! I'd love to hear what you think, the weave of my life is very dear to me
Now I want to read all these books. Thank you for the compilation
Yuhhh ty for reading
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I share your sentiment.
ty for reading bae
I love this list. Some of my recent favorites on there!
thank you for this!!
Fascinating essay, Malavika! We wanted to add another South Asian book to your radar: Cuckhold by Kiran Nagarkar -- it feels, much more so than other Indian authors (even powerhouses like Rushdie and Arundhati Roy) so Indian and independent from the overbearing influence of colonialism and the English novel-writing tradition. We wrote a full review of it here if you're interested:
https://thenovelteapod.substack.com/i/139351193/one-of-my-favorite-reads-of-the-year-already-cuckold
Loved Quarterlife and looking forward to reading Heart Lamp and Tomb of Sand!
Hi Neha and Shruti! Omg y'all seem so cool and I'm grateful to you for reading. I'll check Cuckhold out!
Vuong is an excellent writer and that is why for sure I'm going to read his book. I don't know its subject and I don't care.
So fair! a lot of people love him