
My Asian Era
A curated journey through Asian literature
Thoughtful Reviews. Quiet Stories. Literary Depth.
For the past two years, I’ve been reading, reviewing, and quietly building a curated archive of books by Asian authors, mostly translated fiction, contemporary literature, and underrepresented voices that often get missed by mainstream reading lists.
What started as a personal reading habit has evolved into a full platform: a growing collection of spoiler-free reviews, thematic roundups, and quiet reflections meant to help more readers discover the emotional and cultural depth of Asian literature.
This isn’t a listicle site.
It’s not trend-based.
It’s intentional, built slowly, post by post, with care.
You’ll find:
Honest reviews from across Asia: Korean, Japanese, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Chinese, and Asian authors writing from around the world
Mini features for short books and chapbooks
Book club picks with community conversation prompts
Emotional clarity over academic critique
A calm space to discover books that linger
This is a living archive, part ongoing project, part reflective journal.
I’m in the process of centralizing older reviews and continuing to explore both contemporary releases and classic titles from across the region.
If you're tired of the same dozen titles getting recycled across book feeds — you're in the right place.
Welcome.
P.S. If you're looking to read along, I host a quiet book club through Fable. It's casual, thoughtful, and open to anyone curious about Asian literature.
Search Titles, Authors, Keywords, Themes
The Hunger We Pass Down
The title could just as easily have been The Rage We Pass Down. That is what I felt on every page. Rage mixed with grief, with ghosts standing in for the violence that shaped this family. The horror never felt separate from the real — it was historical and horror at the same time.
The Morgue Keeper
Set in 1966 China, The Morgue Keeper is not a story of rebellion in the traditional sense… it's a story of survival, of sharing cigarettes and kindness when there's nothing left. I finished it wrecked, and grateful to have read it.
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster is a brutal, layered story about what it means to live through history that tries to erase you — and the impossible choices women have had to make to survive.
We Do Not Part
A quiet, haunting novel that unfolds in layers — snow, silence, and a history that still trembles underfoot.
The Woman Dies
What struck me most was how physical the reading experience felt. You don’t just think about these pieces. You feel them.
The Sound of Waves
He felt himself floating far out at sea, deep down in the silence, alone. He was conscious only of the sea, and of himself in the sea.
An Orange, A Syllable
An intimate, poetic reflection on motherhood, language, and identity. Gillian Sze captures early parenthood with rare grace and emotional clarity.
Oxford Soju Club: A Spy Story Where the Real Plot Is Identity
Jinwoo Park’s debut novel Oxford Soju Club might look like a spy story on the surface, but it’s really a quiet and sharp novel about identity, performance, and fractured belonging in the Korean diaspora.
My Asian Era Book Club
A quiet, flexible book club focused on Asian literature — short novels, thoughtful conversations, and spoiler-free discussion at your own pace.
At the End of the Matinee
A quiet, emotionally layered novel about love, missed connection, and the slow ache of wrong timing. Graceful and unresolved in all the right ways.
Marigold Mind Laundry
A soft, surreal novella about memory, care, and emotional quiet. Marigold Mind Laundry doesn’t ask you to understand — just to sit with it.
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea
Beautifully written and deeply disturbing, Mishima’s novel is a haunting dive into the fragility of human ideals, the cruelty of innocence, and the darkness that lies beneath admiration.
b, Book, and Me
Fragmented, strange, and emotionally sharp — b, Book, and Me is a surreal story of teenage isolation, quiet rage, and the fragile survival found in friendship.
Convalescence
Quiet, strange, and emotionally raw, Convalescence is a sparse but unsettling meditation on isolation and the quiet disappearance of self.
The Restaurant of Love Regained
A soft, food-filled novel about healing and connection, The Restaurant of Love Regained is a gentle reminder that comfort can be cooked one dish at a time.
All the Lovers in the Night
A luminous and deeply interior novel about loneliness, invisibility, and the small, slow movements toward connection. All the Lovers in the Night lingers long after the last page.
Klara and the Sun
Told through the voice of an Artificial Friend, Klara and the Sun is a tender, uncanny look at what it means to love, serve, and quietly disappear. Speculative fiction at its most human.
Wandering Souls
A moving story of identity, grief, and resilience. Wandering Souls is a tender exploration of postwar displacement and the echoes that follow us across generations.