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.

Reviews Published 10 Book Reviews Professional Reader

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Maria Johnson Maria Johnson

Red Sword

In Red Sword, Bora Chung trades surreal short fiction for a full-scale dystopian sci-fi epic. On a fog-shrouded battlefield, a slave-turned-reluctant fighter faces clones, color-coded factions, and truths that change everything she thought she knew.

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Maria Johnson Maria Johnson

Vanishing World

Sayaka Murata flips family and intimacy inside out. Vanishing World is surreal, absurd, and deeply unsettling, with social commentary that feels uncomfortably close to real life. Spoiler-free thoughts on why it works and who it’s for.

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Maria Johnson Maria Johnson

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.

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Maria Johnson Maria Johnson

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.

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