How, as we ask every year, did Asia fare in the “Best Books” lists of 2023? A bit better than 2022, possibly. As before, this list takes a broad view of what constitutes an “Asian” book.
Outside of specialized lists, books in translation are (again) notable by their relative absence, with only Greek Lessons by Han Kang and Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal appearing more than once. In fiction, Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang, Victory City by Salman Rushdie, A History of Burning by Janika Oza, Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li and Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor appear on several lists. In non-fiction, Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J Bass and Courting India by Nandini Das appear multiple times.
Click on the title for our review and listen to the podcast where listed. (Also see the Asian Review of Books’s own list of 50 highlights.)
History Today: Books of the Year 2023
- The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China by Christopher I Beckwork
- Silk: A History in Three Metamorphoses by Aarathi Prasad (podcast)
- Victorious in Defeat: The Life and Times of Chiang Kai-shek, China, 1887-1975 by Alexander V Pantsov
- Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire by Nandini Das
- Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan by Ruby Lal
World Literature Today: 75 Notable Translations 2023
- Greek Lessons by Han Kang
- Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal
- Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada
- Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami
- The Enlightenment of Katzuo Nakamatsu by Augusto Higa Oshiro
- Beijing Sprawl by Xu Zechen
- The Last Pomegranate Tree by Bachtyar Ali
- The Abduction by Maram Al-Masri
- A Book, Untitled by Shushan Avagyan
- The Forest Brims Over by Maru Ayase
- The Blue Light by Hussein Barghouthi
- I Belong to Nowhere: Poems of Hope and Resistance by Kalyani Thakur Charal
- East Jerusalem Noir, edited by Rawya Jarjoura Burbara
- The Naked Tree by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim
- Phantom Pain Wings by Kim Hyesoon
- Bathhouse and Other Tanka by Tatsuhiko Ishii
- The Piano Tuner by Chiang-Sheng Kuo
- Heart Sutra by Yan Lianke
- Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü
- Won’t You Stay, Radhika? by Usha Priyamvada
- I Went to See My Father by Kyung-Sook Shin
- West Jerusalem Noir, edited by Maayan Eitan
- An Old Carriage with Curtains by Ghassan Zaqtan
- Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal
- A History of Burning by Janika Oza
- Kantika by Elizabeth Graver
- Y/N by Esther Yi
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- Daughter of the Dragon by Yunte Huang
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Victory City by Salman Rushdie
- Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
- From From by Monica Youn
- Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
- The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
- Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park
- Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
- The Great Escape by Saket Soni
- The Half Known Life by Pico Iyer
- Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J Bass
- The Land of Hope and Fear by Isabel Kershner
- A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung
- Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista
- Waiting to Be Arrested at Night by Tahir Hamut Izgil
- A History of Burning by Janika Oza
- Denison Avenue by Daniel Innes & Christina Wong
- Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday by Jamaluddin Aram
- Reuniting with Strangers by Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio
- The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong
- The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society by Christine Estima
- We Meant Well by Erum Shazia Hasan
- Linghun by Ai Jiang
- Landscapes by Christine Lai
- On the Ravine by Vincent Lam
- Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen
- Chrysalis by Anuja Varghese
- Y/N by Esther Yi
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
- The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng
- Greek Lessons by Han Kang
- The Hive and the Honey by Paul Yoon
- A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- The Half Known Life by Pico Iyer
- From From by Monica Youn
- Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie
- Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go by Cleo Qian
- Mott Street by Ava Chin
- Owner of a Lonely Heart by Beth Nguyen
- Red Memory by Tania Branigan
- Waiting to Be Arrested at Night by Tahir Hamut Izgil
- Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista
- Victory City by Salman Rushdie
Foreign Affairs: The Best of Books 2023
- On the Edge: Life Along the Russia-China Border by Franck Billé and Caroline Humphrey (podcast)
- How Asia Found Herself: A Story of Intercultural Understanding by Nile Green
- Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J Bass
- Intermarriage and the Friendship of Peoples: Ethnic Mixing in Soviet Central Asia by Adrienne Edga
- A New Vision for Islamic Pasts and Futures by Shahzad Bashir
- Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation, and Social Media by Marc Owen Jones
- Locked Out of Development: Insiders and Outsiders in Arab Capitalism by Steffen Hertog
- Dictatorship and Information: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China by Martin K. Dimitrov
- The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline by Yasheng Huang
San Francisco Chronicle’s favorite fiction and nonfiction books of 2023
- The Chinese Groove by Kathryn Ma
- Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Esquire: The 20 Best Books of 2023
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li
- A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung
- Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
- Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang
- A Man of Two Faces by Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Orphan Bachelors by Fae Myenne Ng
Indigo: top 100 books of the year
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
- The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok
- He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
- The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi
- Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
- King of Wrath by Ana Huang
- Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls by Kai Cheng Thom
Publishers Weekly: Best Books 2023
- Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
- Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal
- Greek Lessons by Han Kang
- Excavations by Hannah Michell (podcast)
- This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
- From From by Monica Youn
- Like Smoke Like Light by Yukimi Ogawa
- Sofreh: A Contemporary Approach to Classic Persian Cuisine by Nasim Alikhani
- Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin
- Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham
- From Here by Luma Mufleh
New York Public Library: Best Books 2023
- Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
- Bad Kids by Zijin Chen
- The Hive and the Honey by Paul Yoon
- Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto
- The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
- Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America by Julia Lee
- The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
- The Kingdom of Surfaces by Sally Wen Mao
- Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
- The Man in the McIntosh Suit by Rina Ayuyang
- Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto
- From Here by Luma Mufleh
- In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee
- Magic Has No Borders, ed by Sona Charaipotra, Samira Ahmed
- The Next New Syrian Girl by Ream Shukairy
- Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
- Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin
- Mama Shamsi at the Bazaar by Mojdeh Hassani & Samira Iravani
- The Many Masks of Andy Zhou by Jack Cheng
- Mehndi Boy by Zain Bandali
- My Indigo World by Rosa Chang
- Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang
- Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li
- Salma Makes a Home by Danny Ramadan
- Saving Sunshine by Saadia Faruqi, Shazleen Khan
- These Olive Trees by Aya Ghanameh
- The Train Home by Dan-ah Kim
- When You Can Swim by Jack Wong
Kirkus: Best Fiction Books of the Year
- Greek Lessons by Han Kang
- The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li
- The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
- Loot by Tania James
- Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
- The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
- Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
- Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park
- A New Race of Men from Heaven by Chaitali Sen
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Heart Sutra by Yan Liake
- Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine
- Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
Powell’s: Best Books of 2023 ~ Fiction
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
- Every Drop is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto
- The Laughter by Sonora Jha
- The Liberators by EJ Koh
- Another India: The Making of the World’s Largest Muslim Minority, 1947-77 by Pratinav Anil
- The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
Washington Post: The 10 best books of 2023
- Loot by Tania James
- Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J Bass
Slate: The 10 Best Books of 2023
- The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
Bookriot: Best Books of 2023
- Bellies by Nicola Dinan
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H
- Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
- Parachute Kids by Betty C Tang
- The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar
The Globe 100: The best books of 2023
- Yellowface by RF Kuang
- A History of Burning by Janika Oza
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Victory City by Salman Rushdie
- Landbridge by Y-Dang Troeung
- Superfan by Jen Sookfong Lee
- The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp by Jing Gao
- When You Can Swim by Jack Wong
BBC History Magazine: Books of the Year 2023
- Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Century by Joya Chatterji
- Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire by Nandini Das
- Red Memory by Tania Branigan
- To the End of the Earth by John C McManus
- A Nasty Little War: The West’s Fight to Reverse the Russian Revolution by Anna Reid
MoneyControl: 24 best Indian books of 2023, fiction and non-fiction
- Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
- The Best Possible Experience: Stories by Nishanth Injam (podcast)
- The Light At the End Of The World by Siddhartha Deb
- Smoke and Ashes: A Writer’s Journey Through Opium’s Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh
- Quarterlife by Devika Rege
- Sakina’s Kiss by Vivek Shanbhag
- This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Assassin by KR Meera
- Fire Bird by Perumal Murugan
- Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
- Victory City by Salman Rushdie
- One Small Voice by Santanu Bhattacharya
- H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars by Kunal Purohit
- The Day I Became A Runner: A Women’s History of India Through the Lens of Sport by Sohini Chattopadhyay
- Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink by Arati Kumar Rao
- Fire on the Ganges by Radhika Iyengar
- The Half Known Life by Pico Iyer
- The Yellow Sparrow by Santa Khurai
- Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire by Nandini Das
- Raw Umber by Sara Rai
- The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America by Saket Soni
- Courting Hindustan: The Consuming Passions of Iconic Women Performers in India by Madhur Gupta