This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.
Lisa See's books are always very popular. Especially the titles Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls. I can usually recommend them to anyone who likes historical fiction or stories set in China. But, a lot of people have already read at least Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Then I run into trouble suggesting books. Aside from Lisa See, the historical fiction I know of for Asia is all set in Japan, such as Memoirs of a Geisha.
So, what authors or titles would you suggest for those who liked Lisa See's novels?
6 comments:
What about Gail Tsukiyama? She has some set in Japan and some set in China or how about Anchee Min?
I don't know anything about the first of the two authors you mentioned, Holly, but I'd forgotten about Anchee Min. IIRC, she's got a book titled Pearl, and I think she had some connection to "My Splendid Concubine" and "Our Hart". I'm not entirely certain though. A definite Thank You for the suggestions.
You might suggest The Tale of Murasaki : A Novel by Liza Dalby or if they are really ambitious The Tale of the Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. There is also Pearl Buck.
I'll keep those two in mind amcatoir. Thanks for the suggestions.
They are different kinds of novels I think, but you might want to think about Wild Swans, The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife. The name of the authors escape me at the moment, but I think the last two are by the same author.
Other options might be Pearl S Buck, and The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall is about a young Russian girl who is living in Shanghai during the 1930s but there is lots of Chinese historical references in there as well.
Lots of great looking suggestions there, Marg. Thanks. I'm going to have to check out some of those for my own reading, I think.
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