Asian Literature

[greatest]

I want to get started with reading Asian especially Indian Sub-Continent Literature. Having read most of the well-known British/American, European Literature, I am very much unaware and clueless on the Asian works. I really want to study and explore our local authors and their experiences.
Will appreciate if u guys can help me out on where to start.

 

[Green Patriot]

If you havent read Khalid Hosseini who is an Afghani author i would recommend his works.
The Kite Runner and A thousand Splendid suns are amazing reads.
Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistani author.Her book Kartography was quite a hit so you can perhaps read that too.

 

[greatest]

If you havent read Khalid Hosseini who is an Afghani author i would recommend his works.
The Kite Runner and A thousand Splendid suns are amazing reads.
Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistani author.Her book Kartography was quite a hit so you can perhaps read that too.

Thanks a lot!

 

[shaaik]

Try Nadeem Aslam - British Pakistani novelist ?? specially his book " The blind Man's garden".

 

[Obaidd]

I want to get started with reading Asian especially Indian Sub-Continent Literature. Having read most of the well-known British/American, European Literature, I am very much unaware and clueless on the Asian works. I really want to study and explore our local authors and their experiences.
Will appreciate if u guys can help me out on where to start.

Mohsin Hamid’s Moth Smoke can be a good starting point.

 

[Nostalgic]

Nadeem Aslam writes achingly beautiful prose. A frequent criticism of his work is that it doesn't carry a plot as well as some of the others, but it is worth reading all the same for the language. He writes exclusively in the present tense, which isn't all that common.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Daniyal Mueenuddin: if Nadeem Aslam's writing is florid, Mueenuddin has an incredibly light touch.

Mohammed Hanif's writing is more street smart, and his plot devices are creative. There's always Kamila Shamsie, who has been around for at least twenty years now, and has a number of books out, but I always got the feeling her writing is more competent than profound.

These are all contemporary writers. If you're interested in reading earlier work, there's always Ahmed Ali and Bapsi Sidhwa. The former is probably the first Pakistani novelist of note, and the latter carried the torch when there was little other English fiction being published in Pakistan.

 

[JaDed]

A Fine balance - Rohinton Mistry..

 

[greatest]

Thank you all!

 

[irfan]

does Salman Rushdie count as Asian literature? If so I recommend Shame and Midnight's Children.

Also would recommend translated short stories of Sadat Hasan Manto, his stories about Partition are raw and hard hitting.

Also suggest The Weary Generations (celebrated Urdu novel Udas Naslein) by Abdullah Hussein, he actually translated his own work into English.

 

[greatest]

does Salman Rushdie count as Asian literature? If so I recommend Shame and Midnight's Children.

Also would recommend translated short stories of Sadat Hasan Manto, his stories about Partition are raw and hard hitting.

Also suggest The Weary Generations (celebrated Urdu novel Udas Naslein) by Abdullah Hussein, he actually translated his own work into English.

Thank You, Irfan!