Talk

Have you read anything by Xinran? I read her NF collection of articles she wrote for The Guardian - What The Chinese Don't Eat, but she's also written fiction.

No I haven't but will look her up. Thanks!

Have a look at Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

Also The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki. Both really enjoyable.

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

Death of a Red Heroine by Qui Xialong. It's a murder mystery set in Shanghai in 1990 and it has a lot in it about Chinese history, politics, culture and food as well as the crime. I really enjoyed it. Villain by Shuichi Yoshida and The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashiro are two very well-written Japanese thrillers.
If you don't like crime The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai by Ruiyan Xu is very good and The Housekeeper and The Professor by Yoko Ogawa is my favourite Japanese novel so far. I have Strange Weather in Tokyo on my wish list also. Norwegian Wood is the only Murakami book I've read so far and I was underwhelmed but plan to give him another chance.

A personal matter by Kenzaburo Oe (a nobel prize winner) This moved me tremendously, although I read it before having kids: its about a young father's shock at having a son with brain damage. It's based loosely on Oe's own experience.

Two Chinese-American writers, I liked. Amy Tan, I think the best is The Kitchen God's Wife. Also, Maxine Hong Kingston The Woman Warrior.

Chang-Rae Lee A Gesture Life.

I also second The Makioka Sisters, one of my favorite books.

A bit out of left field, Amelie Northomb's Fear and Trembling, a westerner' experience of working in a big Japanese company.

Thanks for this thread. Really looking forward to getting stuck into some of these.
Can I suggest trying the Malaysian Chinese author Tan Twan Eng, if you haven't tried him yet? The Garden of Evening Mists was shortlisted for the 2012 Booker, beautiful book. His other one is The Gift of Rain.

Quite few books by Lisa See on audible - got myself Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
also got Tan Twan Eng - The Garden of Evening Mists, A personal matter by Kenzaburo Oe (about birth of son with brain damage)

as expected - very few non-english speaking authors books are on audible

also found another Japanese Nobel Prize winner - Yasunari Kawabata and will read (in my case means listen ) one of his books, perhaps Snow Country and will report here soon.