Best South Asian Fiction
Your favorite fiction from South Asia and the diaspora. Novels, short stories and novellas.

South Asian countries include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan. Some people also include Burma/Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iran and the Maldives as part of South Asia. South Asia does NOT include China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietname (these last three are part of Southeast Asia), etc.
1 The Kite Runner
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4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 877,778 ratings
2 A Thousand Splendid Suns
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4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 388,341 ratings
3 A Fine Balance
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4.31 of 5 stars 4.31 avg rating — 51,730 ratings
4 The God of Small Things
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 90,392 ratings
5 The Namesake
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 107,060 ratings
6 Interpreter of Maladies
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 69,119 ratings
7 The White Tiger
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 62,231 ratings
8 Midnight's Children
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 43,922 ratings
9 A Suitable Boy
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 17,454 ratings
10 Truly, Madly, Deeply
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 1,056 ratings
11 Shantaram
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 40,846 ratings
12 The Inheritance of Loss
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3.32 of 5 stars 3.32 avg rating — 23,048 ratings
13 Unaccustomed Earth
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 39,972 ratings
14 Life of Pi
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 481,966 ratings
15 Cutting for Stone
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 128,230 ratings
16 Sea of Poppies (Ibis Trilog...
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 7,588 ratings
17 The Glass Palace
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 7,580 ratings
18 Q & A
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 11,678 ratings
19 The Space Between Us
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 15,723 ratings
20 Secret Daughter
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 24,769 ratings
21 The Red Tent
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 237,063 ratings
22 Family Matters
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 8,286 ratings
23 The Death of Vishnu
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 4,476 ratings
24 The Palace of Illusions
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 4,623 ratings
25 Siddhartha
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 177,487 ratings
26 Brick Lane
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3.3 of 5 stars 3.30 avg rating — 13,215 ratings
27 Such a Long Journey
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 3,563 ratings
28 The Satanic Verses
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 22,849 ratings
29 Haroun And The Sea Of Stories
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 12,755 ratings
30 The Reluctant Fundamentalist
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 15,576 ratings
31 A Passage to India
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 25,876 ratings
32 The Moor's Last Sigh
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 6,251 ratings
33 Moth Smoke
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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 2,521 ratings
34 The Far Pavilions
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 15,410 ratings
35 The Shadow Lines
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 1,997 ratings
36 Anil's Ghost
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3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 7,368 ratings
37 2 States: The Story of My M...
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3.39 of 5 stars 3.39 avg rating — 22,714 ratings
38 A Good Indian Wife
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3.51 of 5 stars 3.51 avg rating — 1,690 ratings
39 The Rice Mother
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 1,786 ratings
40 The Vine Of Desire
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3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 1,979 ratings
41 The Quest of the Sparrows: ...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 50 ratings
42 Swami and Friends
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 3,029 ratings
43 Cracking India
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 1,243 ratings
44 The Hungry Tide
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 4,736 ratings
45 Animal's People
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 1,375 ratings
46 Sister of My Heart
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 8,607 ratings
47 Train to Pakistan
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3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 3,490 ratings
48 Beneath a Marble Sky
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 7,319 ratings
49 Five Point Someone: What No...
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3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 avg rating — 27,309 ratings
50 The Buddha of Suburbia
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 5,037 ratings
51 Hullabaloo in the Guava Orc...
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3.39 of 5 stars 3.39 avg rating — 2,048 ratings
52 In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 2,715 ratings
53 Love and Longing in Bombay
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3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 936 ratings
54 The Immortals Of Meluha
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 17,889 ratings
55 English, August: An Indian ...
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3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 1,743 ratings
55 Saving Fish from Drowning
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3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 avg rating — 17,383 ratings
57 The Hero's Walk
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 876 ratings
57 A Son of the Circus
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3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 avg rating — 10,533 ratings
59 Tales from Firozsha Baag
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 1,379 ratings
60 Veil of Roses
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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 3,709 ratings
61 The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 6,664 ratings
62 Shalimar the Clown
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 6,671 ratings
63 Raj
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3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 311 ratings
64 A Case of Exploding Mangoes
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3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 3,022 ratings
65 Sikander
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 107 ratings
66 Cuckold
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 252 ratings
67 The Blood of Flowers
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 6,800 ratings
68 Swallows of Kabul
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 2,640 ratings
69 The English Teacher
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 1,103 ratings
69 Sacred Games
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 2,653 ratings
71 The Lizard Cage
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 692 ratings
71 River of Smoke (Ibis trilog...
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 1,897 ratings
73 Reading Lolita In Tehran: A...
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3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 64,054 ratings
74 Evening Is the Whole Day
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3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 721 ratings
75 The Enchantress of Florence
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3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 8,501 ratings
76 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 72,136 ratings
77 Love Marriage Love Marriage...
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3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 avg rating — 328 ratings
78 The Snake Charmer: A Novel
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3.39 of 5 stars 3.39 avg rating — 119 ratings
78 The Secret of the Nagas (Sh...
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 13,336 ratings
80 The Siege of Krishnapur
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 1,998 ratings
80 The Jewel in the Crown (The...
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 1,707 ratings
82 Baumgartner's Bombay
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3.39 of 5 stars 3.39 avg rating — 340 ratings
83 If Today Be Sweet
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 1,040 ratings
84 The Twentieth Wife
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 5,029 ratings
85 Burmese Days
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 5,867 ratings
86 The House of Blue Mangoes
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3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 547 ratings
87 Rooftops of Tehran
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4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 2,445 ratings
88 The Quiet American
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 16,633 ratings
89 The Good Daughter: A Memoir...
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 1,376 ratings
90 The Septembers of Shiraz
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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 3,330 ratings
91 Of Marriageable Age
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 259 ratings
92 Shame
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 4,743 ratings
93 Behind the Beautiful Foreve...
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 18,960 ratings
94 The Rug Merchant
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3.34 of 5 stars 3.34 avg rating — 597 ratings
95 Maximum City: Bombay Lost a...
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 3,994 ratings
96 A River Sutra
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 985 ratings
97 A Golden Age
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 1,217 ratings
98 The Cat's Table
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 10,698 ratings
99 The City of Devi
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3.28 of 5 stars 3.28 avg rating — 161 ratings
99 Romance Quartet
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5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
 · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Brimate
Brimate
455 books
42 friends
Jessica
Jessica
1805 books
91 friends
Samantha
Samantha
115 books
22 friends
Jennifer
Jennifer
1190 books
42 friends
Ash
Ash
498 books
124 friends
Karen
Karen
1124 books
24 friends
Todd
Todd
262 books
64 friends
Norman
Norman
585 books
21 friends

More voters…


Comments (showing 1-25 of 25) (25 new)

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message 1: by Parth (new)


message 2: by Parth (new)

Parth Bakshi Sh Shantaram


message 3: by Barb (new)


message 4: by Bonnie (new)

Bonnie I love Water for Elephants to death, but it has NOTHING to do with Southeast Asia. It is about Depression era America and none of the characters were Southeast Asians. Just because it has elephant in the title does not mean it's about SE Asia, people.


message 5: by Rukshana (new)

Rukshana Um, Amy Tan's book is not about S. Asia. People need to learn their geography.


message 6: by Melanee (new)

Melanee Rukshana wrote: "Um, Amy Tan's book is not about S. Asia. People need to learn their geography."

tell em Rukshana! =)


message 7: by E (new)

E Bonnie wrote: "I love Water for Elephants to death, but it has NOTHING to do with Southeast Asia. It is about Depression era America and none of the characters were Southeast Asians. Just because it has elephant ..."

This list is for books on South Asia, which is not the same as Southeast Asia. To clarify, South Asia includes India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and sometimes Tibet.


 ~☆ Alice☆~ Bonnie wrote: "I love Water for Elephants to death, but it has NOTHING to do with Southeast Asia. It is about Depression era America and none of the characters were Southeast Asians. Just because it has elephant ..."

I was wondering why it was on here. A librarian needs to delete it.



message 9: by Susanna (new)

Susanna OK, I'll remove Water for Elephants.


 ~☆ Alice☆~ Susanna wrote: "OK, I'll remove Water for Elephants."

Thanks Susanna, very kind of you.



message 11: by marie (new)

marie Cutting For Stone takes place in Ethiopia (Africa) and the United States. There is only a small mention of India but it certainly is not about South Asia.


message 12: by Anjali (new)

Anjali Tepde Really loved Truly, Madly, Deeply.


message 13: by Amina (new)

Amina If you're interested in South Asian literature, you should check out the new group I just started! http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4...


message 14: by J (new)

J I think people need to pass a geography test before they can add a book to this list. Very disappointing.


message 15: by Bonnie (new)

Bonnie In the Miso Soup should go. (out of the South Asia list)


message 16: by Ellinor (new)

Ellinor What are Wuthering Heights and Gone with the wind doing on this list? They have absolutely nothing to do with South Asia!


message 17: by Susanna (new)

Susanna If this list specifically does not include Japan, what is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle doing on it?


message 18: by Susanna (new)

Susanna OK, y'all want me to delete anything?


message 19: by Vazz (new)

Vazz "Veil of Roses" is a book set in Iran. It does NOT belong here. Iran is NOT part of South Asia, and Iranians are NOT South Asian or Desi. Please remove this book from the list.


message 20: by Vazz (new)

Vazz Susanna wrote: "OK, y'all want me to delete anything?"
yes please remove "Veil of Roses."


message 21: by Garth (new)

Garth I voted for A Thousand Splendid Suns. Great historical fiction, even though it's a little slow in the beginning. If you find yourself about to give up on the book, skip to chapter 21 (that's about one third into the book): at that point, the story really starts to pick up.

I wrote a post on the book for Newsworthy Novels, a blog that matches novels to today's headlines (the headline that day was about the Taliban increasingly targeting Afghan women for attacks): http://newsworthynovels.blogspot.com/...


message 22: by Booklovinglady (new)

Booklovinglady Unlesss I'm very much mistaken, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet should not be in this list...


message 23: by Krishna (new)

Krishna And a few more too do not belong here.


message 24: by Krishna (new)

Krishna Ellinor wrote: "What are Wuthering Heights and Gone with the wind doing on this list? They have absolutely nothing to do with South Asia!"
Who posted them?
It is piracy of another kind.


message 25: by Booklovinglady (last edited May 01, 2013 12:10am) (new)

Booklovinglady The Map of Love is set in Egypt (and the States) and has been removed. I've also removed Japanese fairy tales, Japanese fairy tales series and The thousand autumns of Jacob the Zoet, as none of these should be in this list.


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