8 Books to Read for AANHPI Heritage Month
Stay True by Hua Hsu
The newly crowned winner of the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, this memoir blew me away with its covert earnestness in describing Hsu’s grief over the loss of his best friend, Ken, to a random act of violence. When he was 18, Hsu defined himself by what he disliked more than what he enjoyed, and he immediately disliked Ken because he was just like everyone else—classically handsome, affable, a frat brother, and arguably the worst, enjoyed Pearl Jam? But Ken and Hsu formed a bond through late nights, road trips, and cigarette breaks. After Ken’s death, Hsu wanted to hold on to whatever he could of his friend, and turned to writing to accomplish this. Hsu wanders through his late adolescence and early adulthood, examining his past through the lens of media, exploring themes of selfhood, grief, and the transformative power of art. Hsu ponders his Taiwanese identity in contrast to not only his white friends, but also Ken’s heritage as a third generation Japanese American. This memoir is searching, haunting, and deeply sensitive—a must-read of the genre.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
It is no secret that I am the number one fan of Kuang’s previous novel Babel, and the moment I could get my grubby little paws on the advance copy for her next novel, I did. Readers, it blew me away—I stayed up late and woke up early to finish this book. Instead of her usual fantasy, Kuang instead delves into the literary world with scathing intensity. Yellowface follows June Hayward as she steals the manuscript of her frenemy, Athena Liu, a bestselling author and book industry darling. Despite going to the same programs, attending the same writing retreats, and everything else, June can’t get over why Athena is so much more successful—except June is white, and Athena is not. So when she gets Athena’s manuscript, she is rebranded as “Juniper Song” and suddenly the stolen manuscript is a bestseller and June will have to face the consequences of her actions Yellowface is a book designed to make you uncomfortable, especially if you are a white person. But if you sit with that discomfort, you will be rewarded in spades. Dishy, sharp, and at times deeply painful to read, this book is like watching a train wreck in the most interesting way possible
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
A novel of aesthetic horror and the tragedies of assimilation, Natural Beauty exposes the dirty underbelly of the “wellness” world and what we give up with societal beauty standards. Our protagonist, raised as a classical pianist, is “discovered” by the owner of Holistik, New York’s most exclusive spa and wellness brand, one day when she’s working as a dishwasher. Hard on her luck and in desperate need of cash, she accepts a job there…which also means she consents to taking all the supplements, doing all the treatments, and becoming a more perfect version of herself. Spider silk eyelash extensions and leeches that suck out cheap botox are all part of the package, but her newfound obsession with the owner’s niece, Helen is unexpected. As time passes, Holistik takes up more and more of her life, until she becomes a person she doesn’t recognize. A horror novel filled with sharp wit, beautiful music writing, and genuinely disturbing body horror, this is your scary beach read of the summer.
Saving Time by Jenny Odell
In her first book How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell wrote about disconnecting from the attention economy to spend time in quiet contemplation, but what if you don’t have time to spend? To answer this seemingly simple question, Odell dives into the structure of our society and finds that our clocks are designed for profit, not people. At once an exploration of how the Western (profit-driven, capitalist) conception of time damages us and also an offering of different ways to think about and experience time, this book was as heady as it was a revelation—an invitation to a completely different way of seeing. Our world is guided by different rhythms, the steady progression of a pregnancy, the steadfast swirling of a river through a ravine, the way time stretches or constricts with desire or boredom, and Odell urges us to honor these other “clocks” to find meaning outside any official “time”. Thoughtful, ambitious, and ultimately hopeful, this is a book that genuinely made me rethink how one lives a life.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Bookseller Amy is so excited to get this into the hands of our readers. A huge fan of Verghese’s previous book, Cutting for Stone, Amy tackled this 700+ page commitment of a novel, and her excitement made a bunch of her fellow booksellers want to read it, too. Lo and behold, NPR also gave it a glowing review and Oprah herself picked it for her book club. If that isn’t enough to make you pick it up, then I don’t know what is. Set in Kerala, India, spanning 77 years and 3 generations, The Covenant of Water is about a family with a curious curse—every generation, at least one person dies from drowning. The family tries to avoid their affliction, but in Kerala, water is everywhere. Focusing mostly on a 12-year-old girl sent off to be married to her yet-unseen 40 year old husband, the book stays with this girl throughout her life as she witnesses unthinkable changes, difficulties, and triumphs. Described as epic, transportive, and unputdownable, you might just want to give this door-stopper a try.
Poūkahangatus by Tayi Tibble
A native of Aotearoa (named New Zealand by white colonizers), Tayi Tibble’s first volume of poetry has been called startling, original, and lush. Originally published in 2018, it became available in the US in 2022, and went on to become one of the New Yorker’s and Goodreads’ books of the year. In Poūkahangatus Tibble explores what it is like to be an indigenous woman in the 21st century. In each of her poems Tibble carves out a new way of engaging with history, challenging existing mythologies—Greek, Maori, feminist, kiwi—straddling contemporary issues and ancestral ties, desire and exploitations. These poems are warm, provocative, and original, written by a woman who is not afraid to dive into the depths of assumptions, challenging the idea that talking about colonialism, land, and gender as connected is provocative. Tibble looks deeply into how she as a Māori woman fits into trends, stereotypes, and pop culture, and I think you’ll find her poetry, rife with camp aesthetics, to be a singular delight.
The All American by Joe Milan Jr.
A bunch of us met Joe Milan Jr. at Heartland Fall Forum last October, and we almost blew him away when we found out he was from Iowa (Forest City! The tiny little town where my uncle coaches high school basketball!). We were even more delighted when we got our hands on his book. This coming-of-age drama blends conflicts about family, loyalty, and identity and quickly engrosses the reader into the life of Bucky, a high school student of Korean heritage. A college football recruit, Bucky has plans to break out of his family cycle of substance abuse and starts a new life, but a random happenstance ends with him arrested, wherein he discovers he is not an American citizen and must return to Korea—a place he has never been with a language he does not speak. Emotional, action-packed, and full of twists and turns, this novel will have you invested from the very first page. And how lucky for us, we’re hosting Milan for an author event later this summer. Sign up and pre-order your book here!
Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes
Hula chronicles three generations of Naupaka women set against the lush landscape of Hilo, Hawai’i. Hi’i is the youngest in the line of Hula women on the Big Island, determined to carry on the family art and heal the fractures between her mother, Lake, and grandmother, Hulali. But old secrets are reemerging, straining already taut relationships, and putting the entire family in jeopardy. The book is not about Hula. Instead, Hakes uses the art form as a grounding metaphor to explore other themes including community, inclusion, and family. What does it mean to belong? The conversations around culture and appropriation, lineage, and heritage, family, and clan were all very fascinating. In this space, Hakes’s writing shines, blending together the characters and conversations into rich, thought-provoking scenes. Part coming-of-age story, part historical family epic, and swimming in love, this is a furiously captivating drama set in a Hawai’i you won’t find on any tourist map.
Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara
Listed as one of the New York Times’s best mystery novels of 2021, Clark and Division will leave you sprinting for the next book with its vibrant characters, shimmering plot, and historical acuity. Set in 1944 Chicago, this novel follows 20-year-old Aki Ito and her parents have just been released from a Japanese Internment Camp in the wake of Pearl Harbor and WWII. Forced to resettle thousands of miles away from their home in California, Aki is excited to be reunited with her older sister, Rose. But the night before their family will be together again, Rose is killed in a subway accident. Officials rule it a suicide, but Aki is unconvinced, and takes it into her own hands to discover what actually happened to her sister. Inspired by real historical events, Hirahara uses her vast experience of researching Japanese American history to form an atmospheric story filtered through the prism of one of the cruelest points of American history, fueled by one young woman’s desire for independence and justice.
