Book List Archives | China Books Review

New China Books: Back to School

We recommend five titles to deepen understanding of China, from an argument that its economy is in trouble to histories of colonial trade wars and...

What China’s Reading: Outside the Awards

Five books from China that deserve more recognition, from an internet novel about the fashion industry to a star reporter’s study of how Germany reckoned...

Translated Chinese Literature: Hard Work

We recommend five new books translated from Chinese, spanning workers’ literature and disaffected youth, all the way to alien landscapes, Tibet and Silicon Valley.

New China Books: Dog Days of Summer

From the canine history of Hong Kong to a revisionist history of the Great Leap Forward, we recommend five new China books to add to...

Stranger Than Life

We recommend five Chinese-language books that draw on real-life experiences, from an LGBTQ short story collection to a reality-TV inspired novel.

Changing China

Five new books deal with efforts to transform China: from the conquests of the Warring States to nationalist internet fantasies, all the way to campaigns...

Human Literature

In the age of artificial intelligence, with publishers turning to AI translation tools, it is more meaningful than ever to read human translations of literature....

Writing from the Margins

From Tibet to Taiwan, Yunnan to yonder, we recommend five Spring Festival reads with a focus on the periphery.

Resolute Reading for 2026

Resolving to read more in 2026? We have you covered with five recommendations, from an essay collection of Tibet to a colloquial history of China’s...

New Fiction from China

2025 has seen a bumper crop for Chinese literature in translation. We recommend five recent titles, from gritty tales of the northeast to conjoined fiction...