Celeste Ng is the bestselling author of 2014’s Everything I Never Told You, an exploration of family, race, identity, and love. Her powerful follow-up, Little Fires Everywhere – now a Hulu miniseries – delves further into the themes of motherhood and racial stereotyping in the memorable setting of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
In a recent reading list for Goodreads, Ng spoke out on the social effects the Covid crisis has had on Asian Americans:
“The outbreak of COVID-19 is terrifying for everyone, but Asian Americans have an additional fear: harassment and even physical attacks on Asian Americans have increased as some try to blame China for the coronavirus’s spread. But these fears are rooted in ignorance, stereotypes, and fear of the unknown rather than fact—and that helps no one.
To fight the spread of anti-Asian and anti-Chinese sentiment, try these recent novels (and one very readable nonfiction history). They’ll give you a glimpse of the many facets of Chinese American and Chinese Canadian experience, beyond the scapegoating currently happening now. And they’ll whisk you into immersive, moving experiences that are much more than just Chinese-diaspora: they’re human.”
Find Ng’s recommended reading below.
Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li
A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Bury What We Cannot Take by Kirstin Chen
For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu
That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung
The Love Wife by Gish Jen
The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies
Severance by Ling Ma
Diamond Head by Cecily Wong
Still Life Las Vegas by James Sie
The Third Son by Julie Wu
Chemistry by Weike Wang
The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee