Some Book Recommendations! (Part 1)

Hi everyone! Besides spending time on JetPunk, one of the big things I spend much of my free time doing is reading. While there are many popular and well-known books that I love (The Kite Runner, Invisible Man, Midnight's Children, the Lord of the Rings series, Shadow of the Wind, and American Gods, just to name a few), I've also found that for every good book that becomes a best-seller, there are several that are less well-known but still amazing reads. I'd like to share some of these books in the hopes that others will consider picking them up.

Disclaimer: All of these books contain some form of adult content (such as swearing and sex scenes). While I don't want to put age limits on reading, I do think that some of the books on here might be a bit mature for younger or more sensitive readers. If you are unsure whether a book is right for you, feel free to ask me in the comments or research it yourself!

Summary: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is a collection of 15 short stories that span many different genres, including fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, and realistic fiction. Highlights of the book include a steampunk tale of monster hunters and shapeshifters in late 19th century China; a novella about a young girl who hears folk tales from a band of Chinese miners in the Wild West; a reflection on the war crimes of Unit 731 and how technology can change our view of history; and, in the titular story, a narrative on the fraught relationship between an American-born son and his Chinese mother.

Why I love it: As I said at the beginning, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is a book that spans many genres. Chances are, even if you prefer toward one genre over others, you will find something in The Paper Menagerie that you will enjoy. The stories are very well-written and, in my opinion, really master the art of story-telling with their use of tropes such as the story within a story. Finally, as a Chinese-American author, Ken Liu incorporates many interesting observations and details on Chinese culture and folklore, prominently featuring tales involving Monkey King, Guan Yu, and huli jing, among other things.

Summary: Lauren Olamina, a young African-American woman from Los Angeles, lives in a nightmarish version of 2020s America where climate change makes large swathes of the country unlivable, civilians are burned to death by pyromaniac drug users, masses of people live as refugees constantly on the move, and corporations own "company towns" that are fronts for enslavement and coerced labor. After a violent attack on her gated community upends her life, Lauren takes it upon herself to lead a small but devoted band of followers north, to start a new religion and a utopian society

Why I love it: While I enjoy dystopian novels, I often find that they feel wild and unrealistic to the point where it's difficult to connect them to the real world. "Parable of the Sower" is the exact opposite, painting a frightening yet believable dystopia that, to a certain extent, reflects America as it is today. Even though the book was written in 1993, it feels incredibly prescient, especially with the COVID pandemic and the political unrest that America went through in 2020. At the same time, it made me somewhat grateful and relieved to read a book that shows that, while our world is far from ideal, it could be much worse.

Summary: The debut novel of Arif Anwar, The Storm starts with a poor fisherman and his wife bracing for a violent cyclone on the eve of Bangladesh's independence; from there, it jumps to a kidnapping attempt in pre-independence Kolkata; and finally, it follows a Japanese pilot and British doctor grappling with the consequences of World War 2. Interspersed among these tales are the struggles of Shahryar, a Bangladeshi immigrant living in America who faces deportation. These tales eventually converge as the characters are revealed to be connected to each other.

Why I love it: To me, it felt like a cross between The Kite Runner, with its focus on relationship building and cultural represention, and Cloud Atlas, with its seemingly disparate narratives that all beautifully connect to each other in the end. Once again, it really masters the art of storytelling with its format, and it's satisfying to watch the plots gradually come together. It has a lot of significance to me personally because, as a Bangladeshi-American myself, I feel Anwar does a great job representing and explaining our culture to those who are unfamiliar with it.

Summary: Mickey is a single mother and police officer in the crime-ridden neighborhood of Kensington, Philadelphia; her sister, Kacey is an opioid addict living on those same streets. When Kacey disappears in the wake of a string of murders targeting young women, Mickey becomes obsessed with finding her sister, diving into the gritty streets of Philadelphia to solve the case before it's too late.

Why I love it: The mystery itself is brilliant, and with a fast-paced plot and plenty of suspense, this is definitely a page-turner. Beyond being a crime story though, it's also a story about family and the damaging effects of the opioid crisis on individuals. The most compelling thing about the book, however, is Mickey herself, whose introspective personality and stream-of-consciousness style narration allows the reader to put themselves in her shoes and see the story through her eyes.

Summary: Aomame is an assassin who takes it upon herself to avenge abused women; Tengo is math teacher who aspires to be a best-selling author. Over the course of the novel, taking place in an alternate reality version of Tokyo dubbed by Aomame as "1Q84," these characters get entangled with a mysterious young girl who tells a surreal tale of "Little People"; a reclusive cult leader with a dark secret; a hideous private investigator intent on fulfilling a mission; and an obscenely wealthy widow with a connection to Aomame. 

Why I love it: I may be cheating here because Murakami is a relatively famous author, but this book is too amazing to ignore! For one, this is an incredibly long book (over 1100 pages!), and it's something that you can really sink into and spend a long time unravelling. The story is like nothing else I've read, functioning as both a mystery and love story with a healthy dash of magical realism. More than anything though, the writing itself is absolutely stunning, and the entirety of the novel has a dream-like quality to it, simultaneously feeling realistic and unbelievable.

If you enjoyed this blog, please let me know because I'm thinking about turning it into a series. I'd also be happy to field any questions about these books or just have a conversation about books in general. Feel free to share your own recommendations if you wish, or, if you've read these books, your opinions on them. And, of course, if these descriptions piqued your interest, please consider checking these books out the next time you go the library!