10-06-2025
Pride Month reads: 9 LGBTQ-themed books by Asian authors to add to your reading list
2. 'The Sympathiser' by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Above 'The Sympathiser' by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Corsair)
In this Pulitzer-winning work of literary fiction, Viet Thanh Nguyen crafts a Vietnamese narrator who is a conflicted double agent and also bisexual—a fact integrated into a wider meditation on duality, secrecy and betrayal. The queerness is not central, but it emerges as part of the novel's broader refusal to conform to ideological or emotional binaries. 3. 'Shoko's Smile' by Choi Eunyoung
Above 'Shoko's Smile' by Choi Eunyoung (John Murray Publishers Ltd)
This collection of short stories from South Korea includes understated explorations of queer friendship, lost love and unspoken grief. Choi's strength lies in her emotional precision. In particular, the story 'Xin Chào, Shoko' traces the intimacy between two women across national and linguistic boundaries without relying on dramatic declarations. 4. 'Notes of a Crocodile' by Qiu Miaojie
Above 'Notes of a Crocodile' by Qiu Miaojie (NYRB)
A landmark in queer Asian fiction, this cult classic by Qiu Miaojin is structured as the diary of Lazi, a university student navigating lesbian desire and social alienation in 1990s Taipei. Fragmented, raw and intensely personal, the novel captures the emotional volatility of youth while offering a politically charged portrait of queer life under pressure. 5. 'The Wandering' by Intan Paramaditha
Above 'The Wandering' by Intan Paramaditha (Vintage Digital)
This speculative novel by Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha uses a choose-your-own-adventure structure to follow a woman who trades her soul for the freedom to travel. Queer themes arise organically throughout the narrative, which questions agency, sexuality and power without offering tidy resolutions. The form is experimental but the questions are deeply human. 6. 'She of the Mountains' by Vivek Shraya
Above 'She of the Mountains' by Vivek Shraya (Arsenal Pulp Press)
In this myth-meets-modern novel, South Asian Canadian artist Vivek Shraya weaves together the story of a bisexual boy growing up in Canada with a retelling of the Parvati and Shiva myth. The structure is lyrical and nonlinear, blending divine and human love to challenge binaries of gender and belief. It's a hybrid work that defies genre without losing narrative clarity. 7. 'Small Beauty' by Jia Qing Wilson-Yang
Above 'Small Beauty' by Jia Qing Wilson-Yang (Metonymy Press)
Set in small-town Canada, this introspective novel follows Mei, a mixed-race trans woman returning to her cousin's home after his death. Quiet and meditative, the story offers a nuanced portrayal of trans identity within the Chinese Canadian community. There's no dramatic arc, just a sustained attention to memory, grief and the complexity of belonging. 8. 'Patron Saints of Nothing' by Randy Ribay
Above 'Patron Saints of Nothing' by Randy Ribay (Stripes Publishing)
This young-adult novel follows a Filipino American teenager who travels to Manila after the death of his cousin during Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war. While the protagonist is straight, one of the key characters is gay, and his sexuality is handled with restraint and care. It's a nuanced portrayal of queerness within a broader examination of justice and diaspora. 9. 'The Henna Wars' by Adiba Jaigirdar
Above 'The Henna Wars' by Adiba Jaigirdar (Hodder Children's Books)
Set in contemporary Ireland, this YA romance centres on a Bangladeshi Irish teenager navigating her first crush—who also happens to be her business rival. Like many LGBTQ books that blend cultural specificity with teen drama, Adiba Jaigirdar's debut doesn't dwell on trauma. It offers instead a grounded, charming take on queer love in a conservative family setting.
Each of these books offers something more than simple visibility. They frame queerness through distinctly Asian lenses, challenging the idea that queer identity is monolithic or Western by default. As more LGBTQ books emerge from across Asia and its diaspora, readers are offered a richer, more complicated portrait of queer life—one shaped by language, geography and generational change.
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