From 20th-century classics that offer engaging insights into colonialism and the Chinese revolution, to contemporary gems by Chinese American authors, to first-class fiction from emerging Chinese British writers, this Collection shares stories that illuminate, enlighten and entertain in diversely dazzling ways.

If you haven’t yet read Wild Swans, it’s high time you discovered this global bestseller’s sweeping exploration of 20th-century Chinese history across three generations of women. The author’s biography of Dowager Cixi, oft-cited to be the most important woman in Chinese history, is a fascinating read too.

Best known for The Joy Luck Club, a poignant story of immigrant Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters, Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement was also adored by one of our expert reviewers, who described it as “an absorbing book of love and survival”.

Meanwhile, Eileen Chang’s Love in a Fallen City serves up sumptuous stories of love, longing and the shifting sands of family life during the 1940s, while Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, a folklore-infused classic set during the Chinese revolution, presents personal insights into life as an immigrant in America.

The novels and memoir of multi-award-winning Yiyun Li are hugely recommended for readers who like books to linger long in their heart and soul. Or, if you’re a fan of funny fiction that also provokes thought, try Xuan Juliana Wang’s Olympic-set Home Remedies.

Long-listed for the 2021 International Booker Prize, Can Xue’s I Live in the Slums is an immersive treat for fans of experimental fiction – its philosophical, dream-like stories defy convention.

If you’re looking for brilliant books to share with the young readers in your life, we’ve also included a few of those. Among our favourites (and we mean Love Reading Star Book-level favourites) are Kelly Yang’s gorgeously uplifting, true-to-life books about Mia, an adorable Chinese immigrant who’s desperate for her family’s US motel to be a success. And the good news is that while these are pitch-perfect for their intended readership (9+ year-olds), they’re also joyously heartening and rewarding for readers of all ages. In fact, I rate them among my favourite novels published in the past few years.

For a perspective on life as a young Chinese immigrant in Britain, Chinglish is fresh, funny, and moving with it. Finally, I have to share my love of Dragonfly Eyes, a dazzling crossover novel that takes readers on an absorbing journey from 1920s France, to post-war Shanghai, to rural Cultural Revolution China. This beautifully-written book also explores the uplifting relationship between young Ah Mei and her beloved grandmother.