March is Asia Month at Veranda Books, London

Posted: March 9th, 2026 | No Comments »

Next month at Veranda Books, in Seymour Place, Marylebone (just back from Maerble Arch)has been designated Asia Month, a 4-week focus on the translated literature of Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China. Veranda is a fantastic bookshop specialising in translated fiction and non-fiction from around the worlld. As a taster before we explore the poetic, here’s a round-up of the prosaic: our current favourite books about China from the non-fiction shelves. 

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Where to begin making sense of China, land of 1.4 billion souls, home to 300 languages, and countless stories to be told. If you’re curious to know more, Veranda suggest these…

• Breakneck by Dan Wang Highly-regarded technology writer Wang spent the last 6 years in China witnessing its messy, miraculous growth and declining relations with the West up close. A brilliant blend of political, economic and societal analysis.
• Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China by Yuan Yang Born in China, raised in the UK, Yang returned to her homeland as a journalist and brings us this intimate account of the lives of 4 women born in the late 80s/90s. Through this lens, Yang exposes the seismic shifts in Chinese society and their impact on the population.
• Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick The gripping true story of separated twins and their respective fates in China and the USA, this book asks questions about the consequences of the one-child policy and tackles assumptions about the quality of life in the East vs West. Demick’s seminal book on North Korea, Nothing to Envy was shortlisted for – and won – a number of prizes, and this outstanding book looks set to be similarly garlanded.
•  Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of China by Jack Weatherford For history buffs wanting a deeper understanding of just how deeply-rooted China’s influence is, this is a vibrant account of how the grandson of Genghis Khan conquered China and established the most powerful navy in the world.  

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