Help me find a book for my daughter.
November 14, 2019 8:56 PM Subscribe
Please help me find historical fiction that takes place around the ancient Silk Road.
My daughter has a very specific book interest. She would like to find a novel set in Asia during the primacy of the Silk Road which from a brief look at Wikipedia could be any period from 2nd century BCE to the 18th. She's a senior in high school.
My daughter has a very specific book interest. She would like to find a novel set in Asia during the primacy of the Silk Road which from a brief look at Wikipedia could be any period from 2nd century BCE to the 18th. She's a senior in high school.
Historicalnovels.info indexes historical fiction by time and place, and its Asia page mentions the Silk Road in three book descriptions. This one leaps out to me because of positive associations with NYRB Classics, although Goodreads reviews suggest it's a slow read, even at 200 pages.
The Chinese Maze Murders is probably worth mentioning. I wouldn't have recalled its particular setting, but I've read and enjoyed many books in the series and googled to find that one is tangentially connected to the Silk Road.
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:30 PM on November 14, 2019 [3 favorites]
The Chinese Maze Murders is probably worth mentioning. I wouldn't have recalled its particular setting, but I've read and enjoyed many books in the series and googled to find that one is tangentially connected to the Silk Road.
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:30 PM on November 14, 2019 [3 favorites]
I came here to recommend Tun-Huang by Yasushi Inoue, but Wobbuffet beat me to it. Van Gulik is always good as well!
posted by mustard seeds at 9:48 PM on November 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by mustard seeds at 9:48 PM on November 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
If she doesn't mind gay romance, Time Taken has time travel to the Silk Road with emphasis on professional time travellers respectful of the setting. (Disclosure, the writer is a friend of mine.)
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:22 PM on November 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:22 PM on November 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay is set in the not-quite-exactly Tang dynasty. The sequel is set during the not-quite-exactly Song dynasty.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has not much to do with the Silk Road, but is set during that time period (Han dynasty). (And then of course Water Margin and Journey to the West). These may not be exactly what you're looking for, but they're classics of Chinese literature.
posted by Comrade_robot at 2:45 AM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has not much to do with the Silk Road, but is set during that time period (Han dynasty). (And then of course Water Margin and Journey to the West). These may not be exactly what you're looking for, but they're classics of Chinese literature.
posted by Comrade_robot at 2:45 AM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Michael Chabon's swashbuckling Gentlemen of the Road is set in 10th-century Khazaria.
posted by offog at 3:26 AM on November 15, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by offog at 3:26 AM on November 15, 2019 [6 favorites]
This one is set in the 19th century, so is a bit later than your stipulation, but A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori is a well-researched, detailed, and lovely manga about a rural community on the Caspian Sea in Southeast Asia. There are quite a few volumes and while it is a historical romance, the plots are very broad with deep looks into women's daily lives, broader politics of the region, and family and community.
posted by carrioncomfort at 9:28 AM on November 15, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by carrioncomfort at 9:28 AM on November 15, 2019 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Wow what a treasure trove here; great answers. Thank you!
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 10:42 AM on November 15, 2019
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 10:42 AM on November 15, 2019
OP, I love Michael Chabon's writing, but didn't recommend Gentlemen of the Road due to a plot turn your high school senior may find upsetting. As per one review: "Violence, treachery, and humor abound, however, some of the material (rape and prostitution) is rather adult and parents should read the book before handing it over to children." Plot summary at the book's Wikipedia entry.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:27 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:27 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Gillian Bradshaw's Horses of Heaven is set in Ferghana in 140 BC. It's sort of fantasy, but you can also read it believing that the fantasy elements are imaginary, and Bradshaw does solid historical research.
On the other hand, it might be too heavy for your daughter. It's about a princess in an arranged, dynastic marriage that goes horribly wrong. Not explicit, as I recall, and a solid corrective to sugary princess fantasies, but certainly `rather adult'. It does end elegiac-happily.
posted by clew at 4:50 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
On the other hand, it might be too heavy for your daughter. It's about a princess in an arranged, dynastic marriage that goes horribly wrong. Not explicit, as I recall, and a solid corrective to sugary princess fantasies, but certainly `rather adult'. It does end elegiac-happily.
posted by clew at 4:50 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Ruth Nichols, The Left-Handed Spirit? About a young Roman Empire woman who is taken to China because of her ability to heal.
posted by huimangm at 6:33 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by huimangm at 6:33 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
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Then of course there are several historical novels about Marco Polo. Here's one.
I hesitate to mention this one because the premise is really ludicrous (the guy masquerades as a Jew, at a time and in a place where nobody would ever have done that) but it was interesting and a lot of people like it; anyway they travel the Silk Road to Persia: The Physician.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:23 PM on November 14, 2019 [1 favorite]