Historical Fictionistas discussion

Hello everyone!
I'm going to China for two weeks next month with my orchestra, and I wanted to know if there were some books that you guys recommend! I have 25+ hours of flying including a 6 hour layover, and then four more flights and then another 25 hours...

I'm an avid reader - I'm not afraid of classics like most people my age (nor adult books, for that matter). I love the Italian Renaissance (specifically the 1450s-1490s) and Ancient Greece/Rome. Books about ancient China would be good too!

So... recommend away!

Can't help you much with the Renaissance or China stuff, but I highly recommend M.C. Scott's Rome series. The first is Rome: The Emperor's Spy.

These are some books set in China that I found interesting. Maybe one or two will sound good to you, too:

Under Heaven (Tang dynasty) (there's now a sequel to this book; can't remember the name, though)
Shanghai Girls (partly set in China; partly in America)
Dreams of Joy (sequel to Shanghai Girls; set both in America and China)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
The Last Chinese Chef
The Good Earth

These are also good; not set in China, though:
The Concubine's Children (immigration)
American Born Chinese
The Gift of Rain (set in Malasia)
The Jade Peony (set in Canada; immigration)

Thank you :)

Clavell's "Shogun." I read that in Boston's Ear and Eye Infirmary eons ago when I had ear surgery. They didn't even need to give me pre-meds. I was so engrossed in the novel.

Two excellent books about China are:

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers (Fiction, about a Chinese girl though set largely in Europe).

Also one I can't find here in English but I've read it in paperback - China in Ten Words by Yu Hua. Examples of the words are Leader, People, Corruption, Bamboozle, and the 10 essays are brilliant, especially those telling Yu's life story from the cultural revolution. Reviews were excellent:

"It's rare to find a work of fiction that can be hysterically funny at some points, while deeply moving and disturbing at others. It's even more unusual to find such qualities in a work of non-fiction. But China in Ten Words is just such an extraordinary work." —Los Angeles Review of Books

How about Mao's last dancer by Li Cunxin. A fascinating story.

I would highly recommend Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah.

Its been a few years since this came out, but I loved by Bette Bao Lord. It takes place in late 19th century and early 20th century China. Fabulous story.

For a more recent story of China, I would recommend by Lin Zhe. It was first written in Chinese, but then translated into English. It will help you understand what the Chinese people have gone through over the past 80 years.

There are also non-fiction books by Peter Hessler - was the first. Beautifully written books telling the story of the modern Chinese. Any of them (I think he's written four) is wonderful.

Just to add to the China-themed historical fiction books, besides Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy I also love The Joy Luck Club. It blends past with present - at least the present when the book was written.

I also love Snow Flower & the Secret Fan. I think the Robert Van Gulik series with Judge Dee would be good for a plane journey, engaging but not too taxing. Set in 7th century China (I think) and used real court documents as a base for the stories.

For somthing a little different you might try The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. Fun and crazy fantasy set in ancient China (sort of) it blends in all kinds of Chinese mythology, legends, fung shui, Chinese medicine, ghosts, gods, criminals, wise old sages, monks, poor peasants, fabulously wealthy Lords and Ladies, and the kitchen sink. One of my all-time favorites.

I agree with Michelle Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was - great read. Even the authors back story is intriguing.

Eliot Pattison 'The Skull Mantra', 'Water Touching Stone' and any of the others in that series.

Very thought provoking about China and Tibet

Thank you all!

What I've read lately/am reading:
The Ming Storytellers
The Court of the Lion: A Novel of the T'ang Dynasty -- I enjoyed/am enjoying both of these.
also by Eleanor Cooney & Daniel Altieri: Iron Empress: A Novel of Murder and Madness in T'ang China