Winter Reading 2024
Book Recommendations by 2024 TOY Senior Fellow James Crabtree

From elections in Indonesia and India to the return of Donald Trump in the U.S., 2024 has proved a year rich in political and intellectual intrigue. Below our TOY Senior Fellow James Crabtree recommends 5 books that shed light on current developments in Asia, and which he enjoyed reading this year.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang
One of the year’s most dramatic moments, president Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to declare emergency martial law in South Korea acted as a reminder of the country’s complex political past. Han Kang's short novel The Vegetarian, in a similar way, brings to mind the country’s complex social dynamics. The recipient of numerous prizes since publication in 2007, this Kafka-esque story of a woman’s attempts to seek control in patriarchal society, achieved further acclaim having won this year's Nobel prize in literature.

The New India by Rahul Bhatia
There is a tendency to tell the story of modern India as a story of the rise and rise of Narendra Modi, at least until that rise was somewhat checked in India’s national election this year. Rahul Bhatia’s The New India avoids this mistake, instead providing an account of a country being rapidly re-moulded by the twin forces of religious nationalism and technological innovation – with potentially alarming consequences. Bhatia is a skillful storyteller, so the result is a gripping and thoughtful read.

No Trade Is Free by Robert Lighthizer
As close as you can come to a book setting out the theory of Trump’s second term in office, written in 2023 by the most senior trade official in his first term. No Trade Is Free isn’t a brilliant book in truth, although it is written in a breezy and accessible style. But it is worth re-reading this year of all years, as Asia’s trade-dependent economies try to puzzle through the mixture of tariffs and protectionism that are soon to be heading their way.

Beijing Sprawl by Xu Zechen
China’s slowing economy focused attention on the rising domestic discontent facing President Xi Jinping, especially from a struggling younger generation. Xu Zechen’s elegant novel Beijing Sprawl, published in 2023, tells the story of teengagers moving from rural villages to the capital city, living a life of precarious employment and fleeting enjoyment, as they seek a place in Xi’s modern “China Dream.”

New Answers to Old Questions by Aaron Connelly and Shona Loong
One thing that did not change this year: Myanmar’s conflict, which ground on into its fourth year since the 2021 coup, dividing much of Southeast Asia along with it. New Answers to Old Questions provides a fresh look at the military take-over and what preceded it, arguing that western observers were wrong to be optimistic about the era of democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The authors see at least some slender grounds for optimism, however, suggesting the subsequent protest movements and military uprisings have re-set fundamental social and political relationships in ways that may allow for an eventual return to democratic rule.
Finished all the listed books? Find more suggestions on previous reading lists.
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