Literature that talks about diasporic communities is one of my favorite kinds to read. It highlights the first ones coming to a foreign land with hopes and dreams, the reasons behind the move, and the struggles faced while trying to build a place for themselves. It also shows how future generations are met with challenges of their own in similar yet different situations.
Diasporic stories discuss common topics: identity struggles, hybridity, racism, integration, generational clashes and individuality, among others. These aren’t just collective issues, as they are also personalised within their respective communities, and the contexts in which individuals face them are what make their stories unique and compelling.
So, if you want to read about the Asian diaspora, here are four recent novels by Asian Canadian writers to check out!
1. Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
Published in 2021, Hana Khan, a 24 year old Indian-Canadian living in Toronto, is going through the most adverse time of her life. There are personal and professional complications, and she is sometimes asked to make certain compromises. Things get worse when a rival restaurant comes to her neighborhood, threatening her family-run restaurant – their sole support – out of business. Hana comes down to fight and save the business but is drawn to the rival owner’s son, Aydin. In all this chaos, Hana finds solace in her anonymous podcast where she can be her true self. But she soon finds herself in another tight spot when she begins to connect with an unknown fan of her podcast.
As Hana grapples with all this, you see her trying to figure herself out and find her place as a visible minority. She learns and grows from other characters’ stories woven into her’s, and the fact that these different plots perfectly fit into a single tale makes Jalaluddin’s novel so gripping. As Hana speaks, watching her complex self and journey unfold left me rooting for her.
2. Something More by Jackie Khalilieh
Released this year, Something More explores the experiences of a Palestinian-Canadian teenager named Jessie getting diagnosed with autism just before starting high school. Wanting to ensure a fresh start at Holy Trinity High, she decides to hide her diagnosis. As a 15 year old, she wants to have her landmark experiences: making friends, falling in love and getting a role in the school play. To get herself through to those finish lines, she keeps a journal that tracks her goals.
Jessie’s main concern here is acceptance. Afraid that others might see her differently, she keeps her diagnosis a secret, but her perception of herself and of others changes as she navigates the complex terrain of adolescence. She makes friends and gets caught in their problems, until she gets entangled in a complicated love triangle. At the same time, things at home don’t make it any easier for Jessie.
Jessie is the heart and soul of this story, who taught me to be yourself no matter what. At first, Jessie finds it hard to accept who she is, and as I read through her realistic and relatable journey of personal growth, I was proud of Jessie and her choices.
3. Love from A to Z by S.K Ali
Meet Zaynab and Adam. Zaynab is a high school senior of Pakistani-Guyanese-Trinidadian descent from America, while Adam is a Canadian of Chinese and Finnish descent and is a university freshman in the UK. They meet on a flight to Doha, Qatar, and their story starts!
The love story is an exceptional one I have come across. Although Zaynab and Adam have something in common: a journal where they note all the “marvels” and “oddities” they see, both are contrasting personalities. Zaynab is impulsive, and Adam is calm. It’s like fire meets water, and I wondered how this would go about. There are disagreements, but Zaynab and Adam help each other understand and cope with their respective battles. In the process, the book deals with a few difficult topics; and some of it offered a learning experience even for me. Hence, Zaynab and Adam’s beautiful story of love, family, hardship, and spirituality got me moving straight onto the next part without waiting.
Love from A to Z (2019), is followed by two sequels: The Eid Gift (2021) and Love from Mecca to Medina (2022).
5. We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu
You may know him as Jung from CBC’s Kim’s Convenience or as Shang Chi from Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. A lot happened before Simu Liu became the MCU’s first Asian superhero, however. In his 2022 memoir, Liu talks about his birth and life in Harbin, China, before he immigrated to Canada at age 5, later graduating and working in accounting before getting laid off.
This story is actually about two generations: Liu here is not only telling his own story, but also his parents’, explaining the “We” in the title. It is written from the heart and offers first-hand recounts of the themes and topics often discussed in diasporic stories. It is admirable how Liu describes what it’s like to grow up as an immigrant and in a position of hybridity: there is a struggle for identity, a clash between the two generations straining the relationship because of cultural misunderstandings, there is pressure to fit in, and expectations to fulfill on both sides. The consequences, however, don’t stop Liu from pursuing his dreams when he gets a chance to.
I found this book to be emotional and inspiring, as Liu brings forth the importance of representation, for one to follow one’s passion and to appreciate those who made the first leap in the past to set everything in place for the future.
Here’s a quote from Liu’s book that sums it up: “Our stories are one and the same, our destinies forever intertwined and defined by our sweat, our sacrifices and our unyielding dedication to defying the odds and achieving the impossible.”