Books like Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong

During the Great Depression, a veterinary student becomes caretaker of a traveling circus, forming a bond with a star equestrian, an abusive trainer, and an untrainable elephant, a relationship that becomes their only hope for survival.

In Benjamin P. Gibson’s return to his community after a 10‑year imprisonment, the village of St. Michael’s faces the harsh reality of post‑war survivor “crisis,” as family and tradition vie for survival.

A sweeping coming‑of‑age story set on Nebraska’s prairie, following Jim Burden’s journey with his grandparents amid immigrant families, especially the Czech Shimerdas, and his complex love and friendship with Antonia.

Thomas Hardy’s bleak final novel follows Jude Fawley, a stonemason from rural Wessex, whose search for faith, love and independence collides with society’s harsh conventions and leads to tragedy.

Set in seventeenth‑century China after the Manchu conquest, Lisa See’s *Peony in Love* follows a young noblewoman who, forbidden from public life, finds forbidden inspiration in a live performance of the classic opera *The Peony Pavilion* and embarks on a journey of longing, love, and destiny.

Amitav Ghosh’s sweeping historical fiction follows Rajkumar, a humble boy in 1885 Burma who rises from exile to empire amid the British invasion, his life forever altered by the love of Dolly, a young courtier.

In the backdrop of Mao's Cultural Revolution, two boys discover a stash of 19th‑century Western novels, reshaping their worldviews and opening a bridge between East and West.

This is a history of the epic story of the Great Wall of China that guides the reader through the conquests and cataclysms of the Chinese empire, from the second millennium B.C. to present day. Over 2,200 years old and 4,300 miles long, the Great Wall of China has made an overwhelmingly confident physical statement about the country it spans: China's age-old sense of being an advanced civilization anxious to draw a clear line between itself and the barbarians at its borders. But behind the Wall's intimidating exterior, and the myths that have clustered around it, is a complex history that has both defined and undermined China. It is this history that the author explores here, an epic tale that stretches over two millennia as it follows the rise and fall of the great Chinese ruling dynasties. Full of astonishing details and extraordinary characters from emperors to engineers, statesmen to soldiers, this book helps those who want to understand China's past, present, and future.

A spy thriller set against the backdrop of World War II Paris, focusing on Jean Casson's tumultuous romance and moral compromises during the occupation.

Mo Yan’s novel *Frog* charts modern China’s history through the lens of the one‑child policy, following a village midwife’s duty to enforce the controversial law.

A historical thriller following the real‑life journey of Yoshiko Kawashima, a Chinese princess who becomes a Japanese spy during the Sino‑Japanese War.

The Sand Pebbles follows machinist Jake Holman aboard the US Navy gunboat San Pablo on the Yangtze River as China teeters on revolution, blending detailed historical research with a story of personal conflict and cultural fascination.

A Royal Marine captain faces intrigue and adventure in China as tensions rise toward the Boxer Rebellion, thrusting his ship and soul into a storm of war and duty.

A classic romance novel from the 1960s featuring a British diplomat's love affair during the Cold War.