Yangsze Choo's 6 favorite works about love and human connection

When you make a purchase using links on our site, The Week may earn a commission. All reviews are written independently by our editorial team.

Novelist Yangsze Choo is the best-selling author of "The Ghost Bride" and "The Night Tiger," both of which mix history and folklore. In her new novel, "The Fox Wife," a detective in 1908 Manchuria crosses paths with a murderous fox spirit.

'Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982' by Cho Nam-Joo (2016)

I read this short novel in a day, captivated by its spare, powerful prose. The story of Kim Ji-young is that of many Korean women, born into families and a society that places sons on a pedestal at the expense of daughters. Kim Ji-young's growing invisibility and the sacrifices both she and her mother make for their families are visceral and thought-provoking. Buy it here. 

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

'Bluebird, Bluebird' by Attica Locke (2017)

This is a compelling mystery set in East Texas, about a Black Texas Ranger who investigates a murder in his hometown. Locke's deft, insightful touch brings the setting and its characters to dazzling life, and captures a complicated dance between hatred and love. Buy it here. 

'The Travelling Cat Chronicles' by Hiro Arikawa (2012)

I bought this slim book on a whim and read it during a long plane ride, not realizing how moved I would feel by the end of it. Yes, it is a novel partly narrated by a cat. But it is also a deeply touching testament to love and relationships. Buy it here. 

'Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking' by Madhur Jaffrey (1996)

This is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, by an author I adore. I reach for this book to make turmeric rice, green lentils with cilantro and mint, and "The Most Delicious Meat Cubes" — on weeknights when I need to make a flavorful, spicy family dinner in a hurry. Buy it here.

'Kitchen/Moonlight Shadow' by Banana Yoshimoto (1988)

I first read this book — really, two short novellas — many years ago, and I recently re-read it when I recommended it to my kids. It addresses death and love; the blurring of two worlds, particularly in "Moonlight Shadow," is beautifully done and one of my writing inspirations. Buy it here.

'The Kiss' by Anton Chekhov (1887)

Strictly speaking, this is a short story — but one that has dwelled in the back of my mind for many years. More than a century has passed since Chekhov wrote it, but the feelings and confusion incited by a single, mistaken kiss in a dark room remain the same, I suspect, for people everywhere. Buy it here.

This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.