What the world is reading: Fiction by bestselling authors
A two-hour shutdown of the Paris Metro sends a Vietnamese passenger into a long, stirring reverie. A Japanese soldier continues to fight World War II years after his country’s surrender. Fed up with workplace sexism, a woman fakes pregnancy to get out of certain unpaid tasks.
Vivid characters and memorable storylines abound in five works of fiction, all originally published overseas and recently translated into English. Written by authors from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, they offer a window into a variety of cultures, customs, traditions, and national histories, which may be unfamiliar to many English-speaking readers.
Digging up family secrets
Two estranged childhood friends meet up as adults in “Cocoon,” Zhang Yueran’s complex and absorbing drama.
Li Jiaqi and Cheng Gong grew up together