Asian American authors are taking their place in America’s literary ranks, as seen in this year’s National Book Festival presented by Library of Congress, held on the National Mall in late September. The event was highlighted by three distinguished Asian American authors who presented new novels to fans and critics.

Gail Tsukiyama – A Hundred Flowers

To chronicle an experience of an era is a daunting task for any writer, especially so when you must depict something you have not personally experienced. But Gail Tsukiyama has been highly acclaimed as she vividly portrays the struggle of a typical (but fictional) Chinese family in the Communist Mao Zedong era.

A Hundred Flowers takes us to 1957 and the early stirrings of the Chinese “Cultural Revolution.” Mao Zedong publicly encouraged people to flourish intellectually (“Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.”) But it was, in reality, a ploy to catch his enemies and those who did not fully believe in his rule. In the story, one morning just before his sixth birthday, young Tao watches helplessly as his father, Sheng, an intellectual and teacher, is dragged away for writing a letter the Communist Party did not like. Sheng is sent to a labor camp. As Tao’s mother Kai Ying struggles to hold her small family together in her husband’s absence, she and other members of the household strive to find peace in a world where the old sense of order is falling.

The book has been called “a powerfully moving story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with grace and courage.”

Born and raised in San Francisco, Tsukiyama transforms her own experiences, adding them to elements of the novel. For instance, one of the important story characters is an herbalist. Tsukiyama remembered that when she was growing up, her mother and grandmother used to mix different herbal concoctions. And with her background in lyricism, Tsukiyama masterfully weaves it into a narrative that depicts a world entirely different from her own.

For up-and-coming writers, Tsukiyama has only one piece of advice: “Try to find your voice. And always write what you know you want to write.”

Lien-Hang Nguyen – Hanoi: An International War

History is never just the regurgitation of facts. It is a constant retelling and interpreting, based on the facts, to fully reflect the experience of a particular event. That’s the view of Lien-Hang Nguyen, author of Hanoi: An International War, which explores the war in Vietnam and combines perspectives from North Vietnam, South Vietnam, the Soviet Union, China, and the United States, to present a uniquely international chronicle.

As a native Vietnamese whose family fled the war when she was only 5 months old, Nguyen was raised in the U.S. along with her 8 siblings. She is currently an associate History professor at the University of Kentucky, and a sought-after analyst on international affairs regarding Asia.

Hanoi: An International War takes the reader from the Mekong Delta swamps to the corridors of power in Hanoi and Saigon and to the Nixon White House. The Paris peace talks, and secret meetings in Moscow and Beijing are all examined to reveal her contention that chances for peace were inevitably doomed. Using previously secret archives materials from the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as documents from the other nations, Nguyen delves into the politics of war and peace from all sides to complete a fascinating and original perspective

“I fell in love with my country that my parents were loathe to leave, and the people who could have been my countrymen had history played out differently,” Nguyen said.

Her advice for up and coming writers of history, is to never stop and never give up. She says writers need to create a balance between fact-telling and story-telling—a challenge she herself has grappled with and succeeded in this book.

Jenny Han (with Siobhan Vivian) – Burn for Burn

In this teen novel co-authored with Siobhan Vivian, New York Times best-selling author Jenny Han explores the topsy-turvy tale of three teenage girls’ lives on Jar Island, described as a pristine isle of oceanfront homes and beautiful beaches. Despite the beauty around them, Kat, Lillia and Mary are consumed with fantasies of revenge, each one having a different issue.

Kat is tired of her best friend’s bullying. Lillia wants to keep a guy away from her sister. Mary is still haunted long after a traumatic event and seeks vengeance. The first part of a planned trilogy, the book relies on fast pacing and richly atmospheric settings to carry the drama. Is revenge ever justified? The authors leave that up to the reader to consider, along with the weight of carrying guilt and seeking status. The book, which also has some paranormal elements in the story, is suggested for ages 14 and up.

Jenny Han is almost a local writer, having grown up in Richmond, Virginia. She went to the University of North Carolina and earned her MFA in creative writing at the New School in Manhattan. She says her favorite dessert is blueberry pie. Now living in Brooklyn, she is the author of Shug, The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You, We’ll Always Have Summer, and Clara Lee and The Apple Pie Dream.

For more information, visit www.DearJennyHan.com.