I stopped doing star ratings on my reviews because I don’t like the idea of judging these books, often without the appropriate cultural context. But there are definitely some that I have enjoyed reading more than others, so I’m giving them a very arbitrary star rating to help quantify my enjoyment. Ten stars means it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, possibly life-changing, would recommend unreservedly to everyone I know. Nine stars: this book was highly enjoyable and/or moved me deeply, I will remember it for years, would read again if I didn’t have a list of 2000 books to get through in the next forty to fifty years. Eight stars: Similar to nine stars, but with some minor flaws–maybe there were some boring parts or the prose was a little uneven or the story wasn’t quite believable–but still great books all the same.

10 stars

1. The Ten Thousand Things, Maria Dermoût (Indonesia)
2. The Bone People, Keri Hulme (New Zealand)
3. The Whale Rider, Witi Ihimaera (New Zealand)
4. Dusk, F. Sionil Jose (Philippines)
5. Voss, Patrick White (Australia)
6. Carpentaria, Alexis Wright (Australia)

9 stars

1. In the Country, Mia Alvar (Philippines)
2. Melal, a novel of the Pacific, Robert Barclay (Marshall Islands)
3. The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton (New Zealand)
4. When Broken Glass Floats, Chanrithy Him (Cambodia)
5. The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic, Nick Joaquin (Philippines)
6. My Brother Jack, George Johnston (Australia)
7. Beauty is a Wound, Eka Kurniawan (Indonesia)
8. While the Billy Boils, Henry Lawson (Australia)
9. Diaspora and the Difficult Art of Dying, Sudesh Mishra (Fiji)
10. The Sorrow of War, Bao Ninh (Vietnam)
11. The Gangster We Are All Looking for, Lê Thi Diem Thúy (Vietnam)
12. Evening Is the Whole Day, Preeta Samarasan (Malaysia)
13. Bangkok Wakes to Rain, Pitchaya Sudbanthad (Thailand)
14. Ponti, Sharlene Teo (Singapore)
15. Cloudstreet, Tim Winton (Australia)

8 stars

1. Gun Dealer’s Daughter, Gina Apostel (Philippines)
2. The Harmony Silk Factory, Tash Aw (Malaysia)
3. Smaller and Smaller Circles, F.H. Batacan (Philippines)
4. Letters from Thailand, Botan (Thailand)
5. When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard (Philippines)
6. The Best We Could Do, Thi Bui (Vietnam)
7. The Frigate Bird, Alistair Campbell (Cook Islands)
8. The Terracotta Bride, Zen Cho (Malaysia)
9. The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo (Malaysia)
10. Once Were Warriors, Alan Duff (New Zealand)
11. Where We Once Belonged, Sia Figiel (Samoa)
12. Faces in the Water, Janet Frame (New Zealand)
13. My Brilliant Career, Miles Franklin (Australia)
14. Tu, Patricia Grace (New Zealand)
15. The Black Lake, Hella Haasse (Indonesia, The Netherlands)
16. Dogeaters, Jessica Hagedorn (Philippines)
17. The Rainbow Troops, Andrea Hirata (Indonesia)
18. My Urohs, Emelihter Kihleng (Federated States of Micronesia)
19. Sightseeing, Rattawut Lapcharoensap (Thailand)
20. The Road to Wanting, Wendy Law-Yone (Burma)
21. The Cemetery of Chua Village, and Other Stories, Doan Le (Vietnam)
22. The Bondmaid, Catherine Lim (Malaysia)
23. Picnic at Hanging Rock, Joan Lindsay (Australia)
24. The Garden Party and Other Stories, Katherine Mansfield (New Zealand)
25. The Rice Mother, Rani Manicka (Malaysia)
26. Les Contes de Poindi, Jean Mariotti (New Caledonia)
27. The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth, Veeraporn Nitiprapha (Thailand)
28. Burmese Days, George Orwell (Burma)
29. Bright, Duanwad Pimwana (Thailand)
30. Noli Me Tángere, José Rizal (Philippines)
31. State of War, Ninotchka Rosca (Philippines)
32. Monsoon Country, Pira Sudham (Thailand)
33. Ilustrado, Miguel Syjuco (Philippines)
34. From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey, Pascal Khoo Thwe (Burma)
35. The Book of Salt, Monique Truong (Vietnam)
36. The Gift of Rain, Tan Twan Eng (Malaysia)
37. Awaiting Trespass, Linda Ty-Casper (Philippines)
38. Dumb Luck, Trong Phung Vu (Vietnam)
39. Philippine Short Stories 1925-1940, Leopold Y. Yabes, ed. (Philippines)
40. The Late Homecomer, Kao Kalia Yang (Laos)
41. Stay Alive, My Son, Pin Yathay (Cambodia)