Nothing To My Name

Nothing to My Name by Kangkang Li Kovacs is a sweeping, intimate historical fiction novel that follows three generations of women as China reshapes itself around them—and asks what it takes to keep a family, and a self, intact. Told with a clear-eyed tenderness, it’s the kind of book that lingers long after the last page.

In 1948 on the Zhoushan islands, young Ah Xue sees her mother working for wealthy villagers as civil war edges closer. Years later, Mimosa comes of age amid her parents’ hard-won compromises as the Cultural Revolution tightens its grip. Then Fei, raised as a boy by an activist father, navigates identity and belonging in the wake of Tiananmen Square.

Perfect for readers drawn to multigenerational family sagas, women’s stories, and novels about identity, resilience and the cost of political upheaval.

Add it to your shelf if you’re ready for a deeply human story of survival and inheritance.