The list
This is a record of all the valid book recommendations I received before, during and in the year after my 2012 quest. I chose one book for each nation for the project. These are underlined and you can click the titles or country names to read my thoughts on each choice.
I continue to update the list by choosing one new title a month as my Book of the month. Links to these reviews are highlighted in orange. If you have a recommendation (or you know about an English version of one of the books marked ‘translation sought’), please leave a comment at the bottom.
- Afghanistan Atiq Rahimi A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear; The Patience Stone / Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner; A Thousand Splendid Suns / Anna Badkhen Waiting for the Taliban / Emmanuel Guibert The Photographer / (as told to) Batya Swift Yasgur Behind the Burqa
- Albania Ismail Kadare The Palace of Dreams; Broken April / Fatos Kongoli The Loser / Elvira Dones Sworn Virgin
- Algeria Leïla Marouane The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris / Anouar Benmalek Abduction / Assia Djebar So Vast the Prison / Boualem Sansal An Unfinished Business; The German Mujahid / Al-Tahir Wattar The Earthquake / Anouar Benmalek The Lovers of Algeria / Yasmina Khadra The Attack
- Andorra Albert Salvadó The Teacher of Cheops
- Angola José Eduardo Agualusa My Father’s Wives; Creole / Pepetela The Return of the Water Spirit / Ondjaki Good Morning Comrades; The Whistler / Jose Eduardo Agualusa The Book of Chameleons / Manuel Rui Monteiro Quem me dera ser Onda (translation sought) / José Luandino Vieira Our Musseque
- Antigua and Barbuda Jamaica Kincaid Lucy; Annie John / Marie-Elena John Unburnable / Althea Prince Loving this Man; Ladies of the Night / Gisele Isaac Considering Venus / Joanne C. Hillhouse et al. Pepperpot (pan-Caribbean anthology)
- Argentina Martin Kohan Seconds Out / César Aira How I Became a Nun; An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter / Ernesto Sábato The Tunnel / Alicia Steimberg Musicians and Watchmakers / Jorges Luis Borges / Tomás Eloy Martínez Purgatory (trans. Frank Wynne) / Matias Nespolo 7 Ways to Kill a Cat (trans. Frank Wynne) / Carlos Gamerro The Islands / Iosi Havilio Opendoor / Luisa Valenzuela / Ricardo Piglia / Guillermo Martínez / Manuel Puig / Adolfo Bioy Casares The Invention of Morel / Julio Cortázar Hopscotch / Samanta Schweblin Fever Dream
- Armenia Armand Inezian Bringing Ararat / Grigoris Balakian Armenian Golgotha / Narine Abgaryan, tr. Lisa C. Hayden Three Apples Fell from the Sky
- Australia Tim Winton Cloudstreet / Helen Garner The Children’s Bach / Markus Zusak The Book Thief / Nam Le The Boat / Andrew McGahan The White Earth / Elizabeth Jolley / Alex Miller Lovesong / Jill Ker Conway The Road from Coorain / Gail Jones A Guide to Berlin
- Austria Elias Canetti The Torch in my Ear / Anna Kim Frozen Time / Thomas Bernhard Extinction / Stefan Zweig / Julya Rabinovich Splithead / Robert Seethaler A Whole Life
- Azerbaijan Gioulzar Akhmedova Magnolia / Maksud Ibragimbekov / Anar Razayev / ? Ali and Nino
- The Bahamas Ian Strachan God’s Angry Babies / Garth Buckner Thine is the Kingdom
- Bahrain Ali Al Saeed Quixotiq / Sarah A Al Sahfei Yummah
- Bangladesh Taslima Nasrin Shame / Tahmima Anam The Good Muslim / Humayun Ahmed To the Woods Dark and Deep / Ekhlasuddin Ahmed When the Evening Darkens / Shawkat Osman The Laughter of a Slave / Anwar Pasha Rifles Bread Women
- Barbados Karen Lord Redemption in Indigo / Agymah Kamau Flickering Shadows; Pictures of a Dying Man / Glenville Lovell Fire in the Canes; Song of Night; Too Beautiful to Die
- Belarus Artur Klinov The Sun City of Dreams / Uladzimir Karatkievich King Stakh’s Wild Hunt / Vasil Bykau Sotnikau or The Ordeal / Viktar Martsinovich Paranoia / Svetlana Alexievich Voices from Chernobyl / Uladzimir Karatkevich The Spikes Under Your Sickle / Ivan Melezh People of the Swamp / Svetlana Alexievich Chernobyl Prayer: A Chronicle of the Future
- Belgium Hergé The Adventures of Tintin / Peter Terrin The Guard / Stefan Brijs The Angel Maker / Francois Emmanuel Invitation to a Voyage / Dimitri Verhulst The Misfortunates / Louis Paul Boon My Little War / Paul Verhaeghen Omega Minor / Amélie Nothomb / Saskia De Coster We and Me / Annelies Verbeke Thirty Days / Jacqueline Harpman I Who Have Never Known Men
- Belize Zoila Ellis On Heroes, Lizards and Passion
- Benin Gisèle Hountondji / Jean Pliya / Florent Couao-Zotti / Adelaide Fassinou / Rashidah Ismaili Abubakr Stories We Tell Each Other
- Bhutan Kunzang Choden The Circle of Karma / Karma Ura The Hero with a Thousand Eyes / T Sangay Wangchuk Seeing with the Third Eye / Dorji Penjore Bomena / Pema Euden Coming Home / Sonam Kinga
- Bolivia José Edmundo Paz-Soldán / Víctor Montoya / Renato Prada Oropeza / Giovanna Rivero Sweet Blood / Juan de Recacoechea American Visa / Liliana Colanzi Our Dead World
- Bosnia and Herzegovina Zlata Filipovic Zlata’s Diary / Saša Stanišić How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone / Aleksandar Hemon The Lazarus Project
- Botswana Angus, Maisie and Travers McNeice The Lion Children / Bessie Head A Question of Power / Unity Dow
- Brazil João Ubaldo Ribeiro House of the Fortunate Buddhas; An Invincible Memory / Clarice Lispector / Rubem Fonseca / Paulo Freire / Clarice Lispector Agua Viva / Jorge Amado Jubiabá; The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray / João Guimarães Rosa / Paulo Coelho / Machado de Assis Dom Casmurro / Chico Buarque Budapest / Lygia Fagundes Telles The Marble Dance / Zulmira Ribeiro Tavares Family Heirlooms / Patrícia Melo, tr. Clifford E. Landers The Body Snatcher
- Brunei Eva Maria Kershaw Dusun Folktales: A Collection of Eighty-eight Folktales in the Dusun Language of Brunei with English Translations / Christopher Sun (aka Sun Tze Yun) Four Kings / Amir Falique The Forlorn Adventure
- Bulgaria Elias Canetti The Tongue Set Free / Kalin Terziyski Is there Anybody to Love You? / Georgi Gospodinov Natural Novel / Kapka Kassabova Street Without a Name / Anton Donchev Time of Parting / Milen Ruskov Thrown into Nature / Emiliyan Stanev The Peach Thief / Dimitar Dimov Doomed Souls / Aleko Konstantinov, tr. Victor A. Friedman, Christina E. Kramer, Grace E. Fielder and Catherine Rudin Bai Ganyo
- Burkina Faso Sarah Bouyain / Frédéric Pacéré Titinga / Nobert Zongo The Parachute Drop
- Burundi Marie-Therese Toyi Weep Not, Refugee / Roland Rugero Baho!
- Cambodia U Sam Oeur Crossing Three Wildernesses / Alice Pung Unpolished Gem / Vaddey Ratner In the Shadow of the Banyan / Loung Ung / Haing S Ngor / Bree Lafreniere and Daran Kravanh Music Through Dark
- Cameroon Mongo Beti La Pauvre Christ de Bomba (The Poor Christ of Bomba); Mission to Kala / Beatrice Fri Bime Mystique: a collection of lake myths
- Canada Robertson Davies / Nicole Brossard Mauve Desert / Alice Munro / Lauren B Davis Our Daily Bread / Darcie Friesen Hossack Mennonites Don’t Dance / Anne Michaels Fugitive Pieces / Thomas King Green Grass, Running Water / Elizabeth Hay Late Nights on Air / Michael Ondaatje In the Skin of a Lion / Frances Itani Deafening / Joseph Boyden The Three Day Road / Carol Shields / Donna Morrissey / Timothy Findley Not Wanted on the Voyage / Michael Crummey Galore / Anita Rau Baudami Tamarind Mem; The Hero’s Walk / Zoe Whittall Bottle Rocket Hearts
- Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) Germano Almeida The Last Will & Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo / Dina Salústio The Madwoman of Serrano
- Central African Republic Pierre Makombo Bamboté Dada’s Travels from Ouadda to Bangui / ed. Polly Strong African Tales: Folklore of the Central African Republic / Etienne Goyémidé / Adrienne Yabouza Co-wives, Co-widows
- Chad Joseph Brahim Seid Told by Starlight in Chad
- Chile Roberto Bolano The Savage Detectives / Alejandro Zambra The Private Lives of Trees; Bonsai / Isabel Allende The House of the Spirits (trans. Magda Bodin) / Diamela Eltit / Alberto Fuguet / María Luisa Bombal / Luis Sepúlveda / Antonio Skármeta / Lina Meruane Seeing Red
- China Zhu Wen I Love Dollars / Jian Rong Wolf Totem / Ma Jian Stick Out Your Tongue; Red Dust/ Cao Xuequin Dream of the Red Chamber / Wu Cheng’en Journey to the West / Zhang Yueran / Chan Koonchung The Fat Years (trans. Michael Duke) / Yan Lianke Dream of Ding Village / Mo Yan The Garlic Ballads; Shifu, You’ll Do Anything for a Laugh / Zhu Wen / Zhang Yueran / Han Dong Banished! / Yan Ge / Xialou Guo Village of Stone / Mian Mian Candy / Wang Shuo Playing for Thrills / Chen Xiwo I Love My Mum / Xu Zechen / Xue Xinran The Good Women of China; China Witness; Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother / Hok-Pang Tang & David Coomler A Time of Ghosts / Huo Da Jade King / Wang Xiaobo / Cao Wenxuan Bronze and Sunflower / Yan Lianke Lenin’s Kisses / Shuang Xuetao Rouge Street
- Colombia Evelio Rosero The Armies / Pilar Quintana Tickles in the Tongue / Juan Gabriel Vasquez The Informers / Eduardo Garcia Aguilar Boulevard of Heroes / Fernando Vallejo Our Lady of the Assassins / Hector Abad Faciolince / Laura Restrepo Delirium / Fernando Vallejo / Gabriel García Márquez / James Cañón Tales from the Town of Windows / Leila Cobo
- Comoros Mohammed Toihiri The Kafir of Karthala / Ali Zamir A Girl Called Eel
- Congo, Democratic Republic of Amba Bongo / Frederick Yamusangie Full Circle
- Congo, Republic of Emmanuel Dongala Johnny Mad Dog; Little Boys Come from the Stars / Sony Lab’ou Tansi The Antipeople / Alain Mabanckou Letter to Jimmy
- Costa Rica Anacristina Rossi / Carmen Naranjo / Oscar Nunez Olivas Cadence of the Moon / Anacristina Rossi The Madwoman of Gandoca / ed Barbara Ras Costa Rica: A Traveler’s Literary Companion
- Côte d’Ivoire Bernard Dadié Climbié / Ahmadou Kourouma Allah is not Obliged / Véronique Tadjo, tr. Tadjo with John Cullen In the Company of Men / GauZ’ Standing Heavy
- Croatia Miroslav Krleža On the Edge of Reason / Dubravka Ugrĕsic The Ministry of Pain; In the Jaws of Life / Slavenka Drakulic A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism / Marija Jurić Zagorka Daughter of the Lotrščak; A Stone on the Road; The Witch of Gric / Antun Gustav Matoš / Robert Perišič Our Man in Iraq / Ivana Sajko Love Novel
- Cuba Mayra Montero Dancing to Almendra / Ena Lucia Portela One Hundred Bottles / Alejo Carpentier / Reinaldo Arenas / Antonio José Ponte / Leonardo Padura / Reinaldo Arenas / Leonardo Padura Fuentes / Virgilio Piñera / José Lezama Lima / Severo Sarduy / Guillermo Cabrera Infante / Lydia Cabrera Afro-Cuban Tales / Leonardo Padura The Man Who Loved Dogs
- Cyprus Anna Marangou/Andreas Coutas (trans. Xenia Andreou) Famagusta: the Story of the City / Eve Makis / Christy Lefteri A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible / Panos Ioannides Gregory and other stories / Elmos Konis Magnette / Nora Nadjarian Ledra Street
- Czech Republic (Czechia) Bohumil Hrabal Too Loud a Solitude / Hana Demetz The House on Prague Street / Tomáš Zmeškal Love Letter in Cuneiform Script / Josef Škvorecký The Engineer of Human Souls (trans. Paul Wilson) / Jáchym Topol The Devil’s Workshop
- Denmark Jakob Ejersbo Exile: Book One of the African Trilogy / Morten Ramsland Dog Head / Christian Jungersen The Exception / Louise Bugge Laermann Constanze Mozart / Peter Høeg Smilla’s Sense of Snow
- Djibouti Abdourahman Waberi In the United States of Africa; Passage of Tears
- Dominica Phyllis Shand Allfrey The Orchid House / Elma Napier Black and White Sands / Jean Rhys / Pupils of Atkinson School The Snake King of the Kalinago / Alick Lazare Pharcel / Various Home Again / Christborne Shillingford Most Wanted: street stories from the Caribbean
- Dominican Republic Juan Bosch / Arambilet Neguri’s Secret / Junot Diaz The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao / Pedro Mir When they Loved the Communal Land / Julia Alvarez / Rita Indiana Tentacle
- East Timor Luis Cardoso The Crossing
- Ecuador Jorge Icaza Huasipungo / Alicia Yáñez Cossío The Potbellied Virgin
- Egypt Ahdaf Soueif The Map of Love; Cairo: My City, Our Revolution / Sonallah Ibrahim Stealth / Mohamed Mansi Qandil Moon Over Samarqand / Waguih Ghali Beer in the Snooker Club / Naguib Mahfouz Midaq Alley; The Thief and the Dogs; Miramar; The Final Hour/ Alaa Al Aswany The Yacoubian Building / Radwa Ashour / Nawal El Saadawi / May Telmissany Dunyazad / Salwa Bakr / ed. Marilyn Booth My Grandmother’s Cactus / Gamal al-Ghitani Zayni Barakat / Yusef Zeidan Azazil / Radwa Ashour Granada; Spectres / Ibrahim Abdel Meguid No One Sleeps in Alexandria / Bahar Tahir / Muhammad Bisati / Basma Abdel Aziz The Queue
- El Salvador Horacio Castellanos Moya Senselessness
- Equatorial Guinea Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel By Night the Mountain Burns / Donato Ndongo Shadows of your Black Memory / Maria Nsue Angue Ekomo (translation sought) / TrifoniaMelibea Obono La Bastarda
- Eritrea Senait Mehari Heart of Fire / Sulaiman Addonia The Consequences of Love / Dawit Gebremichael Habte Gratitude in Low Voices / Tesfaye Gebreab The Nurenebi File
- Estonia Jaan Kross Professor Martens’ Departure; Treading Air / Viivi Luik The Beauty of History
- Ethiopia Maaza Mengiste Beneath the Lion’s Gaze / Dinaw Mengestu Children of the Revolution / Abraham Verghese Cutting for Stone
- Fiji Peter Thomson Kava in the Blood / Epeli Hau’ofa Kisses in the Nederends; Tales of the Tikongs / Mikaele M.K. Yasa Of Baluka and Nibong Palm
- Finland Arto Paasilinna The Year of the Hare / Mika Waltari The Egyptian / Johanna Sinisalo Troll: A Love Story / Sofi Oksanen Purge / Emmi Itäranta Memory of Water / Antti Tuomainen The Man Who Died
- France Alain-Fournier The Wanderer / Marie NDiaye Rosie Carpe / Marie Darrieussecq My Phantom Husband / Colette Chéri / Faiza Guene Dreams from the Endz / Raymond Queneau Exercises in Style (trans. Barbara Wright) / Georges Perec Life:a User’s Manual (trans. David Bellos) / Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio Wandering Star / Jean Echenoz Lightning / Delphine de Vigan Underground Time / Faïza Guène Just Like Tomorrow / Alexis Jenni The French Art of War / Laurence Cossé A Novel Bookstore / Hélène Grémillon The Confidant / Jérôme Ferrari Where I Left My Soul / Marguerite Yourcenar / Michel Houellebecq / André Schwarz-Bart A Woman Named Solitude (trans. Ralph Manheim) / Abnousse Shalmani Khomeini, Sade and Me / Lydie Salvayre Cry, Mother Spain / Tiphaine Rivière Notes on a Thesis / Bessora/Barroux Alpha: Abidjan to Gare du Nord / Gerty Dambury, tr. Pam Allen The Restless
- Gabon Daniel Mengara Mema
- The Gambia Dayo Forster Reading the Ceiling / Dembo Fanta Bojang & Sukai Mbye Bojang Folk Tales and Fables from The Gambia
- Georgia Sana Krasikov One More Year / ed Elizabeth Heighway Contemporary Georgian Fiction / Cabua Amirejibi Data Tutashkhia / Mikheil Javakhishvili Kvachi / Otar Chiladze A Man Was Going Down the Road / Nino Haratischvili The Eighth Life: (for Brilka)
- Germany Jenny Erpenbeck Visitation; The End of Days / Günter Grass The Tin Drum / Christa Wolf / Heinrich Böll The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum / Emine Sevgi Özdamar Bridge of the Golden Horn / Walter Benjamin Illuminations (trans. Harry Zohn) / Clemens Meyer All the Lights / Christa Wolf Medea / Franz Fühmann / Inka Parei The Shadow-Boxing Girl / Hans Fallada Alone in Berlin / Jurek Becker Jacob the Liar / Herman Hesse Siddhartha / Thomas Mann / Yoko Tawada Memoirs of a Polar Bear / Anke Stelling, tr. Lucy Jones Higher Ground / Anonymous A Woman in Berlin
- Ghana Ayi Kwei Armah The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born / Isaac Neequaye / Ama Ata Aidoo / Jo de Graft Hanson Amanfi’s Gold / Gheysika Adombire Agambila Journey / Various Anansi Stories
- Greece Kostas Hatziantoniou The Black Book of Bile; Agrigento / Margarita Karapanou Kassandra and the Wolf / Panos Karnezis / Nikos Kazantzakis Freedom or Death; The Last Temptation
- Grenada Tobias Buckell / Merle Collins The Ladies are Upstairs
- Guatemala Miguel Angel Asturias The President / Rodrigo Rey Rosa / Rigoberta Menchú I, Rigoberta Menchú / Augusto Monterroso / Eduardo Halfon The Polish Boxer
- Guinea Camara Laye The Radiance of the King; The Guardian of the Word
- Guinea-Bissau Amilcar Cabral Unity and Struggle / Abdulai Silá The Ultimate Tragedy
- Guyana Oonya Kempadoo Buxton Spice
- Haiti Marvin Victor / Lyonel Trouillot Children of Heroes / Dany Laferriere How to Make Love to a Negro without Getting Tired; I am a Japanese Writer / Louis-Philppe Dalembert / Edwidge Danticat The Farming of the Bones / Franketienne / Gary Klang / Josaphat-Robert Large / Emmelie Prophète Blue
- Honduras Guillermo Yuscaran Points of Light / Ramón Amaya Amador
- Hungary Sándor Márai Embers / Dezső Kosztolányi Skylark / Zsigmond Móricz Be Faithful Unto Death / Antal Szerb Journey by Moonlight / Péter Esterházy Not Art / Tibor Fischer Under the Frog / Antal Szerb The Pendragon Legend / László Krasznahorkai War and War (trans. George Szirtes) / Ferenc Karinthy Metropole / Imre Kertész Fatelessness / Albert Wass / Rejtő Jenő / Péter Nádas A Book of Memories; Parallel Stories / Iván Mándy On the Balcony / Ferenc Molnár The Paul Street Boys
- Iceland Arnaldur Indridason Jar City / Halldór Laxness The Atom Station / Ófeigur Sigurðsson / Gyrðir Eliasson Stone Tree / Auður A Ólafsdóttir The Greenhouse / Kristín Ómarsdóttir Swanfolk
- India Suketu Mehta Maximum City / Rohinton Mistry Family Matters; A Fine Balance / Premchand / Rahul Bhattacharya The Sly Company of People who Care / Amitav Ghosh River of Smoke / Tabish Khair The Thing about Thugs / Aman Sathi A Free Man / Sunetra Gupta / Omair Ahmad Jimmy the Terrorist / UR Ananthamurthy Bharathipura / Chandrakanta A Street in Srinagar / Siddharth Chowdhury Day Scholar / Kishwar Desai Witness the Night / Namita Devidayal Aftertaste / Manu Joseph Serious Men / Kavery Nambisan: The Story that Must Not Be Told / Kalpish Ratna The Quarantine Papers / Uppamanyu Chattergee Way to go / Chandrahas Choudhury Arzee the Dwarf / Manju Kapur The Immigrant / Neel Mukherjee The Immigrant / Mani Sankar Mukherji The Middleman / I. Allan Sealy The Trotter Nama / Shashi Warrier / Aniruddha Bahal / Vikram Chandra / M T Vasudevan Nair Mist; The Legacy; The Demon Seed; Second Turn; Kaalam / Asha Poorna Devi / Ruskin Bond / Gurcharan Das India Unbound / Mark Tully / Shashi Tharoor The Great Indian Novel / Mahasweta Devi Imaginary Maps; Bitter Soil; Hajar Churashir Maa / RK Narayan Malgudi Days / Jhaverchand Meghani / Kushwant Singh Train to Pakistan; The Portrait of a Lady / ed Rakesh Khanna The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction / Shivaji Sawant Mrityunjay / OV Vijayan / Govardhanram Tripathi Saraswatichandra / Satyajit Ray Feluda series / Sunil Gangopadhyay Those Days / Rabindranath Tagore / Sashi Deshpande / Kiran Nagarkar Cuckold; Seven Sixes are Forty-Three / Charu Nivedita Zero Degree / Tarun Tejpal Alchemy of Desire / Manoshi Bhattacharya Chittagong Summer of 1930 / Sankar Chowringhee / Shanta Gokhale Crowfall / Maitreyi Devi Na Hanyate / Aruna Chakrabarti Srikanta / Ruskin Bond / Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Chemmeen / Mulk Raj Anand Untouchable / Vikram Seth A Suitable Boy / Vivek Shanbhag Ghachar Ghochar / Geetanjali Shree Mai
- Indonesia Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya (Romo Mangun) Burung-Burung Manyar; Rara Mendut; Durga/Umayi / Ayu Utami / Mochtar Lubis / Pramoedya Ananta Toer This Earth of Mankind / Dewi Lestari Supernova / Agustinus Wibowo Blanket of Dust (translation sought) / Andrea Hirata The Rainbow Troops / Eka Kurniawan Man Tiger / Ayu Utami, tr. Pam Allen Saman / Budi Darma People from Bloomington
- Iran Akbar Golrang Parpin Flowers /Nasrin Alavi We are Iran / Shahrnush Parsipur Touba and the Meaning of Night / Mahmoud Dowlatabadi The Colonel (trans. Tom Patterdale) / Adnan-Ahmed / Fariba Hachtroudi The Man Who Snapped His Fingers
- Iraq Samuel Shimon An Iraqi in Paris / Ali Bader The Tobacco Keeper / Hassan Blasim The Madman of Freedom Square / Rodaan Al Galidi Thirsty River / Samira Al-Mana / Wafaa Abed Al Razzaq / A Alwan The Sheikh’s Detective / Fuad al-Takarli The Long Way Back
- Ireland James Joyce Ulysses / Maria Edgeworth Castle Rackrent / William Trevor / Sebastian Barry The Secret Scripture / Flann O’Brien The Third Policeman; At Swim–Two–Birds
- Israel David Grossman Falling Out of Time; To the End of the Land; Be My Knife / Amos Oz A Tale of Love and Darkness (trans. Nicholas de Lange) / Savyon Liebrecht / AB Yehoshua / Ronit Matalon / Alex Epstein / Aharon Appelfeld Blooms of Darkness / Sara Shilo The Falafel King is Dead / Etgar Keret / Yehoshua Kenaz / Zeruya Shalev Pain
- Italy Roberto Saviano Zero Zero Zero; Gomorrah / Leonardo Sciascia The Day of the Owl (trans. Archibald Colquhoun) / Fabio Geda In the Sea there are Crocodiles (trans. Howard Curtis) / Elena Ferrante The Lost Daughter; The Days of Abandonment; My Brilliant Friend / Antonio Tabucchi Pereira Maintains / Diego Marani New Finnish Grammar / Alessandro Baricco Ocean Sea; Mr Gwyn / Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa The Leopard / Alessandro Manzoni / Luigi Pirandello / Primo Levi / Italo Svevo / Dino Buzzati The Tartar Steppe / Elena Varvello Can You Hear Me?
- Jamaica Kei Miller / Lindsay Barrett / Margaret Cezair-Thompson The Pirate’s Daughter / Colin Channer / Brian Meeks Paint the Town Red / Patricia Powell / Victor Stafford Reid / Vanessa Spence / Marlon James The Book of Night Women; John Crow’s Devil
- Japan Haruki Murakami Kafka on the Shore; 1Q84 / Natsume Sōseki The Miner; I am a Cat/ Michitsuna no Haha (Michitsuna’s mother) The Kagero Diary (trans. Sonja Arntzen) / Yukio Mishima Death in Midsummer (trans. Seidensticker, Keene, Morris, Sargent) / Hiromi Kawakami Manazuru / Shiba Ryotaro / Yoko Ogawa Hotel Iris / Yoriko Shono / Yumiko Kurahashi / Yoko Tawada / Yasunari Kawabata Snow Country / Mieko Kawakami, tr. Sam Bett and David Boyd Breasts and Eggs
- Jordan Ibrahim Nasrallah Time of White Horses / Abdulrahman Munif Cities of Salt
- Kazakhstan Rollan Seisenbayev The Day the World Collapsed / Mukhamet Shayakhmetov The Silent Steppe: The Story of a Kazakh Nomad Under Stalin / Nursultan Nazarbayev My Life, My Times and the Future / Ilyas Esenberlin Nomads / Mukhtar Auezov Abai (translation sought)
- Kenya Binyavanga Wainaina One Day I Will Write About This Place / Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o A Grain of Wheat; Wizard of the Crow / Philo Ikonya Kenya, Will You Marry Me? / NK Read Children of Saba / Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor Dust / Nanjala Nyabola Travelling While Black
- Kiribati Teweiariki Teaero Waa in Storms
- Kurdistan* Jalal Barzanji The Man in Blue Pyjamas.
- Kuwait Saif Marzooq al-Shamlan Pearling in the Arabian Gulf / Jehan S Rajab Invasion Kuwait / Haya al-Mughni Women in Kuwait / Danderma The Chronicles of Dathra, a Dowdy Girl from Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan Chinghiz Aitmatov Jamilia; The Place of the Skull; Farewell Gul’sary; The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years; Short Novels; White Steamship; Tales of the Mountains and Steppes; Cranes Fly Early;Time to Speak; Mother Earth and Other Stories
- Laos Outhine Bounyavong Mother’s Beloved
- Latvia David Bezmozgis The Free World / Agate Nesaule A Woman in Amber / Inga Zolude A Solace for Adam’s Tree / Sandra Kalniete With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows / Janis Klidzejs The Child of Man (translation sought)
- Lebanon Joumana Haddad I Killed Scheherazade / Elias Khoury Yalo; Gate of the Sun / Hanan al-Shaykh One Thousand and One Nights; The Locust and the Bird / Jabbour Douhaiy June Rain / Alexandra Chreiteh Always Coca-Cola / Iman Humaydan Wild Mulberries / Amin Maalouf Samarkand; Leo the African / Rashid al-Daif Dear Mr Kawabata / Amin al Rihani / Gibran Khalil Gibran / Najwa Barakat Oh Salaam!
- Lesotho Thomas Mofolo Chaka / AS Mopeli-Paulus Blanket Boy’s Moon; The World and the Cattle / Morabo Morojele How We Buried Puso / Various Basali! Stories by and about women in Lesotho
- Liberia Helene Cooper The House at Sugar Beach / Ellen Johnson Sirleaf This Child Will Be Great / Mardia Stone Konkai: Living Between Two Worlds
- Libya Hisham Matar In the Country of Men; Anatomy of a Disappearance / Ibrahim Al-Khoni Anubis: A Desert Novel; Gold Dust; The Animists; The Bleeding of the Stone; The Puppet; The Seven Veils of Seth / Ahmed Fagi Homeless Rats; 30 Short Stories
- Liechtenstein Iren Nigg / Stefan Sprenger / Heinrich Harrer Seven Years in Tibet / CC Bergius The Noble Forger
- Lithuania Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė / Various No Men, No Cry / Ricardas Gavelis Vilnius Poker / Jonas Mekas / Juozas Baltusis / Andrius Tapinas Hour of the Wolf / Balys Sruoga Forest of the Gods / Antanas Škėma The White Shroud / Laimonas Briedis Vilnius: City of Strangers
- Luxembourg Jean Back Amateur / Robi Gottlieb-Cahen Minute Stories
- Macedonia (North Macedonia) Rumena Bužarovska Scribbles; Wisdom Tooth / Goce Smilevski Sigmund Freud’s Sister; Conversation with Spinoza / Elizabeta Bakovska On the way to Damascus
- Madagascar ed. Jacques Bourgeacq and Liliane Ramarosoa Voices from Madagascar / Naivo Beyond the Rice Fields
- Malawi Samson Kambalu The Jive Talker / Aubrey Kachingwe No Easy Task
- Malaysia Shih-Li Kow Ripples and Other Stories / A Samad Said / Adibah Amin This End of The Rainbow / Dina Zaman King of the Sea
- Maldives Abdullah Sadiq Dhon Hiyala and Ali Fulhu
- Mali Amadou Hampâté Bâ The Strange Destiny of Wangrin / Yambo Ouloguem Bound to Violence
- Malta Immanuel Mifsud Happy Weekend / Pierre Mejlak / Simon Bartolo / Oliver Friggieri / Herbert Ganado My Century / Trevor Zahra / Kilin (Mikiel Spiteri)
- Marshall Islands Ed Daniel Kelin Marshall Islands Legends and Stories / Marshallese school students (the Unbound Bookmaker Project) The Important Book about Majuro / Jack Niedenthal For the Good of Mankind / Bob Barclay In Melal: A Novel of the Pacific / Dirk R Spennemann Bwebwenatoon etto: a collection of Marshallese legends and traditions
- Mauritania Mohamed Bouya Bamba Angels of Mauritania and the Curse of the Language / Mbarek Ould Beyrouk The Desert and the Drum
- Mauritius Anand Mulloo Watch Them Go Down / Barlen Pyamootoo Benares / Nathacha Appanah, tr. Geoffrey Strachan The Last Brother
- Mexico Juan Pablo Villalobos Down the Rabbit Hole / Octavio Paz The Labyrinth of Solitude (trans. Lysander Kemp) / Laura Esquivel Like Water for Chocolate (trans. Carol Christensen and Thomas Christensen) / Martín Solares The Black Minutes / Carlos Fuentes / Jorge Volpi / Rosario Castellanos / Carmen Boullosa / Mario Bellatín / Elena Garro / Juan Rulfo / Elena Poniatowska / Sergio Pitol / Juan Rulfo Pedro Paramo / Valeria Luiselli Faces in the Crowd / Fernanda Melchor Hurricane Season / Jazmina Barrera Linea Nigra
- Micronesia, Federated States of Luelen Bernart The Book of Luelen
- Moldova Ion Drutse Moldavian Autumn; The Story of an Ant / Vladimir Lorchenkov The Good Life Elsewhere
- Monaco ed. Richard and Danae Projetti Grace Kelly: Princesse du Cinema
- Mongolia Galsan Tschinag The Blue Sky
- Montenegro Petar II Petrović-Njegoš The Mountain Wreath / Andrej Nikolaidis / Xenia Popovich A Lullaby for No Man’s Wolf
- Morocco Diss Chraïbi Heirs to the Past; Le Passé Simple (The Simple Past) / Tahar Ben Jelloun The Sacred Night; The Sand Child; This Blinding Absence of Light (trans. Linda Coverdale); A Palace in the Old Village (trans. Linda Coverdale) / Bensalem Himmich The Polymath / Mohammed Achaari The Arch and the Butterfly / Fatima Mernissi / Muhammad Shukri For Bread Alone / Muhammad Barrada The Game of Forgetting
- Mozambique Mia Couto The Sleepwalking Land; Under the Frangipani / Paulina Chiziane Niketche / Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa Ualalapi / Luis Bernardo Honwana We Killed Mangy Dog / Paulina Chiziane The First Wife
- Myanmar (Burma) Cho Tu Zaw / Ma Thida / Nu Nu Yi Inwa Smile as they Bow
- Namibia Joseph Diescho Troubled Waters / Neshani Andreas The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
- Nauru Timothy Detudamo Legends, Traditions and Tales of Nauru / Ben Bam Solomon et al Stories from Nauru
- Nepal Samrat Upadhyay Buddha’s Orphans / Ajit Baral The Lazy Conman and Other Stories / Parijat Blue Mimosa / Jagadish Ghimire Antarman ko yatra / Prajwal Parajuly The Gurkha’s Daughter
- Netherlands Harry Mulisch The Discovery of Heaven / Cees Noteboom Lost Paradise; All Souls’ Day; Rituals / Tessa de Loo / Gerbrand Bakker The Twin / Kader Abdolah The House of the Mosque / Abdelkader Benali / Jan van Mersbergen Tomorrow Pamplona / Arthur Japin The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi / Tommy Wieringa Little Caesar / Bernlef Out of Mind / Jan Wolkers Turkish Delight / WF Hermans The Darkroom of Damocles / Arnon Grunberg Tirza; Skin and Hair / Esther Gerritsen Craving / Nescio Amsterdam Stories / Gerard Reve The Evenings / Herman Koch Dear Mr M
- New Zealand Charlotte Grimshaw Singularity / Maurice Shadbolt Season of the Jew / Keri Hulme The Bone People / Lloyd Jones Mr Pip / Alan Duff Once Were Warriors / Witi Ihimaera Tangi / Janet Frame / Patricia Grace Potiki / Eleanor Catton The Luminaries
- Nicaragua Gioconda Belli Infinity in the Palm of her Hand
- Niger recounted by Nouhou Malio The Epic of Askia Mohammed
- Nigeria Wole Soyinka The Interpreters; Season of Anomy / Toyin Falola A Mouth Sweeter than Salt / Lola Shoneyin The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives / Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Americanah; Half of a Yellow Sun / Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart
- North Korea Ri In Mo My Life and Faith / Kye Wol Hyang
- Norway Karl Ove Knausgaard My Struggle / Per Petterson To Siberia; Out Stealing Horses (trans. Ann Born) / Knut Hamsun Hunger / Lars Saabye Christensen The Half Brother / Jan Wiese The Naked Madonna / Linn Ullmann Before You Sleep / Agnar Mykle Lasso Round the Moon / Gerd Brantenberg Egalia’s Daughters / Sigrid Undset Kristin Lavransdatter (trans. Tiina Nunnally) / Carl Frode Tiller Encircling / Tarjei Vesaas The Ice Palace / Helga Flatland A Modern Family
- Oman Ibrahim Farghali Smiles of Saints / Khadija bint Alawi Al-Dhahab My Grandmother’s Stories / Unni Wikan Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman / Abdulaziz Al Farsi Earth Weeps, Saturn Laughs
- Pakistan Mohsin Hamid Moth Smoke; The Reluctant Fundamentalist / Sara Suleri Meatless Days / Bapsi Sidhwa Ice Candy Man; An American Brat; The Pakistani Bride/ Bina Shah A Season for Martyrs; Slum Child / Jamil Ahmad The Wandering Falcon / Daniyal Mueenuddin In Other Rooms, Other Wonders / HM Naqvi Home Boy / Uzma Aslam Khan / Musharraf Ali Farooqi The Story of a Widow; Between Clay and Dust / Ali Sethi The Wish Maker / Kamila Shamsie Kartography; Broken Verses; Burnt Shadows / Mohammed Hanif / Bina Shah A Season for Martyrs
- Palau Susan Kloulechad Spirits’ Tides
- Palestine Ibtisam Barakat Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood / Sahar Khalifeh Wild Thorns / Susan Abulhawa Mornings in Jenin / Mahmoud Shukair Mordechai’s Moustache and his Wife’s Cats, and Other Stories / Sonia Nimr, tr. Marcia Lynx Qualey Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands
- Panama Juan David Morgan The Golden Horse / Carlos Russell
- Papua New Guinea Russell Soaba Maiba / Regis Stella Gutsini Posa; Mata Sara / Russell Soaba Maiba / Bernard Narokobi Two Seasons / Vincent Eri The Crocodile / Nash Sorariba / Michael Somare Sana /
- Paraguay Augusto Roa Bastos I, the Supreme
- Peru Mario Vargas Llosa Death in the Andes; Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (trans. Ursule Molinaro, Hedwig Rappolt); The Storyteller (trans. Helen Lane) / Jaime Bayly / José María Arguedas / Santiago Roncagliolo
- Philippines Charlson Ong / Joel Toledo / Miguel Syjuco Illustrado / F Sionil José / Jessica Hagedorn Dogeaters / Bino Realuyo The Umbrella Country / Ninotchka Rosca State of War / Azucena Grajo Uranza Bamboo in the Wind / Marivi Soliven The Mango Bride
- Poland Stanislaw Lem / Olga Tokarczuk Primeval and Other Times; House of Day, House of Night / Pawel Huelle Cold Sea Tales; Castorp; The Last Supper; Mercedes Benz/ Zygmunt Miloszewski Entanglement; A Grain of Truth/ Witold Gombrowicz Pornografia / Wiesław Myśliwski Stone upon Stone / Magdalena Tulli In Red / Dorota Maslowska Snow White and Russian Red / Marek Krajewski The Eberhard Mock books / Grazyna Plebanek Illegal Liaisons / Antoni Libera Madame / Andrzej Stasiuk On the Road to Babadag; Dukla; Fado; Nine; White Raven / Stefan Chwin Death in Danzig / Michal Witkowski Lovetown / Jacek Hugo-Bader White Fever / Wojciech Jagielski The Night Wanderers / Kazimierz Moczarski Conversations with an Executioner / Wojciech Tochman Like Eating a Stone / Olga Tokarczuk Flights
- Portugal Eca de Queiroz The Mandarin and Other Stories / José Saramago Blindness; The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis; The Gospel According to Jesus Christ / Fernando Pessoa / Pero Vaz de Caminha Carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha / Agustina Bessa-Luís
- Qatar Mohammed Ali Victory over Abu Derya: The Quest for Pearls in the Arabian Gulf / Abdul Aziz Al Mahmoud The Corsair
- Romania Herta Müller The Passport / Filip and Matei Florian The Baiut Alley Lads / Mircea Cartarescu / Mircea Eliade / Bogdan Teodorescu Sword
- Russia Alina Bronsky The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine / Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (trans. Ralph Parker) / Vladimir Sorokin Day of the Oprichnik / Mikhail Lermontov A Hero of Our Time / Mikhail Bulgakov The Master and Margarita (trans. Michael Glenny) / Roman Senchin MINUS / Alan Cherchesov Requiem for the Living /Off the Beaten Tracks: Stories by Russian Hitchhikers / Oleg Zaionchkovski Happiness is Possible / PD Ouspensky Strange Life of Ivan Osokin / Alan Cherchesov Requiem for the Living / Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina / Guzel Yakhina Zuleikha
- Rwanda Philip Gourevitch We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with our Families / Jean Hatzfeld Into the Quick of Life / Barassa Teta / John Rusimbi By the Time She Returned / Gilbert Gatore The Past Ahead / Gaël Faye, tr. Sarah Ardizzone Small Country
- Saint Kitts and Nevis Caryl Phillips / Bertram Roach Only God Can Make a Tree
- Saint Lucia Derek Walcott Omeros / Garth St Omer A Room on the Hill; Shades of Grey; Nor Any Country; J-, Black Bam and the Masqueraders / Dr Earl Long Consolation; Voices from a Drum / McDonald Dixon Season of Mist / Michael Aubertin Neg Maron
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines H Nigel Thomas Spirits in the Dark; Behind the Face of Winter; Return to Arcadia / George Thomas Ruler in Hairoona / Cecil Browne The Moon is Following Me / Richard Byron-Cox Were Mama’s Tears in Vain? / Marcia King-Gamble / Trish St Hill / Nickie Williams /
- Samoa Misa Telefoni Retzlaff Love and Money / Lani Wendt Young Telesa: The Covenant Keeper / Albert Wendt The Adventures of Vela; Sons for the Return Home; Pouliuli / Sia Figiel Where We Once Belonged; The Girl in the Moon Circle; They Who do not Grieve
- San Marino Giuseppe Rossi The Republic of San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe Olinda Beja The Shepherd’s House
- Saudi Arabia Rajaa Al-Sanea Girls of Riyadh / Raja Alem My Thousand and One Nights: A Novel of Mecca / Abdul Rahman Munif Endings; Cities of Salt; The Trench; Variations on Night and Day / ed. Abubaker Bagader Voices of Change / Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi
- Senegal Mariama Bâ So Long a Letter / Ken Bugul Riwan ou Le Chemin de Sable (Riwan or The Path of Sand) / Boubacar Boris Diop Doomi Golo: The Hidden Notebooks
- Serbia Milos Crnjanski A Novel About London; Migrations / Danilo Kiš / David Albahari Bait / Milorad Pavic Dictionary of the Khazars / Srdjan Valjarevic Lake Como / Zoran Živković / Ivo Andrić The Bridge on the Drina** / Meša Selimović Death and the Dervish; Fortress**
- Seychelles Glynn Burridge Voices / William Travis Beyond the Reefs; Shark for Sale
- Sierra Leone Aminatta Forna The Memory of Love / Ishmael Beah A Long Way Gone
- Singapore Su-Chen Christine Lim Fistful of Colours
- Slovakia Pavol Rankov / Peter Pišťanek Rivers of Babylon / Daniela Kapitánová Samko Tale’s Cemetery Book / Jana Beňová Seeing People Off
- Slovenia Slavoj Žižek / Nataša Kramberger Heaven in a Blackberry Bush, a Novel in Stories / Andrej Blatnik You do Understand / Andrej Skubic Fužine Blues / Miha Mazzini The German Lottery / Vladimir Bartol Alamut / Luka Novak The Golden Shower or What Men Want / Vladimir Bartol Alamut
- Solomon Islands John Saunana The Alternative / ed. Alice Aruhe’eta Pollard and Marilyn J. Waring Being the First: Storis Blong Oloketa Mere lo Solomon Aelan / Celo Kulagoe
- Somalia Nuruddin Farah Secrets; Sweet and Sour Milk
- South Africa Gavin Evans Dancing Shoes is Dead / Ingrid Winterbach The Book of Happenstance / Damon Galgut The Quarry / Kgebetli Moele The Book of the Dead / Diane Awerbuck Cabin Fever / Siphiwo Mahala African Delights / Henrietta Rose-Innes Nineveh / Ivan Vladislavic The Loss Library / Nelson Mandela The Long Walk to Freedom / Alan Paton Cry, the Beloved Country / Bryce Courtenay The Power of One / Dalene Matthee Fiela’s Child; Circles in the Forest / Sibusiso Nyembezi The Rich Man of Pietermaritzburg
- South Korea Hwang Sok-yong The Guest; The Old Garden / Lee Hye-Kyung A House on the Road / Shin Kyung-Sook Please Look After Mom; Violets / Han Kang The Vegetarian
- South Sudan Julia Duany ‘To Forgive is Divine Not Human’
- Spain Miguel Delibes Five Hours with Mario / Javier Cercas Soldiers of Salamis; The Anatomy of a Moment (trans. Anne McClean) / Alberto Mendez The Blind Sunflowers / Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote (trans. Edith Grossman) / Carlos Ruiz Zafón The Shadow of the Wind / Enrique Vila-Matas Dublinesque / Juan Goytisolo Exiled from Almost / Eva Baltasar Boulder
- Everywhere / Antonio Muñoz Molina Sefarad / Javier Marías The Infatuations / Juan Marsé The Snares of Memory
- Sri Lanka Romesh Gunesekera Reef / Carl Muller The Jam Fruit Tree / Shehan Karunatilaka Chinaman / Ru Freeman A Disobedient Girl / Siri Gunasinghe The Shadow / Kathleen Jayawardena Circles of Fire / S Ponnuthurai Ritual / Sunethra Rajakarunanayake Metta / Keerthi Welisarage The Doomed / Martin Wickramasinghe
- Sudan Amir Tag Elsir The Grub Hunter / Tarek Eltayeb The Palm House / Tayeb Salih Season of Migration to the North / Leila Aboulela Minaret
- Suriname Cynthia Mcleod The Cost of Sugar; The Free Negress
- Swaziland (Eswatini) Sarah Mkhonza Weeding the Flowerbeds
- Sweden Henning Mankell Chronicler of the Winds / Per Olov Enquist The March of the Musicians (trans. Joan Tate); The Story of Blanche and Marie / Jens Lapidus Easy Money / Karin Altenberg Island of Wings / Jonas Hassen Khemiri Montecore / Hjalmar Soderberg Doctor Glas / Lotta Lotass / Amelie Posse / John Ajvide Lindqvist Let the Right One In / Jonas Jonasson The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared / Lena Andersson Wilful Disregard
- Switzerland Friedrich Dürrenmatt The Pledge / Hansjörg Schertenlieb A Happy Man / Gottfried Keller A Village Romeo and Juliet / Annemarie Schwarzenbach / Friedrich Glauser In Matto’s Realm / Peter Bichsel Children’s Stories / Aglaja Veteranyi Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta / Hugo Loetscher Noah / Gerhard Meier Isle of the Dead / Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz Beauty on Earth
- Syria Fadi Azzam Sarmada / Zakaria Tamer Breaking Knees / Ghadda Samman / Rafik Schami Damascus Nights / Hassan Bahri / Hanna Mina Sun on a Cloudy Day / Khaled Khalifa In Praise of Hatred / Shahla Ujayli A Bed for the King’s Daughter
- Taiwan Su Wei-chen / Pai Hsien-yung Crystal Boys / Maggie Shen King An Excess Male
- Tajikistan Andrei Volos Hurramabad / Sadriddin Aini The Sands of Oxus: Boyhood Reminiscences of Sadriddin Aini
- Tanzania Muhammed Said Abdulla / Abdulrazak Gurnah Desertion / Edwin Semzaba / Ismael Mbise Blood on Our Land / Agoro Anduru / Adam Shafi / Bethsaida Orphan Girls’ Secondary School Their Voices, Their Stories / Sophia Mustafa Broken Reed / Tengio Urrio The Girl from Uganda / S Ndunguru The Lion of Yola / Ronny Mintjens More Than a Game
- Thailand Chart Korbjitti The Judgement; No Way Out; Time; Mad Dogs & Co / Kukrit Pramoj / Kampoon Boontawee A Child of the Northeast / Saneh Sangsuk The White Shadow: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Rascal
- Togo Jeanette D Ahonsou / Pyabelo Chaold Kouly / Tété-Michel Kpomassie An African in Greenland
- Tonga Joshua Taumoefolau A Providence of War / Epeli Hau’ofa Tales of the Tikongs
- Trinidad and Tobago VS Naipaul A House for Mr Biswas; In a Free State / Monique Roffey The White Woman on the Green Bicycle / Robert Antoni / Keith Jardim Near Open Water / Earl Lovelace Is Just a Movie / Vahni Capildeo One Scattered Skeleton / Errol John Moon on a Rainbow Shawl
- Tunisia Habib Selmi The Scents of Marie-Claire / Abdelwahab Meddeb Talismano / Hassouna Mosbahi A Tunisian Tale / Ali Douagi / Mahmoud Messadi
- Turkey (Türkiye) Orhan Pamuk Snow / Latife Tekin Dear Shameless Death / Elif Shafak The Forty Rules of Love / Erendiz Atasu The Other Side of the Mountain / Murathan Mungan / Orhan Kemal / Halide Edip Adıvar / Reşat Nuri Güntekin / Refik Halit Karay / Sabahattin Ali / Yaşar Kemal / Kemal Tahir / Fakir Baykurt / Sait Faik Abasıyanık / Güneli Gün On the Road to Baghdad / Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar The Time Regulation Institute / Sema Kaygusuz The Well of Trapped Words / Ahmet Altan Endgame
- Turkmenistan John Kropf Unknown Sands / Ak Welsapar The Tale of Aypi; Cobra
- Tuvalu Various Tuvalu: A history
- Uganda Okot p’Bitek Song of Lawino / Moses Isegawa Abyssinian Chronicles; Snakepit / Doreen Baingan Tropical Fish: Stories Out Of Entebbe / Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi Kintu / Timothy Wangusa Upon This Mountain / Julius Ocwinyo Fate of the Banished; The Unfulilled Dream; Footprints of the Outsider / Goretti Kyomuhendo The First Daughter; Waiting; Secrets No More / Glaydah Namukasa Voice of Dream / Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi The First Woman
- Ukraine Andrey Kurkov Death and the Penguin / Theodore Odrach Wave of Terror / Nikolai Gogol Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka / Oleg Sentsov Life Went on Anyway: Stories
- United Arab Emirates Qais Sedki Gold Ring / Maha Gargash The Sand Fish / Ameera Al Hakawati Desperate in Dubai / Mohammad Al Murr The Wink of the Mona Lisa; Dubai Tales / Deepak Unnikrishnan Temporary People
- United Kingdom Angus MacLellan Stories from South Uist / Christina Hall To the Edge of the Sea / Deborah Levy Swimming Home / Siân Melangell Dafydd Y Trydydd Peth / Vanessa Gebbie / Caryl Lewis Martha, Jack and Shanco / Virginia Woolf / Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day / JK Rowling / ed. Nikesh Shukla The Good Immigrant / Graeme Armstrong The Young Team
- United States of America Neil Gaiman American Gods / Sean Murphy The Time of New Weather / Norton Juster The Phantom Tollbooth / Michael Shaara The Killer Angels / Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible / Cormac Mccarthy All the Pretty Horses / Eliot Weinberger / Jhumpa Lahiri / Amy Tan / Sandra Cisneros / Tomas Pynchon/ Hunter S Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas / Harriette Arnow The Dollmaker
- Uruguay Juan Carlos Onetti The Shipyard; The Pit and Tonight / Felisberto Hernández Lands of Memory / Rafael Courtoisie / Cristina Peri Rossi /Eduardo Galeano / Mario Benedetti / Horacio Quiroga The Decapitated Chicken
- Uzbekistan Sabit Madaliev / Hamid Ismailov The Railway / Bibish The Dancer from Khiva: One Muslim Woman’s Quest for Freedom
- Vanuatu Sethy Regenvau Laef Blong Mi: From Village to Nation
- Vatican City Luigi Marinello & The Millenari Shroud of Secrecy of Gone with the Wind in the Vatican
- Venezuela Francisco Suniaga / Alberto Barrera Tyszka The Sickness / Ana Teresa Torres / Romulo Gallegos / Federico Vegas Falke
- Vietnam Phan Hon Nhien The Joker; Cold Eyes; Left Wing / Bao Ninh The Sorrow of War (trans. Frank Palmos, Phan Thanh Hao) / Nguyen Nhat Anh / Nguyen Ngoc Thuan Open the Window, Eyes Closed / Duong Thu Huong Paradise of the Blind
- Yemen Wajdi al-Ahdal A Land without Jasmine / Zayd Mutee’ Dammaj The Hostage
- Zambia Gaile Parkin Baking Cakes in Kigali / Field Ruwe / Binwell Sinyangwe A Cowrie of Hope / Namwali Serpell The Old Drift
- Zimbabwe Petinah Gappah An Elegy for Easterly / Tsitsi Dangarembga Nervous Conditions / Brian Chikwava Harare North / Tendai Huchu The Hairdresser of Harare / Shimmer Chinodya Chioniso and Other Stories / Stephen Lungu Out of the Black Shadows / Christopher Mlalazi They are Coming; Running with Mother
*This extra entry represented territories not on the list of UN recognised nations (plus Taiwan) that I used for this project. It was selected by a poll of blog visitors from a list of nominations.
** Moved from Bosnia to Serbia in January 2024 to reflect author self-identification rather than birthplace.
I don’t monetise this site or receive any external sponsorship for maintaining it. I fund it from the money I earn through my published writing. If you are able to support me buying one of my books, you’ll help me to keep this blog as a free resource for readers everywhere.
Spain: Miguel Delibes, “Cinco Horas con Mario” (Five Hours with Mario), published in 1966, in which a widow watches over the body of her husband in a provincial town and recalls their life together. I haven’t read this particular novel but it is one of his most popular and gives an insight into post-war Spain. His short stories are fantastic too.
Thanks Kirsty. Sounds great – I’ll add it to the list
you should read also this one: The Dervish and Death (1974) Bosnia and Hercegovina.
Thanks – sounds intriguing!
What a gift! Thank you.
Thanks – you’re very welcome
I AM A BIG FAN OF YOU JUST WANTED TO SUGGEST YOU A BOOK TO READ .
Thanks Vardhan. Feel free to write your suggestion here.
You should read this book:
“The happiness of Kati” I think it’s so interesting and this book is Thai book that translated in many language such as american english japanese chinese .
I’m your fanclub. I think this website is a creative site.
Thanks Juk!
brilliant idea for a blog on reading! I’ve found Gomorrah by Saviano in the list, Great book, interesting movie. Zero,Zero,Zero, by the same author keeps on showing the evils of our modern world, addicted to cocaine…both reviews on my blog.
Thanks
Ornella
Thanks Ornella. Yes, Saviano is excellent, isn’t he? Best of luck with your blog
tks a lot! same with yours..cheers
What a great job you’ve done ! I bet you have seen lots of epic things around woirld although you just sit in your chair~ As a Chinese, I am very glad to see many fictions I loved are listed, hoping you love them as well !
Thanks very much. Yes it was quite a journey! Glad you like my Chinese suggestions.
after u, i got a good idea that i wanted to read all fairy.i love it.Do u know ONCE UPON A TIME?a film showed mang storys.i love it.
i am not good at english,if there were some words impolite or wrong,forgive me.
Great stuff – good luck with your adventure!
For Guatemala I’d recommend I, Rigoberta Menchu…the autobiography of Rigoberta Menchu, a mayan rights activist with a first hand account of the GT civil war.
Thanks – it certainly sounds intriguing!
Poland: you should read “The Witcher” its world known fantasy, beautiful
Thanks – it sounds very interesting
That is a really great suggestion, you really should read it! It’s becoming more and more famous nowadays (due to all the computer games) and I must say it is understandable. I hated fantasy until I read it, and now I’m looking for more 🙂 The author is Andrzej Sapkowski and “The Witcher” consists of 5 vol. and 2 books composed of short stories (I recommend starting with the short stories, they will allow you to grasp the atmosphere in those 5 vol. better).
Hungary: “The Door” by Magda Szabo–This is probably my favorite book from any country.
Thanks – this is on my to-read list!
Thanks for list. I want to read more Latin American fiction and this gives me some ideas. I live in France (American origin) so I would add m.barberry s, elegance of the hedgehog. It s a gem and very enjoyable to read. I also love Maupassant. An oldie.
Neil Gaiman American Gods — NEIL GAIMAN is british not american
Thanks Tim. Yes, I know Gaiman is a British citizen. This was one of the great test cases of the project to try and see what makes a book ‘from’ a particular place. You can read about the reasons for this choice here https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2012/03/16/united-states-supersize-gods/
What an amazing collection of books! Well done you! I Hope to read them all before I kick the bucket. I’m from the Philippines and I recently finished Smaller and Smaller Circles by F. H. Batacan. It’s widely regarded as the first Fiipino crime novel. I think would be a great addition to your list if you so choose 🙂
Thanks! This sounds intriguing
Thanks.
Here is a list of Turkish literature novels for you!
-Sabahattin Ali, Madonna in a Fur Coat
-Reşat Nuri Güntekin, Çalikuşu (the Wren)
-Orhan Kemal, Cemile
-Yaşar Kemal, Memed My Hawk
-Kemal Tahir, The People of the Captured City
-Halide Edip Adıvar, The Shirt of Flame, The Turkish Ordeal, The Clown and His Daughter
-Sait Faik Abasıyanık, A Useless Man
-Orhan Pamuk, The Museum of Innocence, Other Colors
-Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Mind at Peace (Huzur)
This is a wonderful list – thanks very much!
These are really interesting books and I think it would be nice if you would read them: Nikolay Ostrovsky “How the steel was tempered”, Victor Pelevin “Generation P”, Vasiliy Shukshin “Stories from Siberia village” , Boris Vasiliev “The dawns are quiet here”
I’m a Sànish reader, I discovered your website looking for books of other countries,. As a Spanish reader I recommend federico Garcçia Lorca: Poeta en Nueva York. And for fantasy readers: Laura Gallego: The Idhun Chronicles. This is her website: https://www.lauragallego.com/en/books/books-in-english/
Hi did you see this list from Hay Festival? Books from the countries who attended the Eurovison Song contest https://www.hayfestival.com/eurovision-book-contest
Good luck with the big read!
Best wishes
Maria
Love the idea, and best wishes with getting through it – we are trying to offer a worldwide overview of books by country on our site – http://www.theculturetrip.com – might come in handy for your project!
I think this is a fab idea and I wish you the best of luck.
Natasha
Thanks Natasha. I’ll certainly need the luck…
I wish I had the time to read that many books these days. I will try to live vicariously through you 🙂
I can suggest a few from Serbia and from Bosnia. Also Try Ivo Andric (he is a Nobel prize winner for literature in 1961 and donated his money to libraries of Bosnia and Herzegovina.) He was a true Yugoslav, born to Croatian parents in Bosnia but lived his adult life in Serbia and considered himself a Serb. You should try reading the Bridge in the River Drina, but there are also shorter novels.
There is a Serb, Milos Crnjanski (or Trzrnjanski in some translations.) He lived in London and has written A Novel About London that you might find. I will enquire to my Macedonian friend of any Macedonian writer in translation.
For Montenegro you might be able to obtain in English something by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, he was a Prince-Bishop (and apparently very handsome). He wrote a lot but the best known is his poem-novel The Mountain Wreath.
Good luck.
Mira
Brilliant, thanks Mira. I’m excluding writers I’ve read before, which knocks Marquez and Atwood off, but the others are all new to me so I will add them to the list. Thanks so much for your help.
I hope you read this book (river drina) . it is a great book (given to me as a present. bt a Montenegran) and criminally neglected despite winning the Nobel Prize
Thanks Angell. I have – it’s marvellous!
here I found this on Crnjanski:
Migrations has been translated into English (Harvill 1994, ISBN 0002730049), but with the author’s name transliterated as “Milos Tsernianski”.
Just remembered another Serbian that I did buy in English. Danilo Kis. Loads of his stuff in English and some are very short. ; )
Columbia – Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Peru – Mario Vargas Llosa
Turkey – Orhan Pamuk
Slovenia – Zizek, a philosopher translated in English, (small work)
Canada – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, or anything by Robertson Davis.
Hola Mira!
Just a correction, you spelled worng “Colombia” (it’s with an “O”)
Oh… I spelled wrong “wrong”! HAHAHA! (^_^)
Cheers!
Also, it’s Robertson Davies. Misspelled in the list, too!
Thanks Mike – I’ll sort that out.
Canada;Also try Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findlay;Galore by Michael Crummey.Tamarind Mem & The Hero’s Walk by Anita Bademi.
Thanks, I’ll look into these when I next update the list.
Pingback: Help Ann Morgan: A Year of Reading (the Arabic-writing) World | Arabic Literature (in English)
For Bulgaria you should try Elias Canetti. He was born in Bulgaria to Shepardi Jewish family who were expelled from Spain in 15C. He also won Nobel prize for literature in 1981. He wrote Auto da Fe which was very popular in the 70s but his best work is his autobiography in 3 volumes …. (he did write in German so it may not qualify but I think it should as his writing is amazing and you will not find anything better from Bulgaria.). In any case, I recommend that anyone reads this as there is nothing like that that I’ve read.
By the way, do you speak any other languages?
All the best
Mira
Now this is interesting. Translator Ruth Martin recommended Canetti’s The Torch in My Ear for Austria. By the sounds of it, Canetti’s books could be in the running for four or five countries. I wonder how many other writers I’ll stumble across in this category…
I do read French and German and originally thought I would read some books in those languages for this project, but having talked about it and thought about it I’ve decided to stick to reading in English. The reason is that I want this project to be about finding out how easy (or hard) it is for one person in London to access the literature of the world and a lot of that comes down to the availability (or not) of translations. Reading in other languages would sidestep that issue.
The Torch in my Ear is the second volume of his three-volume autobiography followed by The Play of The Eyes. But he starts with The Tongue Set Free which is exceptional. In fact this has reminded me to read it again.
I think you might find Che Guevara could be ‘claimed’ by a few SA countries as their own not excluding Cuba of course.
May I second the choice for France of Alain-Furnier. The Wanderer was the name given in US but here in UK, it was published under it’s original title Le Grand Meaulnes.
I see that you have not filled in the Croatian entry. The best choice here would be Miroslav Krleza. His book On The Edge or Reason has been translated into English – I have a copy, but there could be others. He really is very good and worth a read. Of you fancy something more modern, I can suggest Dubravka Ugresic. She wrote a lot after the break up of Yugoslavia and emigrated to Holland. I personally did not read anything of hers but she did win some prizes in Europe for her supposedly antiwar stance.
Have you started reading yet? I could loan you some of the books I’ve mentionedif you like.
All the best
Mira
Thanks Mira. I’ve put The Tongue Set Free on the list for Bulgaria and will add on your Croatia suggestions too.
I haven’t started reading yet – I’m sticking to the 2012 limit, so will only be able to turn the first page on 1 January. At the moment I’m just trying to gather as many good recommendations as possible, although I will try to get hold of some books before the start of the year so that I’m all set when the clock strikes 12.
If you are able to lend me some of the books, that would be a great help.
Thanks again for your excellent suggestions
Ann
This is a great list! I thought I was reading books with a variety of settings, but I’ve got some work to do. I’ve bookmarked this page for future use. You’ve even got some Canadian authors I haven’t heard of before.
Have you read all these books?
May I suggest, for more Canadian content, Thomson Highway Kiss of the Fur Queen, anything by Richard Wagamese, Gil Adamson’s Ridgerunner has particularly beautiful descriptions of the Rockies, W.O. Mitchell’s Who Has Seen The Wind is set in the prairies, Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery is on PEI. I could keep going, but those books represent their origins very well.
Thanks Nancy. Happy reading to you!
For Burundi / Rwanda, you can read Small Country by Gael Faye.
Yes, this was a Book of the month of mine a few years ago. It’s great!
Pingback: Reading the world | Debika Ray
Tasting the Sky, a Palestinian Childhood (Macmillan, 2007) by Ibtisam Barakat for Palestine – The book won many awards and is in several languages. Reviewers called it “astonishingly beautiful” and a “masterpiece.”
From North Korea, I highly recommend, “My Life and Faith”, by Ri In Mo, an autobiography from one of the world’s longest serving political prisoners. A triumph of the human spirit, representing a point of view virtually unknown in the Western World.
http://www.north-korea-books.com/servlet/the-196/my-life-and-faith/Detail
This looks like a wonderful idea and I wish you best of luck with it – reading works from all 196 countries is a true challenge!
I note you’re missing a few European countries – if you’re short of ideas you might like to check out the Dalkey Archive’s Best European Fiction series – http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/collections/besteuropeanfiction/ – which contains stories from across Europe and would cover off the Ukraine, Slovakia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia and Lithuania depending on which year’s anthology you bought. 2011 looks to be the most comprehensive. Nothing from Andorra or San Marino in any of them, though, disappointingly.
Brilliant, thanks Elie. I shall definitely look into this.
I see that you have nothing for the Netherlands yet. Maybe look at irisonbooks blog. She did a month of Dutch literature, http://irisonbooks.wordpress.com/tag/a-month-of-dutch-literature/ I’m sure there will be something you might like to read.
Thanks – great suggestion. I’ll have look.
I can help out with the Pacific countries BUT most will be locally published and need to be sourced from the University of the South Pacific, and you need to think carefully about the difference between Pacific authors and books about the Pacific (does Robert Louis Stevenson count as a Samoan author? I say no – try Misa Telefoni instead, although his writing is less literature and more bodice ripper).
So happy to help if you want to persevere with Tuvalu, but note I leave in April so needs to be done soon.
Thanks Chakriya. I’d really appreciate any help you can give me. I agree with you about Robert Louis Stevenson; while I am accepting books by writers of other nationalities for some countries, there has to be a strong connection between the writer and the place for it to count. In general, though, I am keen to get as close as I can to writing that is from rather than simply about each sovereign state. Misa Telefoni sounds great – the books don’t all have to be high literature – in fact the more variety the more interesting the project will be.
Stunning list – interested in the Private Lives of Trees. I attempted the Secret Lives of Plants once….intense….and recently saw the Secret Lives of Lobsters. You’d have to google the author?! Amazing project!
Thanks Sally – Happy New Year!
Just to let you know, I’m linking to you on my blog. Loving your reviews so far!
Thanks Helen. I’m returning the compliment. Congratulations on your Unbound Press Best Novel Award.
By the way, I see you lived in NYC for a while. I’m here for the next week. If you have any suggestions of must dos, it would be great to have them – I know the city quite well and have done all the major touristy things on previous trips so it would be good to have some inside recommendations…
Thanks so much! Well, McNally Jackson is an excellent bookshop that hosts reading events and has one of those Espresso machines (instant book printing) which is entrancing to watch – and leads to a pile of interesting self-pubbed poetry being available in the shop. http://mcnallyjackson.com/ It also has a pleasant cafe where you can warm up and pour over your findings. There is also http://bluestockings.com/ for books and events with a feminist/LGBTQ flair.
Most of what I got up to in NYC was eating tasty things, writing and visiting the Met over and over (you’ve probably been there, though if you haven’t a good tip is it’s suggested donation, so you don’t have to pay $20 unless you feel like you want to).
Koreantown is a great destination if you are hungry for hearty food and generally nicer waiters (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/nyregion/07koreatown.html), although that depends if Korean food is to your taste (I may have a slight obsession with it).
Feel free to ask for any other more specific recommendations – my father-in-law lives in NYC and is a great source of up to date info which I can pass on.
Brilliant – thanks for that. My next post is going to be on a book I picked up in McNally Jackson the other day! It’s great and the staff are so nice. They didn’t seem to mind us pulling most of their world literature on to the floor and rifling through it making copious notes…
Korean town sounds intriguing. We will give it a look. Have a great weekend.
Best wishes for a great reading year. I just updated my blogroll to switch to your new project. It looks like you have some armchair adventures ahead of you. Having just finished eleven of the novels on the Man Asian Lit Prize longlist, I am especially interested in the books you’ve chosen from that region.
Thanks Fay – are there any among the books you have recently read that you would recommend I add to the list?
My personal shortlist for the Man Asian Lit Prize included:
The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad (Pakistan).
The Good Muslim by Tahmina Anam (Bangladesh).
The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya (India).
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (India).
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin (S. Korea).
Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke (China).
The judges chose seven books this year, and five of my six choices coincided with theirs. My miss was The Good Muslim. They chose two other books that I skipped.
Hope you find something here that looks good. I liked them all.
Brilliant – thanks!
I see that, so far, you have nothing on your list for St Kitts. Quite a well-known writer born there (parents emigrated to the UK, went to Oxford, now teaches at Yale) is Caryl Phillips. He’s written fiction, non-fiction, film scripts etc etc. His books should be easy enough to find.
http://www.carylphillips.com/fiction.html
Thanks Sue – Caryl Philips sounds ideal. I shall look him up…
Just discovered your project.
A book group I belong to started off reading around the world.
After some years we diversified but made major discoveries along the way including Kadare and:
Amin Maalouf Lebanese author writing in French from France covers other countries too, excellent and well translated.
Some of us have read and enjoyed Leonardo Padura from Cuba – superb conveyer of atmosphere – writer of literary detective fiction, very good on Hemingway and currently writing on the Cuban who killed Trotsky. Translated into English by lecturer from London Met Uni..
A marvellous project.
I could unearth a list if you like!?
Many thanks Carol – that Padura and Maalouf sound intriguing. And yes, it would be great to have a look at your list if it’s not too much trouble to dig it out! Thanks again. Ann
PS another Guardian contributor Kapka Kassabova writes of other cultures including her parents: Bulgarian + New Zealand.. Poetry and prose.
Ah, interesting – I shall explore. Thanks
OK but prob too too long to post here?? I’d also be tempted to add comments especially re those I disliked (some of those you’ve listed as intentions to read above!). We didn’t all like Kadare while I found his style perfect for the madness that is Albania.
It’s fine to email it through my website address if you like – ann’at’annmorgan.me. But please feel free to post your comments about those you disliked here – the list above is very much work in progress and consists simply of valid suggestions I’ve had so far. Many countries are far from decided yet. It’s always good to get a bit of healthy debate going…
OK! From your list above I really disliked the writing by numbers of, and the dishonesty of the Kite Runner, shameful. A controversial response.
Andrew McGahan is a very interesting Australian novelist, his novel: The White Earth is about a man’s great passion for his land that overrides any humanitarian sympathies. He tries to dominate a boy into inheriting his mad ambition, nearly succeeding. Powerful, moving.
Elizabeth Jolley is a unique fabulous writer, English born, lived in Scotland too but emigrated to Australia, wrote much from there.
Alice Munro is a great Canadian writer.
Ngugi is on your list for Kenya, very strong meat and GREAT too.
I’ve read a lot of African authors, he is one of the best.
I’ll stop now I’m adding too much.
I’m not sure how to email you via the website unless this is it? I’ve roughly annotated our book group list now. I could paste it in here but seems unfair?
Thanks Carol – interesting food for thought here.
Interesting comments from CarolS. Literature is SO subjective. Like looking at paintings. I agree with her re Kite Runner – too melodramatic for a start. I couldn’t go on past 50 pages. Same goes for Asne Seierstad’s Bookseller of Kabul. But then is any book NOT worth looking at? How is fiction ever going to compete with non fiction? But then Hillary Mantel comes up with Wolf Hall and one thinks…hmmmm…. But then it’s all about the pleasure of meeting the story teller! Good luck the Choir Girl. Keep reading. x
Thanks Mira – yes, the line between fiction and non-fiction gets blurrier the more you look at it doesn’t it? I’ll do my best!
Hurray for this project! I’ve almost finished reading Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone.ETHIOPIA/ERITREA, USA too. It’s been on my TBR mountain for ages. After a tough badly structured maybe over long?? first segment it has become momentous, unputdownable, marvellous and so worth persevering with through the beginning – vital to the novel. It’s taken me to a land I hadn’t met in literature before and to the true love of and for medicine and surgery. I’ve learnt an enormous amount from it.
I’m currently reading Beneath the Lion’s Gaze (Mengiste) for my Ethiopian title, really enjoying it! Recommended, if you haven’t chosen for Ethiopia yet.
Bradley
Bradley, you may have read my mind. Finished the Mengiste yesterday. Post coming soon…
Great minds… (haha).
I’d just like to say I’m overwhelmed with admiration for your project, especially that you’re doing it in a year (you must be a speed reader?) – it’ll take me many years. AND you write such great reviews for them all (AND work AND keep up with your correspondence.) Do you have time for breakfast too? Congratulations on the fantastic job!
Bradley
Thanks Bradley. It’s been a bit of a crazy year, but a fantastic experience! Eating breakfast as I type…
A few suggestions:
Mozambique: ‘Niketche’ (Paulina Chiziane); because it’s a cliché to only read Mia Couto and she needs more attention 🙂
Angola: ‘The Return of the Water Spirit’ (Pepetela), ‘Good Morning Comrades’ (Ondjaki)
Uruguay: ‘The Decapitated Chicken’ (Horácio Quiroga): a great collection of unsettling, morbid short-stories.
Excellent, thanks Miguel – I’ll look into these. Highlighting writers who deserve more international attention is a big part of what I’m trying to do here, so it’s great to have suggestions for less obvious choices
Hi again Miguel. I’ve looked into Paulina Chiziane’s Nikethce, which sounds great. Only problem is that the publisher that was going to publish the translation went bust before the book was finished – do you know of any other translations of Chiziane’s work?
This is such a wonderful idea. I know a few people that can help you fill in your African countries. Wendy at http://fabulosityreads.blogspot.com/ and check out Sidne reading challenge at http://vrc2012.blogspot.com/
Good Luck and I will be following along.
Thanks very much – I’ll check these out.
Wonderful work you’re doing… but I see that you put a book from Andorra… as you know, Andorra is a tiny country in the Pirenees mountain’s, and they speak Catalan. Catalonia is not a “country” -well, it is in the way of Scotland :-))) – and has a wonderful literature. Some books are translated into English -starting with the medieval Tirant lo Blanch, that Cervantes itself considered a wonderful book- Could i suggest you to visit the website of Institut Ramon Llull? It takes care os spanding Catalan literature abroad:
http://www.llull.cat
or the english version of the website:
http://www.llull.cat/_eng/_home/index.cfm?seccio=inici&subseccio=1
All my best,
Thanks very much. The links sound great. Yes, I read a book by Catalan language writer Albert Salvado for Andorra.
Sadly, with 196 books to get through this year I don’t have time to read more than one book per country, but I will check out those links and add more titles to the list where I can so that other visitors to this site can read them. Thanks very much for taking the time to comment.
Glad to see that you have included Uruguay, my native country. You can read several contemporary Uruguayan women writers (poets and short-story writers) here: http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/literature/
Good luck with your reading!
Thanks Laura – I’ll look into this. If you have any other suggestions for Uruguayan writers, I’d love to hear them too.
Oooh from Serbia you should read The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht – a wonderful book and the author is one of the New York Times best authors under 40 (she is 27).
I will be researching the best books by Honduran authors and let you know what I find
Ah yes, the Tiger’s Wife. I read it last year for my A Year of Reading Women, otherwise it would be a great suggestion. Honduras thoughts would be great
You should go through the 2011 and 2012 DSC Prize Longlists and Shortlists for some reading material.
My recommendations
– The Patience Stone – Atiq Rahimi – Longlisted 2012
– In other rooms, other wonders – Daniyal Mueenuddin – Shortlisted 2011
– Home Boy – HM Naqvi – Winner 2011
– The Thing About Thugs – Tabish Khair – Shortlisted 2012
And if you’re looking for any non-fiction – do get your hands on Aman Sethi’s A Free Man
That’s an excellent suggestion Vidushi. Thanks so much. I was not aware of the DSC Prize – I will check it out later today. Thanks for your top tips too.
Wow… this is an impressive list… how many hours will you put into it?
I come from Croatia and I am thinking that you could try “In the jaws of life” by Dubravka Ugrešić instead of the Ministry of pain, but is just my person preference 😉
Good luck!
Thanks Paula. I’m not sure how many hours it will take me, but I’m planning to get through one book from every country by the end of the year. Thanks for your suggestion – I’ll add it to the list.
Although I love Herta Muller, I am not sure if she is fully representative of Romanian literature – mainly because she writes (and has always written in German). For a good feel for contemporary Romanian style of writing, I would recommend Mircea Cartarescu, poet, novelist and essayist. Unfortunately, he has been translated far more in German and French rather than in English – the only volume of his I have been able to find is ‘Bebop Baby’, poetry translated by Adam J. Sorkin, published in NY.
Thanks very much. Cartarescu sounds interesting. Perhaps I’ll have to put him on my list for 2013 as I’m only reading prose for this project and although I can read French and German (slowly), I’m sticking to English translations. I’ll add his name to the list though so that people can check him out.
Hi there, just followed a link from a comment you left on the Guardian books site. Looks like an interesting project. I thought I’d take a look at your list and see if I could recommend anything.
Laos looked an interesting bet so I did a bit of research and I reckon you should try Mothers Beloved by Outhine Bounyavong. It’s a collection of short stories (are you reading them too, or only novels?) that looks interesting.
To be honest, there’s not much choice when it comes to Laos. Many of the Lao authors I could find were Lao-American and writing in English, which doesn’t really count does it? Looking forward to seeing what you think of it, if you choose to read it..
Thanks very much. I really appreciate you taking the time to do some research on my behalf. I’ll add it to the list.
I agree, for the purposes of this project Laos-American authors writing in English aren’t as interesting as authors writing in Lao, so it’s great to have a translation to consider.
Thanks again
How is the reading going? Telesa : The covenant Keeper by Lani Wendt Young is available for e-download for the next 24 hours if you haven’t already purchased it for ‘the list’ 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/Telesa-The-Covenant-Keeper-ebook/dp/B005I3WD8Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332204057&sr=1-1
Happy reading!
Great tip – thanks Ana. I’ll check it out.
The reading is going well. Nearly at the three-month mark and so far I’m on target… The challenge is going to be be tracking down books from some of the harder to reach places in time. But many people, like you, are being very generous with their time and knowledge and every day brings a new contact with someone willing to help, so it’s lots of fun.
Thanks again
You’re welcome 🙂
Hi,
I just noticed you don’t yet have a book for Mauritius. You could try something by Carl De Souza.
My review’s here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6414623-la-maison-qui-marchait-vers-le-large
But now that I do a search, it seems that none of his stuff has been translated into English. I don’t suppose you read French?
Thanks very much. I do read French, but for the purposes of this project, I am only reading books in English translation. The aim is to see whether it’s possible for one person in London to access all of world literature, so it seemed to make sense to stick to that. Any other Mauritian suggestions would be fab though…
For Bulgarian books: I see you already read _Natural Novel_, I’d recommend _Time of Parting_ (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3788317-time-of-parting), a powerful, philosophical and (word of warning) quite violent novel that captures the clash of opposing worldviews. I wouldn’t read it so much as a historical novel but as a sample of contemporary mythopoeia, very poetic too.
(I wonder, however, how well the translation preserved the often metric prose of the original.)
Great project — keep it up! 🙂
Thanks Kalin – sounds great. I’ll add it to the list (and to my expanding list for after this project. Translation is a real art, isn’t it? World literature lives or dies by the skill of the people who relay it from one language to another.
Thanks for stopping by
You’re welcome. 🙂
I was part of the team that translated _The Last Unicorn_ into Bulgarian; it took a long, long time and it taught us that translation is equal parts art and perseverance. (And, ah, there were more ingredients in the magic potion, but now my memory refuses to reveal them. :D)
To art and perseverance, then!
Hear hear!
Hi,
Here is a link to some Lithuanian books in English
http://www.lnb.lt/parodos/5/anglu_k.htm
I also strongly recommend books by Jurga Ivanauskaite.
Happy reading!
Thanks very much Ieva
Hi,
Greetings from Ecuador! I am very happy to hear about this amazing initiative. I am sure that if everyone would do this, our knowledge of “the other” would be so different.
I noticed that for Ecuador you still don’t have a book. I recommend “Huasipungo” from Jorge Icaza. It is an amazing story, very contextual to the history of my country.
Another great author is Benjamin Carrion, “Cartas al Ecuador” is one of the greatest books I’ve read.
Enjoy!!
Thanks Lucia – you’ve made my day. These sound great. I’ll check them out and add them to the list.
All the best from London
Ann
Hello, I am an Indian and I’d like to recommend a few books to know the country more. All of these are Men Booker Prize winners —
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Thanks Rajdeep – they’re great books aren’t they? I really enjoyed them when I read them too.
These books are very famous in the UK as well. However, I’m quite keen to find an Indian book that Indian readers admire but which may not be very well known outside the country. If you can suggest anything, I’d love to hear about it.
Hi,
check out ” na hanyate, by maitreyi devi ” or “srikanto”. 🙂
Thanks – sounds interesting
Hello from Sweden! I just found this blog and will definitely bee following it in the future. I started a similar project in november last year, but your’e keeping a much better pace than me 🙂
I hope you don’t mind me “borrowing” your book suggestion for Andorra – it sounds much better than the one I had found. I’ve compiled a list of most of the books I’m going to read which might be of some help to you. It’s at:
http://varldsbokbloggen.blogspot.se/2012/03/den-stora-laslistan.html
(Most of the book titles are in english, but the country names are in swedish. You should be able to guess most of them, but to make it a bit easier: Austria: Österrike, East Timor: Östtimor, Lettland: Latvia and many of the ones that start with C in english start with K in swedish) .
And I can’t resist making a suggestion for Sweden, even if you already have a few books for the country: Montecore, by Jonas Hassen Khemiri is a really interesting book about tunisian immigrants in Sweden that has recently been translated to english.
Hi Fredrika
Thanks very much for getting in touch. Feel free to ‘borrow’ The Teacher of Cheops. It’s well worth a read.
I look forward to studying your list. Thanks very much for your Swedish suggestion. It’s going on the list…
Best wishes
Ann
Hi Ann,
I know you’ve ticked Portugal and Italy off your list but I simply have to recommend Pereira Maintains, set in 1930s Lisbon but by Italian novelist Antonio Tabucchi. It’s an all-too-brief political thriller, by one definition, and manages to be morally confronting and charming at the same time. I’m still sad that I’ve finished it.
Other recent favourites include The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht which is really Serbian but could probably be classified as Bosnian or even American. Blends an enganing contemporary story with wonderful fables.
And New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani – which, despite the intriguing title, is a novel about a sailor who loses his memory. And although it’s mostly set in Finland is written by an Italian.
North Korea… It’s a shame that Escape From Camp 14, the true story of a lad who lived through unimaginable torments in a prison camp and eventually escaped, is written by a US journalist so doesn’t fit your criteria. I’ve not read the book yet but have heard Shin Dong-hyuk tell his story. Astonishing.
Elizabeth
Thanks Elizabeth
Excellent recommendations. Pereira Maintains sounds great. It is already on my list – only sorry I can’t read more than one book for each country. I’ll have to try it next year.
I read the Tiger’s Wife last year for my A Year of Reading Women blog – a very interesting book as you say.
New Finnish Grammar also sounds good – I heard Boyd Tonkin talking about it at the London Book Fair this week – another on for next year I think!
Escape from Camp 14 does sound interesting – have you read Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demmick? I was very interested by my North Korean book, My Life and Faith by Ri In Mo – a memoir by a North Korean patriot. While I couldn’t agree with its fundamental ideology, it was very thought-provoking and told a side of the story we rarely hear.
Thanks very much for stopping by
All the best
Ann
Hi just read guardian piece and check list think couple your blanks may have I ve cover 81 countries so far on my blog I specialise in translated fiction and other world lit will add your blog to my reader
Great stuff – will have to check out your list. Thanks very much
Gaps:
CAR: Pierre Makombo Bamboté: Princesse Mandapu (http://www.themodernnovel.com/car/bambote/princesse.htm) (not translated)
Chad: Nimrod: Les jambes d’Alice (not translated)
East Timor: Cardoso, Luís: The Crossing
Guinea-Bissau: Abdulai Sila: A Última Tragédia (not translated into English but translated into French (http://www.themodernnovel.com/guineabissau/sila/tragedia.htm)
Lesotho: Thomas Mofolo: Chaka (http://www.themodernnovel.com/lesotho/mofolo/chaka.htm)
Mauritania: Moussa Ould Ebnou: L’amour impossible (http://www.themodernnovel.com/mauritanian/ebnou/amour.htm) (not translated)
Mauritius: Anand Mulloo: Watch Them Go Down (http://www.themodernnovel.com/mauritian/mulloo/watch.htm)
Moldova:Druta, Ion: Moldavian Autumn
Mongolia: Lodoidamba, Tschadraawalyn: Der durchsichtige Tamir (only available in German)
Namibia: Joseph Diescho: Troubled Waters (http://www.themodernnovel.com/namibian/diescho/troubled.htm)
Niger: Abdoulaye Mamani: Sarraounia (http://www.themodernnovel.com/nigerien/mamani/sarraounia.htm) (not translated)
Panama: Rogelio Sinán: Plenilunio (http://www.themodernnovel.com/panamanian/sinan/plenilunio.htm) (not translated)
Paupa New Guinea: Epeli Hau’ofa: Kisses in the Nederends (http://www.themodernnovel.com/papuan/hauofa/nederends.htm); Russell Soaba: Maiba (http://www.themodernnovel.com/papuan/soaba/maiba.htm); Regis Stella: Gutsini Posa (Rough Seas) (http://www.themodernnovel.com/papuan/stella/rough.htm)
Solomon Islands: John Saunana: The Alternative (http://www.themodernnovel.com/solomon/saunana/alternative.htm)
Swaziland: Mkhonza, Sarah: Weeding the Flowerbeds
Thanks very much – lots to go on here. I do read French and German, but for this project I’ve decided to stick to English as it’s about seeing if it’s possible for someone in the UK to access all of world literature in a year. I will look into your suggestions though – who knows, someone may have an unpublished translation up their sleeves or suggestions of other related books…
I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. All the best.
I would read Murathan Mungan from Turkey!
http://nimetseker.wordpress.com/english/murathan-mungan/
Thanks very much – I’ve covered Turkey already but I’ll add him to the list so others can check him out…
Wow, great project!
I’m not sure if it’s not too late but a I have some more suggestions…
Germany: WG Sebald, Rings of Saturn – an excellently written collection of essays on topic varying from the life of Joseph Conrad to the tragic fate of Roger Casement (the same whom Mario Vargas Llosa dedicated his latest book The Dream of the Celt), to Holocaust. All inspired by Sebald’s walking tour around Suffolk.
Norway: Lars Saabye Christensen, The Half Brother – winner of the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 2002. A very poignant psychological novel, showing the history of post-war Norway through the lives of a few generations in one family.
Sweden: I know you’ve already picked Per Olov Enquist’s The March of the Musicians but I’d recommend The Story of Blanche and Marie. Inspired by real events, it’s a feminist story of the lives of three real women, Marie Curie among them. It’s a book about the development of science in the beginning of the 20th century and the abuse of women for so-called scientific reasons, but also about love and friendship. Apart from being beautifully written, it’s also very informative.
I’m also very happy that for the Polish sections you’ve chosen Olga Tokarczuk and Pawel Huelle. This are really great authors (one of my favourites) and I’m sure you’re going to enjoy their books.
Good luck!
Thanks very much Ela
I’ve already covered some of these countries, but I’ll add your Swedish and Norwegian picks to the list so that other visitors can check them out.
The Sebald sounds very interesting. I’m not doing essays this year – but I’ll have to put them on my list for 2013.
All the best
Ann
I had to jump in and second the suggestion of WG Sebald. I have not read his Rings of Saturn, but would highly recommend his novel Austerlitz which is one of the most beautiful and moving novels I have ever read. Sebald, though German, lived and taught at a University in England. He died in a car crash shortly after publishing this novel and has become somewhat of a cult figure. The novel is written in a unique style where photographs of things and places are interspersed throughout the story, blurring the line between fiction and reality. The story is of a young German boy, whose Jewish parents send him to England to escape the Holocaust. He recounts his story to the narrator whom he first meets at the Austerlitz train station in Brussels, years later. The language of the book is so poetic and the tone, very spiritual.
Thanks Jenn – duly noted
Madagascar has little literature in translation (although Claude Simon, Nobel laureate, was born in Madagascar when it was still a French colony). My recommendation is Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, one of colonial Africa’s first poets. “Translated from the Night” is available in English. For fiction, “Voices from Madagascar” is an anthology with translated stories from more modern Malagasy authors.
Thanks very much – I’ll look into the anthology.
I noticed that you have the Philippines on your travel list but no books listed. Enjoy Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn and the Rosales Saga novels (there are 5) by F. Sionil José. Cheers!
Thanks Genevieve I’ll add them to the list. Thanks very much for stopping by.
Your reading project is impressive — and clearly brings you much joy. As Conrad was fond of writing, “Ah, Youth!”
This is pretty cool! It makes my reading list of classics minuscule. Good luck with this project, and congratulations on the work that you have already completed!
Thanks very much. It’s been a lot of fun so far.
From New Zealand, much debate in the house right now. Maurice Shadbolt’s “Season of the Jew” is a strong contender for historical fiction. Of course you can’t go past the booker-prize winning but extremely polarising “The Bone People” by Keri Hulme, significant if only because it’s the only time we’ve ever won that prize (1984 from memory). Last year’s Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones was the closest we’ve come since, but that’s set in Bougainville. Of course many might say the New Zealand book to read is “Once Were Warriors” by Alan Duff. It was made into a chilling film in the mid-nineties that had a ripple effect on the country that we still feel today. And for all of that the film wasn’t a patch on the book, written in a kind of vernacular. But if you read Once Were Warriors, you would have to read “Tangi”, by Witi Ihimaera (of Whale Rider fame) lest you be left with a completely skewed impression of our indigenous heritage. This compact novel was the first published by a Maori in 1973, and my own first edition copy takes pride of place on my bookshelf. And for all of this, with a little research, you will see there is a clear bias in my recommendations. I will send this link to my MIL who will no doubt suggest some of our great names in classical literature such as Janet Frame, Katherine Mansfield. Good luck and I look forward to more reviews!
Great, thanks Nadine. I’ll look into these and look forward to any further suggestions too. Thanks for stopping by
Nice list! Mine is at http://shoshana-world.livejournal.com/ . We overlap a fair amount, but not entirely.
Great stuff. Good to hear from a fellow literary globetrotter. How long did it take you to get round?
I finished yesterday, so around 4.5 years. I’d read some before I started. Please let me know if I can be helpful with any countries–I’m now going to go back through to find and read better/more representative books for some countries, as well as some significant non-countries like Hong Kong.
Congratulations. I’m finishing this week too. All the best
Should you by any chance be looking for more books from Finland, there is (more accurately was) a writer of historical fiction called Mika Waltari, who was popular enough mid 20th C for a few of his translated works to be kicking around English second hand shops – and to be easly available via Amazon. Although I guess reading a book about Ancient Egypt by a Finn might not be the best way to get to know either culture…
Excellent, thanks. I’ll add it to the list so that other readers can check out. I don’t know, I reckon reading a book on Ancient Egypt by a Finn could be very interesting. My Andorran book was actually on that topic. Thanks very much for your comment
An interesting endeavour. I know of someone that tried to do this for the Beijing Olympics. Her list can be viewed here. As you’ll see, for some of the countries where you have yet to gain a suggestion, she had to make compromises (see: Palau).
Looking at your suggested reads — or those that you went ahead and read — I’m delighted you didn’t bother with Khaled Hosseini (truly rubbish, he is) and went for Atiq Rahimi. Like Hosseini, he may no longer live in Afghanistan but his fiction tells more of the country rather than seek to tug at heartstrings.
Would add that Sofi Oksanen is Finnish (you have her under Estonia) and Tibor Fischer is British (you have him under Hungary). On the subject of Hungary, may I also suggest Metropole by Ferenc Karinthy? I reviewed it a number of years back on my old blog (see here).
Pleased to see you have Augusto Monterroso pencilled in for Guatemala. You’ll zip through his stories in no time; he’s master of brevity.
Wish I’d paid more attention to the blogosphere in recent months, otherwise I wouldn’t just be finding your site now…and would have recommended The Invention Of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares for Argentina before you’d paid it a literary visit. Or Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, for Mexico, which I see you had listed. Or Doctor Glas by Hjalmar Soderberg (Sweden).
However, the best thing about this is the exposure to so many different cultures that bring to the table so many – at least to our culture – fresh ideas. It’s a shame that publishing remains largely wary about translations, leaving the small presses to find the gems while they hunt unit shifters. (Although it at least fosters a foothold for publishers to get in the game, giving more choice.)
Ultimately, people can really benefit from reading around the world. Writers, I would hope, even more so. Bohumil Hrabil talked of liking William Styron; Yasher Kemal appreciates William Faulkner. Writers beyond their cultures. Yet, so little does it seem reciprocated, leaving us with book shops filled with boring English language fiction that is little more than navel-gazing twaddle…and newspapers swooning over it.
Looking forward to exploring your blog some more…
Thanks Stewart. Always good to hear of more literary globetrotters.
I’ve had a suggestion for Palau which I’m on the trail of at the moment, but I suspect there may have to be some compromises for some of the harder to reach destinations – see my post on South Sudan, which only declared its independence last July.
Thanks for picking me up on the Oksanen – will amend. In terms of the Fischer, I’ve ummed and ahed about this one. He was a recommendation for Hungary and I’m still trying to work out where the line on literature and nationality is – does parentage and heritage count or is citizenship/being born in a place/ having lived there for a substantial period the only qualification for being ‘of’ a country? I’m still not 100 per cent, although in practice all my picks so far have leaned towards the latter.
Someone else recommended the Karinthy recently and I’ve been meaning to add it to the list. Maybe this is a sign that it should be my Hungarian pick…
Will add your other suggestions on too so others can check them out. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I’d call Under The Frog an English comic novel. The Karinthy is a good alternative. There’s a short collection of Ivan Mandy’s short stories in English , which I recommend highly too. It’s easy to sample one and see if you like them.
Thanks J- I’ll look into those. Yes, Under the Frog has been a controversial one. There seems to be split opinion about whether it can be classed as Hungarian…
An inspiring effort. I would like to send you a book that will add the Para-Olympics to your wonderful list. Please email a postal address to me. Best wishes. Elizabeth
New Zealand
Thank you for the kind offer, but I’m afraid I’ve already chosen my New Zealand book. I’ll be posting on it soon. Best wishes Ann
Saw your interview on CNN Inernational –
Here’s a list on books from India – http://www.thebetterindia.com/3962/10-must-read-books-on-indian-history/
Wish you good luck with your endeavor
Thanks – I will check it out
For some of the popular titles here in India – http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/en. Ruskin Bond is loved by a lot of readers, APJ Abdul Kalam ( our ex- president has few popular titles). Quite a few people like ‘India After Gandhi’ Ramchandra Guha and ‘India Unbound’ – Gurcharan Das. ; Mark Tully’s ‘No Full stops in India’
Thanks – I’ll add these to the list. India is going to be such a difficult choice.
Hi,
What a simply superb project, I am so excited to read the suggestions and the comments are such a value addition. I am going to spend my entire spare money on what I havent read so far, from your list, i guess.
I am from India, and I note that both the suggestions in comments and your list for India reads are those written originally in English. I have to say these are just second best to what regional literature we have here in over 23 official languages and a couple of hundreds of other languages spoken across the country. I suggest reading English translations of any book by M T Vasudevan Nair who writes in Malayalam, and by Asha Poorna Devi who writes in Bengali, these being my favourites. Penguin India has published both these writers in translation if I remember right. Or check with the publications of the Central Sahitya Akademi, the government wing that gives the annual writing awards. They publish all award winners in translation to English. So you have a choice for an entire new year of reading. 🙂
Other than this, I was surprised to find that the Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra was not on your list. I liked his ‘The Attack’. Actually it isnt a she its a he that writes under the name Yasmina.
And although there is no official Palestine writing Susan Abulhawa’s Mornings in Jenin is a must read if you want to see a Palestinian perspective and a counter narrative to the Jewish stories.
I am also reading West Asian fiction intensively this year, but I don’t want to burden you anymore with names.
Good effort, I will be watching this space.
Thank you very much for this Suneetha. I’ve been hoping for some recommendations for Indian literature written in languages other than English so it’s great to have these suggestions. I shall add them to the list. India is without question going to be one of my most difficult choices. It has such a rich and varied literary tradition that I could easily spend a decade just reading Indian books.
I shall add your suggestions to the list. Thanks very much for taking the time to comment
Pingback: Reading my way through summer « Life in Ljubljana
Pingback: Read the World | Women Who Stand/ Baltimore
I see you already have a long list of titles for India, but I’d like to suggest one more – Khushwant Singh.
He is one of the very best-known writers in English within India, but he is virtually unknown without.
This is rather sad, given that he has such enormous talent, but I suspect there are a number of reasons for it: he’s genuinely of India (rather a lot of the “Indian” writers beloved of the international literati seem to live in London or New York), but at the same time he doesn’t play on the flower exoticism and baroque stylistic meanderings we seem to demand of our Indian authors. He’s as likely to write about whisky-drinking and pinching ladies’ bottoms…
He’s been spectacularly prolific, and has led a very varied life – as a journalist, politician, historian, author, brilliantly vitriolic newspaper columnist – and is still just about going now in his late 90s. And he’s a bearded and turbaned Sikh to boot…
His style is crisp and pared back, almost Hemingway-esque without the machismo. He has a wry naughtiness on par with Roald Dahl, and his short stories are perfectly formed little nuggets – either wickedly funny, or with gut-punch impact.
The Portrait of a Lady: The Collected Short Stories, would be a good choice, but better still would be his magnificent little novel Train to Pakistan, the single greatest literary response to the partition of India, angry and erudite but with a very simple presentation. I read it in one sitting first time around, and the final page had me physically trembling…
Thanks Tim. Khushwant Singh sounds great. Sadly I have just read my Indian choice – I’ll be posting on it next – but I’ll add Singh to the list. Who knows, I may even mention your comment in my post!
Hi, I must say I really admire your project, I love reading and a few years ago I was wondering how many books from different countries I’ve read, I think it was about 20 or so. Anyway, this inspired me to maybe try and keep a list like that. I want to visit every country in the world so figures I could try and read a book from every country first :D.
Anyway, as I’m from Slovakia I thought I might give some recommendations. My favourite book is “Ako Chutí Moc” by Ladislav Mňačko, or “Taste of Power” it’s definitely been translated and published but it seems to be incredibly difficult getting a copy of the translation… I see you’ve also been recommended the Rivers of Babylon, which would be my second choice. This book is very raw and gritty with almost no nice characters but it’s speaks truth about what slovakia was like in the 90s and problems which still persist into this day. I don’t really know about any other translated works, which is a shame especially considering that czech and polish literature is doing quite well in translation. Speaking of polish literature you need to read Mrozek’s “The Elephant” which is absolutely amazing, political yet absurd and hilarious.
Anyway good luck with your reading endeavours 🙂
Woohoo! You have just made my day. Thanks very much – I’ve been looking for more suggestions of Slovakian authors for ages. I’ll add these to the list.
For some reason, there seem to be loads of Czech authors whose works have been translated but very few Slovakians – do you have any idea why this might be?
It’s really an interesting topic, I must admit I never really thought about it in detail, it always seems kind of like a given that czechs are more popular, we’re like the scots or welsh in the UK, largely ignored by the majority. If I may allow for a speculation, I think it all stems from the times of the commie czechoslovakia, western media were very interested in developments in our countries and published a lot of work by mainly dissident writers, however they wouldn’t really differentiate between the nations, calling everyone czech to make it easier (even though there was slovak state before czechoslovakia, although everyone kind of wants to forget about that because it was basically nazi). So the czechs made an impact with writers like Kundera who became immensely popular in the western world (not so much in czech republic as he was a commie when young and Kundera is trying to hide it). So the czechs made an impact and were relatively popular, however few years after the velvet revolution the western media stopped caring about these countries, and the publicity stopped. The czechs were already known and in demand, they were bohemian after all, and were better at selling themselves. After the split slovakia wasn’t doing so great so it took us ages to get back on our feet, but still a lot of people have no idea that Slovakia exists so no wonder no one knows about our literature. The slovak government doesn’t care about culture, the writers are busy living on meagre wages and translators are busy translating american and english mainstream literature into slovak. Also no universities are interested in teaching about slovakia, from internet search it seems like the only place in the english speaking world you’d learn about slovak literature is at the university of pittsburgh. Also in glasgow, where I study (english lit and russian) you can learn czech or estonian but tough luck if you’ve got interest in slovakia. I did the Slavonic studies module which was great fun although they talked about Czechoslovakia there was rarely ever mention about any slovaks, even though the module included hungary who are anything but slavs. Anyway, it’s difficult to get access to slovak literature which is a shame because there are some good works there…
sorry for the long post, got really into it 😀
Great stuff – very interesting to have your thoughts on it. Thanks!
I can’t believe it. No one has recommended Carlos Ruis Zafon’s Name of the Wind? (for Spain)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_of_the_Wind
Oops, I meant The Shadow of the Wind. Sorry.
Thanks tmso. Well now they have! I’ll add it to the list…
Great blog, best idea.
Samy
It’ll probably take me longer than a year to read all of these but I’m borrowing your list to make it my “to read” list. 🙂
Great – that’s wonderful. Let me know how you get on.
Hey Ann,
This is fantastic!!!
May I recommend Moon on a Rainbow Shawl by Errol John for the Trinidad and Tobago section? It is a great book and it was recently on at the National Theatre.
Keep up the good work :-).
Thanks very much Michelle. Sounds great. I have just read my T&T book – post coming soon – but I’ll definitely add this to the list so others can check it out. I’ll look forward to reading it when I’ve read the rest of the world.
Great to hear from you.
Hi! I love your blog!
For the Philippines, you must read Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco. It won the Man Asian Literary Prize (the Asian Booker) before publication and was a NYTimes notable book in 2010. A wonderful (funny) exploration of the country, it\’s history, politics and people.
Thanks, I’ll look out for it
Cool, it’s really worth the read. Thanks for a great site. Really enjoying myself, definitely adding to my to-read pile. 🙂
Brilliant stuff – just the encouragement I need as I get in from an evening out and sit down to being the next post…
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/52937-around-the-world-in-80-books
Hi!
This site will be very useful to you, because we are doing something similar. Good luck and enjoy your reading!
Marvellous – thanks. I’ll check it out. Great to hear from fellow literary globetrotters
Hello, this is an amazing project!!! I wish you good luck in completing it!!!!
Thanks – I’ll need it!
I am also amazed and honored that you have included my country’s authors in your list!!! I am a proud Moldovan !!!
By the way, am I right in thinking you’re based in Moldova? I’m still looking for a book from there. Do you have any recommendations of novels, short story collections or memoirs I might be able to read in English translation?
Yes, I am a Moldovan 🙂 I looked up the book that you listed – Moldavian Autumn, by my favorite author – Ion Drutsa! He has so many stories that I absolutely love but unfortunately, there are translations in many languages but western countries’s languages, English included (due to the political views) I couldn’t find exactly what stories this book contains but if it has Frunze de dor (it is un-translatable, it would mean: Leaves of missing somebody) and The last month of Autumn then I am sure that you will like it!!! Also, I have managed to find a translation in English of a short story – Samariteanca, here is the link to it:
http://soniamelnikova.com/id8.html
Great – thank you. I will try to get hold of a copy of Moldavian Autumn. If you think of any other authors, I’d love to hear about them. It would also be great to know which Moldovan authors who haven’t been translated you think we English-language speakers should know about.
there are not many translations in English, I will probably be one the first authors translated in English 🙂 🙂 🙂
I love the idea behind this blog, and can’t wait to back read your recommendations. Can’t wait to see future posts!
Thanks Haley. Good to have you along for the adventure.
This is SUCH a cool idea!!!!!! I can’t wait to read through all your recommendations. I love learning about other cultures, and I think one of the best ways to immerse yourself is to read their literature.
Thanks. It’s amazing how much there is to discover!
Pingback: Very Inspiring Blogger Award (& 3 week blogiversary) | Re3ecca
Hi, I’ve just nominated you for a very inspiring blogger award http://re3ecca.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/very-inspiring-blogger-award-3-week-blogiversary/ happy blogging 🙂 x
This is a brilliant idea. I wish I had come across this blog earlier. I think I might take this reading list and make it my own!
Feel free. Thanks very much for stopping by!
Pingback: read 3 books a month | pontify
Hi! Very nice, inspiring list. I am from Hungary, so I looked at your Hungarian choices with special curiosity, it was interesting to see, what would someone from an other country choose to read. I have to say, you made some very nice picks there! Also, if I can recommend you something, probably, at some point in your life, you might want to read the 2002 Nobel prize winning book of Hungarian Imre Kertész: Fateless. It is a very powerful book.
Sorry, misspelled it: Fatelessness. I tend to misspell things when I get excited about something 🙂
Don’t worry – me too!
Great, thanks Poppy. I’ll add your suggestion to the list when I next update it.
Hi! Love your blog. If you need some inspiration for Dutch books, I have a new blog focussing on Dutch Literature: littledutchbook.wordpress.com.
Sounds great. Thanks – what would your top recommendation be?
I would definitely put Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulish on your list. I haven’t read Little Caesar yet, by Tommy Wieringa, but it got some good reviews. And if you can find it Out of Mind by Bernlef, very powerful book! Happy reading!
Also, I just reposted a great review on Julia by Otto de Kat. Could be a good read!
Thanks very much for these. I’ll add them to the list when I next update it. Sadly only time for one book per country this year and I’ve already been through the Netherlands, but it’ll be great to list them for other readers and hey, there’s always next year!
I am thrilled to find your blog! I’ve been doing a similar challenge (without a “one year” time frame) and started compiling the books I read on one of my blog’s pages (http://readingtoday.wordpress.com/bookshelf-around-the-world-in-80-books/). It looks like you’ve made much more progress, and I’m so excited to check out your list and recommendations!
Thanks very much – reckon I might borrow your Sierra Leonean pick – I’ve been looking for an alternative to Aminatta Forna for ages.
And best of luck with your literary adventures too!
Wow, what a great and ambitious reading list! I was happy to find some books under Oman, where I am living now as an expat. I will have to get my hands on those books. For Greece, you might want to add Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. It’s amazing. Are you only reading novels, because the true story Eleni (Greece) is amazing as well. About South Korea: One Thousand Chestnut Trees by Mira Stout and The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee are both fabulous.
I look forward to following your quest. I too love reading books that are set in other countries, written either by native writers or expats who have traveled or lived in those countries. But my list is determined by my travel dreams. I read based on where I’m taking my next trip. 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration!
Good to hear from you. Yes, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is a great book, isn’t it? As it’s by a British writer, I can’t include it for Greece (I’m trying to stick to books by native writers or people who have lived in the country for a long time). I’ll check out your other suggestions and add them to the list if I can when I next update it.
Wow, Oman must be a fascinating place to live. By the way, the Omani book I read, My Grandmother’s Tales, is available free of charge – you just have to contact the association in the States that publishes it (see my post on Oman).
Thanks for stopping by.
Oh dear, I realized after I sent the comment that you were probably only including native writers. Eleni by Nicholas Gage is by a Greek writer (although he Americanized his name after he left Greece). He actually was born and lived in Greece until he was 9 or 10, at which time his mother sent him away to America to his father. Because the Communists in Greece were taking children from their parents to indoctrinate them in Soviet bloc countries, she defied them and snuck Nicholas away. For that she was killed and this is the story of her life. So I would consider him a native writer.
Oman is a fascinating place to live, but it’s not home, and so I will be leaving before long. But it definitely has been an experience!
I’m excited to follow your posts as you read these books!
Thanks- sounds great! I’ll look it up
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World
What an amazing, amazing project. So excited!!
Thanks Zoe – glad you like it
Pingback: Tema 2013 | Narrativa
I have begun a similar project. I am restricting myself to short stories. You have done a lot of great research.
Thanks – good luck with your project
Congratulations!
Thanks!
Wow, you’re nearly there! Congratulations, you’re a hero!
Perhaps in your literary travels you heard about some fantastic books which haven’t been translated but should be. If you have any suggestions I might have a go at translating one or two (I can only handle some Western European languages). Also, could we have a shortlist of your favourite discoveries from the project?
Thanks for sharing your adventures with the great reviews!
Bradley
Thanks Bradley. Yes, there are plenty of things that should be translated out there. Portuguese- and French-speaking African countries are particularly badly served when it comes to translation. If you have a look at my post on Mozambique (http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2012/03/22/mozambique-uncharted-territory/), you’ll see a list of writers that one Portuguese language reader admires, in addition to the novel which started the whole thing off, ‘Niketche’ by Paulina Chiziane and still is not available in English…
It’s also worth looking into works by some of the writers in the Madagascar anthology I read (to date, there is not a single novel by a Malagasy writer available in English although there are plenty of novels published).
I’ll have a think about the shortlist – it’s tricky as many of the highlights are not commercially available. Keep an eye out for the final post on New Year’s Eve….
All the best for 2013
Great project, Ann! Lovely to meet another Cantabrigian in the blogosphere (I went to Newnham). I have not read many foreign titles though “The Tale of Kieu”, an epic Vietnamese national poem, impressed me when I read it several years ago. It reads more like a story than a poem, and is a reasonably short book although deeply moving. See some information here: http://www.deanza.edu/faculty/swensson/kieu.html
Warm regards from simple cherishes.
Thanks – nice to meet you too. The poem sounds interesting. I’ve only really read prose works this year, although I was thinking of including narrative poems if I couldn’t find any prose works. All the best for 2013
A magnificent project, Ann. I also was going to suggest The Tale of Kieu which I found indispensable is grasping Vietnam’s national character so to speak. It’s like Italy’s The Betrothed, England’s Beowulf and America’s…well, Moby Dick or anything by Walt Whitman.
Pingback: 2013: New & Improved! | The Girl in the Mirror
Canada – Hugh MacLennan’s The Watch That Ends the Night is excellent.
China – Anchee Min’s Red Azalea (memoir) or any other work is amazing. I’ve read all but one of her novels because I couldn’t find it but just picked it up at The Strand a few months ago in NYC and it’s sitting on my end table waiting to be read. Great author.
Zimbabwe – Yvonne Vera’s Butterfly Burning
Afghanistan – The Bookseller of Kabul – written by a Norwegian journalist (Asne Seierstad) though, so not sure where or if it would fit in. I picked up a copy at a used bookstore when I studied abroad in France in ’06.
France – I’m sure you have many great suggestions but if not, I took 4 semesters of French lit in college and could probably suggest a handful of my favorites.
Brazil – Paulo Coelho is my favorite author and The Zahir is one of my favorite works… Although I think I saw that you won’t choose a book from an author whose work you’ve already read and I’d bet at a minimum, that you’ve read The Alchemist.
Rwanda – Gaile Parkin’s Baking Cakes in Kigali
Guatemala – I, Rigoberta Menchu by Rigoberta Menchu and edited by Elisabeth Burgos-Debray. In your initial post, I read your musing on the definition of country and it reminds me of that in some ways. Rigoberta is a member of an indigenous group and the book recounts the plight of her people.
I’ll stop there. I moved recently and don’t have my books here yet – or I’d go through my entire collection. I’m maybe a little bit too enthusiastic, so it’s probably for the best. I know I’ve read works by Palestinian, Israeli, Nepalese, Sudanese, Senegalese, Mexican, and Indian writers and probably many more if you find yourself in need of ideas (although I’m not sure these are even necessary – but most are must reads!)
By a stroke of luck, I just happened to stumble across a blog that mentioned yours and I was so excited by the concept, I had to stop by! I think I’ll try a less ambitious route and make a list of what I have read by country… and then fill in the gaps over a lifetime. 🙂
Best of luck reading!
Thanks Sarah. So glad you stopped by. The project finishes today with the post on the final 197th book of the year, however, I’ll go through your suggestions and add what I can to the list when I next update it so other readers can check them out. All the best for the New Year.
Ann,
I heard about your project on CNNi today where you mentioned this quote:
“You would think differently if this land were your land and these people were your people.”
I didn’t catch who the quote was from but found it a very interesting idea. If you can let me know who this is attributed to I’d appreciate it.
Charlie
Thanks Charlie, it’s from ‘The Corsair’ by Abdul Aziz Al Mahmoud, a Qatari novel that came out in December 2012. It’s one of the first Qatari novels ever published in English
Brilliant. It doesn’t look like it is available in the U.S. yet but it’s on my list. Thank you!
Good project Ann! I am from morocco.I saw what you have read about moroccan literature.”for bread alone” is a good choice;some people would argue about the translation though.I was wondering if you are limited to few books from each country,because there is some good books that we may call them bit more like “the underground literature” of morocco.they are really worth to be add to the list.I can bring you some names if you are interested.
Thanks – I only had time to read one book for each country, but I am adding as many as I can to the list. Feel free to email your suggestions to ann[at]annmorgan.me Thanks for stopping by
You welcome!Alright,I will definitely send you my suggestions.just out of curiosity,is there any projects for you in the coming future?
Thanks – yes. This is the next one http://ifwomenruled.com/
I sent you an email of their titles.Did you receive it?
Yes – and I have just replied. Thanks!
I simply could not leave your web site prior to suggesting that I actually enjoyed the standard info an individual provide in your visitors?
Is going to be again steadily in order to inspect
new posts
Great list. From Uganda, I strongly recommend Tropical Fish: Stories Out Of Entebbe by Doreen Baingana. It’s a great book of short stories and offers a more contemporary view of Uganda.
Brilliant – thanks. Sounds intriguing!
For Thailand, I would recommend “A Child of the Northeast” by Kampoon Boontawee. It’s about life in the Northeast region of Thailand 80 years ago. Simple but wonderful.
Thanks! Sounds great.
Hi there, I really like the idea of this blog and project. Well done for completing it. How did you find `I am a cat` by Natsume Sõseki? It`s one of my favourite japanese novels and I`m happy to see you read it. I`ve also read a short story each by two of the other writers you mention – Hiromi Kawakami (not the same one as the one you mention if that`s a short story) and Yoko Tawada. Great stuff. I recommend though for the future the author Yasunari Kawabata – Snow Country in particular which is the only one so far I`ve read from him (but I plan to read more). Again, well done!!
Oops apologies, I just read the bit at the start where you say the list are just recommendations. Doh!! But in any case, which of the Japanese books did you choose in the end?
Thanks – I chose Manazuru (if you click on the country names it takes you to the review for each country). Thanks for stopping by!
Pingback: The Off Season
Pingback: Stories « Plan B
Suggestion for the Virgin Islands: “Under Caribbean Skies” and “Moonlight Over Caribbean Skies” by Aisha Banks. Great fast fun reads. Make you feel like you’re in the islands without leaving your home. ENJOY!
Thanks – sounds like these would have been good contenders for the Rest of the World list…
Pingback: Sloungy Reads: A Year of Reading the World
This is brilliant!
Thanks!
Thank you! You’ve inspired me! When I was in my early teens, I had made it my goal to read every single Nobel Prize-winning author up through 1978 or so, and I DID! I felt very proud of myself.
Your project reminds me a little of that year in my teenagehood. Now, you’ve inspired me to want to do what you’re doing!
Great stuff – thanks very much. The Nobel Prize project sounds fascinating. Thanks for stopping by
Its not just a project, it sounds like a research 🙂 simply inspiring… And for people, passionate for reading literature from around the world, but are unable to steal time from their busy schedule, its a dream..
Well being from India (you already have a an endless list though), I would suggest my favorite- The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga, u see, there is something the world should know about the other sides of the country too :)…
And i din’t found Kahlil Gibran, A Lebanese writer, whose famous is The Prophet…
I just loved the idea of reading under such a motto, it will make life worth..
Thanks very much. Yes, The White Tiger has been very popular here in the UK. I don’t know of Gibran, though. Sounds intriguing…
Yes it is…Gibran, for me is peace…
I recommend u, when you want something to let you out of all the worldly mess, just go through Gibran..
Best of luck..
Love,
Ghaniya Aureen
Hello from Finland. I was curious to see which book represents Finland. There where good ones but I noticed Sofi Oksanen’s Purge was situated in the Estonian group of books. Originally this book was written in Finnish by Finnish author Sofi Oksanen in Finland. Anyway, congratulations for your magnificent tour around the world with books!
Thanks very much for your comment – I’ll check this out and correct it. Maybe it’s her Estonian mother that ended up with Oksanen being filed under the wrong country!
Thanks! This was quick! Yes, the story tells about Estoania and Sofi’s mother is Estonian.
Good evening from Finland 🙂 of those listed in Finnish books I’d definitely recommend Paasilinna, as the book tells a lot about the Finnish way of thinking and acting. Sinuhe is a wonderful story but set in Egypt, could have been written by any nationality.
Thanks, yes, I read the Paasilinna. It was great.
Hi Ann
I suggest the following books from India. The first Zero Degree is a translation fron Tamil. The Author Charu is a critically acclaimed writer.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zero-Degree-Charu-Nivedita/dp/8190605615 I can send a copy of the book if you would like one. You would love this book written in a non linear, more like a jottings of a schizophrenic mind
Also Alchemy of desire by Tarun is a good one. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alchemy-Desire-Tarun-Tejpal/dp/0330435558/. Even VS Naipaul loved this one.
I can be reached on kannan.pmp at gmail.com
Good luck with your project
Kannan
Also Zero Degree is listed under 50 best indian books.
Thanks, it sounds fascinating. The project has finished now, but I might well read it for my own interest. Thanks for stopping by.
Pablo Palacio es may be the best Ecuadorian writer. Also you can include Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco, Jorge Enrique Adoum, Alicia Yánez Cossío, Gabriela Aleman…
Interesting, thanks – I’m guessing most of these aren’t available in English translation…
Hello from Spain. Lovely and hard books the spanish novels chosen in the list. Brilliant idea. Just read the story in the bbc site. I would like to add a very good title: Sefarad, from Antonio Munoz Molina. All the best.
Thanks – it sounds great. I haven’t updated the list in a while as the project’s finished now, but perhaps I’ll have to go through and add these extra recommendations on when I have time. Thanks for the comment.
Congrats Ann, the project is amazing! Very inspiring! Looking forward to reading your book! 😉
Thanks Ana – me too!
How on earth did you read all those books in one year.
I’ll be lucky if i get through that many books in my life time.
Ha! I think it was just about being organised (and more than a bit obsessive). I worked out how many pages I had to read each day and stuck to it.
Hi, For the obsure books that you had either had translated or had one of kind mailed to you. Is it possible for you to host them somewhere so that the rest of us could read? I am planning on using your list as a guide and read all the books you listed, just not sure I will be able to get hold of some of them.
Hi – it’s a nice idea, but it wouldn’t be very fair to the poor authors whose copyright I’d be infringing. Hopefully this project will encourage publishers to make them (and other books like them) more accessible to other readers.Thanks for your comment.
Hi, i am from Sri Lanka, and i just got to know about of your wonderful effort of ‘Reading the World’. Good luck and what a nice way to discover the world. As a teacher i would suggest my students too to get hold of books(good reads) from different countries and read. with the advancement of technology the concept of READING a real(printed on paper) book is now fading away, but on the other hand children have more opportunities to access the world more than what we got in our younger days.
If you can consider at least one book by Martin Wickramasinghe, a great author from Sri Lanka who’s writings based on typical Sri Lankan values. I would suggest the English Translations of ‘Viragaya'(Devoid of Passions) and/or the trilogy, ‘Gamperaliya'(The Uprooted), ‘Kaliyugaya'(Age of Destruction) and ‘Yuganthaya'(End of the Era).
Thanks very much. These sound intriguing. All the best to you and your students
Pingback: Reading the world in 196 books | Let's Talk About Books
Pingback: Off topic: Peashooting, around the world in books, tsunami ball, ‘These Boots’ covers | SiliconBeat
From Pakistan, to help narrow down the search, I highly recommend Daniyal Mueenuddin In Other Rooms – Other Wonders & Kamila Shamsie – Kartography and Burnt Shadows (you don’t have it on the list, it’s her best). Bapsi Sidhwa is amazing however I would also recommend American Brat or the Pakistani Bride by her. 🙂 Happy reading. Can’t wait to see your final list.
Thanks for these suggestions – my final list is on the site. You can click the country names to see what I read for each nation.
Pingback: Writer Ann Morgan’s Bookish Exploration of the Globe | Literary Rapture
Hello. Nice project. Now, when this is over, I recommend to you a Romanian writer – Dan Lungu. He’s been translated in French and German; unfortunately, not in English. One of his books that I enjoyed most is his first published novel – “Hens’ Heaven” (the French edition is “Le paradis des poules. Faux roman de rumeurs et de mysteres”, Editions Jaqueline Chambon, 2005). It’s a novel about the small world of a street at the outskirts of a Romanian city, where people live only to be in the center of attention, and that makes them do whatever it takes to get the attention they crave. It’s immensely hilarious and benefits from the author’s sociological expertise.
Thanks – it sounds great. I hope it gets translated into English soon!
Pingback: Писателка обиколи света за една година чрез 196 книги - Pure Beauty
What a great idea!
P.S. I really recommend Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder for Haiti
Thanks very much!
Pingback: The list | Mafeesh Space
Great idea! I would suggest In the Skin of the Lion by Michael Ondaatje. My favourite Canadian novel…
Thanks, yes, I’m an Ondaatje fan too
Aruba is now a seperate country, i will think about a book
Thanks – the project’s finished now, but do feel free to post your ideas if you think of something.
Pingback: Какво мисли Деница Дилова за някои от книгите прочетени Ан Морган | Scalino
Dear Ann,
Looking at the Bulgarian part of the list I think there are better choices. I would like to recommend you “The peach Thief” by Emilian Stanev (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peach-Thief-Other-Bulgarian-Stories/dp/030493271X).
And the movie: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+peach+thief&oq=the+peach+thief&gs_l=youtube.1.0.0l3.30890.38646.0.41396.15.12.0.3.3.0.236.1776.0j11j1.12.0…0.0…1ac.1.11.youtube.7kZjMP4ZcJk
The novelette is one of the best not only in the Bulgarian but the world literature as well.
Thanks – it sounds intriguing.
Pingback: Le scelte italiane e tedesche di Batsceba Hardy | Scalino
Pingback: Il blog di Scalino presents Il Naso di Fabio Izzo | Scalino
Pingback: Мартин Христов за българските и унгарските книги в читателския списък на Ан Морган | Scalino
Pingback: Davide Fanciullo, lettore e traduttore dal bulgaro, serbo e macedone | Scalino
Pingback: Giorgio Lonardi: Purtroppo di Gian Giacomo Feltrinelli ne nasce uno per ogni generazione | Scalino
Italy: Marani’s New Finnish Grammar is wonderful, but I could also recommend the books written by Alessandro Baricco, for example the Ocean Sea or the Mr Gwyn.
Good luck! 🙂
Great – thanks!
you should add Pramoedya Ananta Toer to Indonesia list. he’s a must. Great list by the way!!!
Thanks – he sounds fascinating.
I love your project!
If you haven’t finished yet, actually, finished or not, I would definitely recommend you to read something from the croatian writer Marija Jurić Zagorka, her most popular work would be ”The Witch of Grič”, but it is a cycle of seven novels, so it is probably too long for a project like this, but my personal favourites are ”Daugther of the Lotrščak” and ”A stone on the road”.
Also, to read bosnian literature and miss Meša Selimović is imaginable for me, I really recommend two of his works, ”Death and the Dervish” and ”The Fortress”.
All the best. Enjoy!
Thanks – they sound great. I’ll have to add them to my post-world list.
Pingback: “Let us read with method, and propose to ourselves an end to which our studies may point. The use of reading is to aid us in thinking”*… | (Roughly) Daily
A great selection (not only because it includes me ;-). Congratulations. Will take the advice for the lesser-known literatures & check quite a few of the listed authors!
Thanks very much stopping by – I’m glad you approve!
I don’t know if there’s English translations of the following short stories of Jorge Luis Borges (he didn’t like writing novels). I read them from time to time, and it’s always like travelling in time and faraway lands. Think you might like them.
-Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius (from “Ficciones”, 1944);
-El Inmortal (from, “El Aleph”, 1949);
-Inferno, I, 32 (from “El Hacedor”, 1960).
Thanks – Borges is very much on my to-read list.
I’d recommend anything written by Nguyen Nhat Anh for Vietnam.
Thanks – duly noted.
Puerto Rico- La carreta-English: The Oxcart) is a 1953 play by Puerto Rican playwright René Marqués.[1] The story follows a family of “jíbaros” or rural peasants that in an effort to find better opportunities end up moving to the United States
By: Rene Marquez
Sounds interesting, thanks. I wasn’t including plays for this project, but this one certainly makes me curious.
I recently read This Blinding Absence of Light and I highly recommand it to you ! In my opinion, it Tahar Ben Jelloun’s best novel (Morocco).
Thanks – I must give it a try.
You’re welcome!
I hope you’ll like it as much as I did !
Pingback: Weekend Indulgences 2 | Unnecessary Indulgences, Unproductive Interests
Hi 🙂
The book “Like Eating A Stone” by Wojciech Tochman is indeed about Bosnia and Herzegovina. But actually this book is one of the greatest exemplification of good POLISH non-fiction literature and Wojciech Tochman is POLISH jurnalist.
Thanks very much – I’ll look into this.
Thank you so much for posting and sharing your list. This is truly awesome. I am strongly considering doing this next year. Kudos to you!
Brilliant. Thanks Kristina. I hope you enjoy the journey – it’s certainly a big adventure!
Pingback: lista piątkowa XV | Warszawski Kredens
Wow, wow. What a fantastic list and a phenomenal accomplishment! 🙂
Thanks very much!
A lot of mexican books : )
Oh yes!
May I add to your South African list, as it is almost criminally lacking 🙂
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Power of One by Bryce Countenay
Fiela’s Child and Circles in the Forest by Dalene Mathee
Poetry and Plays by Athol Fugard, Breyten Breytenbach, Ingrid Jonker, John Kani and Antjie Krog
The first two are certainly compulsory. The Mathee novels will make you fall in love with the landscape of my birth – I still cry through most of her descriptions of the coastal forest – and the playwrights and poets give deep insight into the political times.
Thanks – they sound interesting. I will have to find time to update the list again soon.
Hi! I just started my own book review blog and the twist is that I want to feature small local book shops as well as have folks send me books they would like for me to review. Any suggestions for a new book blogger?
BTW, amazing blog!
Cheers,
Seegee
Thanks – write about what you’re interested in and try to make it as good as you can. Good luck!
You are doing a great job!
For Saudi books I do not recommend girls of Riyadh novel
since it is written by a very beginner author.
You might want to read something for Dr.Ghazi Al-Gusaibi.
Good luck 🙂
Thanks!
Thank u so much. I found out something I didn’t know about.
You’re welcome.
From Portugal, I suggest Fernando Pessoa. “The keeper of sheep”, by his heteronym Alberto Caeiro, is one of my favorite books. I’m not sure if it was published in English under this title, but I found the reference of “The Collected Poems of Alberto Caeiro” [Chris Daniels, transl, Exeter, UK: Shearsman Books, 2007] which certainly contains this text.
From Mozambique, I would suggest “O Fio das Miçangas”, by Mia Couto, but I see Mia is already on your list and I couldn’t found any translation of it.
From Brazil, there’s “Dom Casmurro”, by Machado de Assis [Trad. Helen Caldwell. London: W.H. Allen.]. Assis founded the Brazilian Academy of Letters and this book, I guess, is the better known/read/discussed book around here. The plot is brilliant and puts us on doubt about what really happened and what is only Dom Casmurro’s imagination, as he’s the story teller- so the discussion will never end.
Also, the letter Pero Vaz de Caminha sent to Portugal about the “discovery” of Brazil is very interesting. I couldn’t found the publisher’s reference, but I’m sure it was translated to English ’cause I found some .pdf versions of it on Google.
I loved your project! It made me realize, once again, how powerful literature is, and how powerful each one of us human beings are just by the fact we can communicate – talking, drawing, writing or reading books. Thank you!
Thanks very much. Your recommendations sound great.
WOW! I am already a fan! Can’t wait to go into your list! Tks for sharing!
Thanks – hope you enjoy the books.
have you read any of my books? listed at http://www.saadhu.com, and available on Kindle?
No – thanks for the heads up.
Thank you…for the idea it’s a great opportunity for you and for us to learn about books of all over the globe…:)
Thanks Aziz. I’m glad you like it.
This blog is a information storehouse for readers. For India you can also add tagore works. I have read a few of them. Here is my blog on one http://sanchitasarkar.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/gora-book-review/
Thanks. Yes – I love Tagore. In fact we had a song written from one of his poems at our wedding.
according to your experience, the list of “100 books that must be read before death” can be replaced by ” 196 books that must be read during one year”.
Ha! Thanks. Actually, I’ve ended up with enough recommendations to keep me busy for a whole decade at least!
For Tanzania I could recommend a novel published by a foreigner who lived there for many years and got involved in top level football – and got a privileged look into the society and the culture in the process. “More than a Game” by Ronny Mintjens …
Thanks – sounds intriguing.
Pingback: One Year Reading a Book from Every Nation in the World | Publishing Perspectives
Much greetings from Lebanon, birth land of cultures, religions and languages.
I must congratulate you on your project, it’s very inspiring! I hope you enjoy the Lebanese literature in personal (combination of French, Arabic, and English), the Arabic literature in specific, and global literature in general!
Most Lebanese would recommend Jubran Khalil Jubran (or Gibran), Amin Maalouf, and other old famous excellent writers. But I would add to that the new Lebanese youth who are writing now in English and French in addition to Arabic, in fiction and non-fiction of all categories.
There are many great publishing houses here. But I personally recommend the publishing of Dar al-Saqi which you can find in the UK.
link: http://www.alsaqibookshop.com/
http://www.saqibooks.co.uk/books/
Also, other amazing publishing houses are Hachette-Antoine and Nawfal.
GOOD LUCK! (^_^)’
Many thanks. I’m certainly looking forward to reading more Lebanese books!
This is easily the most ambitious reading project I’ve seen in years. I think it’s absolutely brilliant. Thank you for sharing your list with us!
Gosh. Thanks very much.
Tonga – you have to read Epeli Hau’ofa – Tales of the Tikongs.
Great idea, by the way!
Thanks – sounds intriguing!
Wow – this is an impressive list. I balled my eyes out with The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns. Need to read more I think! Thanks for the inspirtaion 🙂
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
I’m surprised you don’t have “Cry, the Beloved Country” or “Long Walk to Freedom” under South Africa.
Thanks. Long Walk to Freedom isn’t there because I was deliberately excluding books I’d already read to avoid the temptation to cheat, although I should probably update it now!
Pingback: The list | I Can't Stop Raving
Pingback: The list | Right to the (Pen's) Point
Great!! Thank you for this post!!!
Thanks for the comment!
Pingback: Book Review: The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi; Translated from the French by Polly McLean | Of Books and Reading
India ,you have left books by Late Sunil Gangopadhyay “Those Days”
Thanks.
There’s a new Lithuanian book that’s been published in Kindle format, might be interesting.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hour-Wolf-Steam-Stone-ebook/dp/B00EZ3QWF0/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1381478068&sr=8-11&keywords=the+hour+of+the+wolf
Interesting – thanks for the tip off!
Pingback: Reading the world – Ann Morgan and the power of blogging | The Collective Press Co.
Pingback: Currently… | My Heart's Content
Pingback: Lendo o mundo em 196 livros: escritora lê um livro de todos os países do mundo em um ano. | Relato de um Empreendedor
Why so much..??
Do you remember everything from all that you read..?? Story..?? Style..?? (say anything from ‘The Train to Pakistan’, by Khushwant Singh.. how much of it can you recall..??)
Did some work inspire you to explore more of certain writers..?? What did you do then..??
That’s a lot of questions! I only chose one book from each country, but it was still a lot of books! It was a great adventure – and yes, I can remember a lot of them. I think writing about them on the blog helped. Thanks for your comment.
Thanks for sharing this. I’ve been majorly inspired by you – although so far I’ve read books from only 23 countries and have a far way to go.
Thanks – happy bookpacking!
Of the Norwegian authors, I must admit I don’t like any of them but for Lars Saabye Christensen (I’m an avid reader and a librarian). If I were to suggest books from Norway, they would be:
The Naked Madonna by Jan Wiese
Before You Sleep by Linn Ullmann
Lasso Round the Moon by Agnar Mykle
Egalia’s Daughters by Gerd Brantenberg
Books I wish I could have suggested, but that are not translated (yet?) are:
The Man Who Loved Yngve by Tore Renberg
A fool free by Beate Grimsrud
Wow – thanks. What a selection. I read Egalia’s Daughter’s this year for my new project If Women Ruled and thought it was fabulous. I’ll have to check out some of your other suggestions…
Just echoing what everyone else has said here – this is such a great idea – for a blog/for choosing books/for learning something a little different about the world. I will definitely check out your reviews and return to this page next time I’m looking for something new to read. Good luck with your book!
Thanks very much. I hope you enjoy the list.
Well, I couldn’t read all the replies about your list, so I don’t know if this autor was already suggested:
try, whenever you can, reading João Guimarães Rosa, from Brazil. I don’t think you will find translations to english so easily, since Guimarães Rosa created many words that don’t have translation. This words, his vocabulary, are one of the best things about his stories. And that’s what it makes them so special.
Finally, I loved your idea of ‘reading the world’. I wish I could have the time and energy to read so many books at such a small period of time.
Still, I will try to read some of your list.
Thanks – sounds intriguing!
Pingback: Reading Around the World | Random (but not really)
Pingback: November 2013 | Sterling News
Hi Ann,
Very interesting project.
I am from India, and there is nothing much to suggest from my side, as you have already covered most of them 🙂
I could see works from even my mother tongue “Malayalam” in your list by “MT Vasudevan Nair” and “OV Vijayan”.
Great effort and I really appreciate it.
I’ll be following you.
All the best.
Thanks very much Sreejith. I’m glad you like the suggestions. India was definitely my toughest choice!
Pingback: One Reader. One Year. 197 Books. | Kutztown University Professional Writing
Hey! Just wanted to tell you that your blog has inspired me to do something similar! It’s a great way to learn about other cultures and visit places that I don’t (yet) know 😉
This is my blog – http://voltaaomundocomlivros.wordpress.com/.
For now it’s only available in portuguese but I’ve been thinking about translating to english too!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Mariana Almeida
Great stuff Marian. I’m really glad. Best pf luck with it and let me know how you get on.
You have my respect! Daniela from Slovakia
Thanks Daniela. That’s nice of you to say.
I found out about your wonderful mission only last night in a discussion and as an Iranian I was so curious what you’d read. Brilliant choices! I’ve read both Parsipur and Dolatabadi books in the original Persian and I hope that translators did them justice. Both are about the struggles of my grandparents and parents’ generation, as they grappled with life and inner dogma. Out of the three as glimpse into today’s Iran I would have chosen Alavi’s book. It captures the essence of a generation of Iranians I was a part of like no other. I hesitantly read it when it fort came out, as I was about to start post-grad studies in the UK. I liked it. But I reread it after 2009 ‘green’ protest in Iran and I loved it even more. For it identified the key players and predicted the political power of social media years before it could even be envisaged. It’s wonderful document of who we are. Most books I’ve read on Iran, are by Iranian ex-pat arm chair academics who all seem to have left the country around the 1979 revolution and their distance shows. But We Are Iran is about the children who grow up under the revolution and their legacy. If you are interested in then they should read it.
Thanks very much, Sara. We Are Iran is definitely on my to-read list. It sounds fascinating. Great to have your views.
Pingback: 12 Must-have Gifts for Students Studying Abroad | Travel Vacation Dream! Plan your next Vacation
Tertium Organum – Ouspensky
Thanks David – it sounds like Ouspensky’s novel Strange Life of Ivan Osokin might be more of story, which is what I’ve been looking for during this quest. I’ll add it to the list
Hi David since you mentioned Tertium Organum (a personal favourite of mine) I thought you might be interested in the 2020 podcast on Tertium Organum (Philosophy Rekindled covered it for the full year of 2020) – it’s on most podcast platforms but here is the Spotify one https://open.spotify.com/show/45tKZBhNghDc0MwJGPgA2O?si=VGutV225RYaZ9IUjGogHxQ
Pingback: Reading your way round the world | PocketCultures
Pingback: Reading Around the World
Amazing Blog and books recommendations. I was curious what books of Mircea Eliade you have read in the Romania section. I would recommend Maitreyi:
http://www.amazon.com/Maitreyi-Mircea-Eliade/dp/9731041877/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388165158&sr=1-2&keywords=mircea+eliade+maitreyi
Bengal Nights by Mircea Eliade :
http://www.amazon.com/Bengal-Nights-Novel-Mircea-Eliade/dp/0226204197/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388165280&sr=1-1&keywords=mircea+eliade+maitreyi
The Secret of Dr Honingberger:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_of_Dr._Honigberger
Thanks Cris – Maitreyi sounds great. I’ll investigate!
Hi!
I have a very similar book blog project going on, only I haven’t limited the amount of time I’ll spend looking for and reading books from every country of the world. Your list will be a big help! I only just heard about your project, but it doesn’t surprise me that many people have got more or less the same idea without knowing about each other.
I hope your blog has inspired more people to read translated literature. I myself have always loved to read translated books even though many of my friends prefer books written in our native language Finnish.
You said in The Atlantic that you basically only read books in English. You’re very lucky to have a native language that allows you to find translated literature from every country in the world in your own language. Since my native language is not widely spoken, I wouldn’t be able to read books from every country in the world if I couldn’t read them in other languages as well.
My blog is in Finnish, so unfortunately I can’t invite you to read it, but if you wish to take a look at my choice of books so far, you’ll find the blog at http://kirjajokamaasta.blogspot.fi.
Best wishes to you,
Maria
from Finland
Thanks Maria – always good to hear from another world reader. There are certainly lots of us out there. Best of luck with your own adventures!
I would like to suggest u.to read “Blue mimasa” by parijat. A melalu writer. The nobel blue mimasa hasbeen teaching. In america. Meryland university.
Great – thanks very much
I am from Malaysia and strongly recommend you reading the works of A. Samad Said.
http://www.sabah.edu.my/csm07001/poem_deadcrow_poet.html
Thanks – I’ll add him to the list. Nice picture by the way!
Pingback: Lalagè las in 2013 | Lalagè leest
William Dalrymple’s ‘Delhi – City of Djinns’.. A must read..!! 🙂
Pingback: Reading anyone? a New Year’s resolution | Crysteljasmine
Hello. Comment from an Icelander currently in Nepal. Your website was recently featured on an Icelandic news website. Was interesting if you have statisics on author regarding gender. How is the male/female percentage in your adventure?
Hi Thorsteinn. Thanks for your comment – it’d be great to see a link to the Icelandic news website as I haven’t seen the article myself! In terms of gender balance, I would say somewhere between a third and a half of the books I read are by women (although I haven’t formally counted up yet – perhaps I should!). Gender wasn’t a central consideration for me, although I did sometimes deliberately opt for female authored works where they seemed particularly interesting – for Lesotho and Saudi Arabia, for example. Thanks very much for stopping by.
Here’s the link on the news about you: http://www.dv.is/frettir/2014/1/4/las-allan-heiminn-ari-XJKVE4/
BTW, have you got a tip of how to access many of these books. The book about the African in Greenland I found very interesting but I’m not sure it’s available in many places?
Lovely, thanks. Many of the books are difficult to find – a lot were sent to me specially by people who wanted me to read them. Some are more widely available however. Last I checked, An African in Greenland was available on Amazon. Abe Books is also a good source…
Pingback: Links to Think: 14.01.06
Pingback: Winter Break Reading Suggestions • The Judge Ben C. Green Law Library • Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Hey from Ireland. Delighted you read the Third Policeman. It doesn’t get mentioned alongside the likes of Ulysses very often. Only finished it – really enjoyable. Good luck with your book next year!
Thanks. It’s an extraordinary read, isn’t it? A great find.
Pingback: Expanding Reading Horizons | Bailey's and Books
Although it looks like you generally don’t need more books to add to the list, I just want to add that the quintessential book of Tajik literature, Yad-dasht-ha (Reminiscences) by Sadr al-Din ‘Aini, has been translated by a scholar in the field (or should I say, one of the two scholars in the field).
http://www.amazon.com/The-Sands-Oxus-Reminiscences-Bibliotheca/dp/1568590784/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
The book is essentially ‘Aini’s memoirs, detailing his life growing up as a Tajik in Bukhara, mainly among Uzbeks. I’m not sure if the book fits the bill for your blog, as it was published in the early 1950s in Stalinabad (now Dushanbe), before Tajikistan existed as a nation. But unlike your other novel from Tajikistan (written in Russian), ‘Aini’s memoirs were written in Tajiki, and he is claimed as the father of modern Tajik literature nowadays. I study Persian literature, so when I lived in Tajikistan, almost every educated Tajik would ask me if I had read ‘Aini. You can find his bio here:
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayni-sadr-al-din
And a helpful article on Tajik literature here (one of the few):
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fiction-iih-in-tajikistan
Not that you’ll have time to read those with all your novels to tackle!!! Best of luck on your quest.
Thanks – these sound fascinating. I’ll check them out when I next update the list.
Hello. I’m from Vietnam. I would like to suggest the book “Open The Window, Eyes Closed” by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan. For me, it’s a beautiful novel for children.
Please take a look: http://talkvietnam.com/2011/05/tuoitrenews-carry-portions-children-book/#.UtftunBPI2Y
Best,
Thanks – sounds interesting. I’ll check it out when I next update the list.
Pingback: books read in 2013 | Reeves Family Journal
Pingback: A year of reading the world | Learn, travel, photograph
Pingback: Armchair Adventurers Unite! Ideas for taking your next journey from home. |
Pingback: 12 Must-have Gifts for Students Studying Abroad - Stacie Berdan
Pingback: Friday round-up: Writing tips, Asian children’s literature, classic books and longhand note-taking | Anjali Mitter Duva
Fantastic idea! I’ve read a few of them but have quite a bit of catching up to do 🙂
Thanks – hope you enjoy them!
Pingback: Complemental Lives
I think I am the last one to comment on it, but thnx anyway for sharing the list, Iam 23 yrars old and have a life before me but still want to read them all before dying! Thnx again 🙂
Thanks. Enjoy!
Hi.
Only just discovered your blog, which is amazing. A few people have been doing something similar on Librarything.com, including me, though no-one has got quite as far as you! If you are interested, my posts and list are at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/28295
There is also a Finnish guy who has interesting posts:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/148398
What I find slightly depressing is how similar our lists (yours and mine) are, indicating perhaps how many countries we have very little access to literature from. The Finnish guy’s list is very different to mine, and there is lots of stuff translated into Finnish which is not available in English.
Anyway, thanks for the posts. I will be mining your list to help me complete mine.
Andy
Hi Andy. Good to hear from you. Yes, the sad truth is that there are many countries with only one author or even one novel commercially available in English (as well as a number with nothing commercially available at all – I read a quite a few unpublished translations during my quest). I hope projects like yours and mine will encourage publishers to back more literature from elsewhere. Good luck with the rest of your quest, Ann
Pingback: The list | Palmilhando
Pingback: In één jaar lezen de wereld rond | Nelleke Groot
好像没有看到马来西亚的？
Malaysia is on the list – I read Shih-Li Kow’s Ripples and Other Stories from there.
Pingback: Why Read World Literature | The English Teacher's Notes Blog
Pingback: Somewhat Related Links for an End-of-Winter-Day | ESL Marriage
Pingback: Around the World in…195 Books | Always Love.
Pingback: Reading the world in 2012 | The Toynbee convector
It’ fantastic. I’m sorry if I skipped some information, but I didn’t see anything related with Timor Leste. Am I wrong?
Thanks Fernando. It is there but under East Timor. Perhaps I should change it to Timor Leste!
To learn about the struggles in America about Americans of all ethnicities, read The Dollmaker, by Harriette Arnow
Thanks Verna. I’ll look into it.
Just discovered this world books list for the first time via the BBC website. Any other fans of Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy (India) out there? Please don’t try to read it in 1.87 days, read it slowly and soak it up. A book to stay with you for always.
Thanks – yes, it’s quite a read isn’t it!
My mother bought A Suitable Boy in 21 September 2000. 13+ years down the road, my reading of it is still in progress.
Wow – that’s impressive. I hope you are finding it worth the time!
Really a fancy idea!
There’s an old Chinese slang “Thousands miles of travel and thousands volumes of reading make people a saint”.I am jealous of you for you have enough time to fulfill your favorites. I’d like to advise you to read some works by Wang xiaobo, such as Black iron age, Silver age,Bronze age and Golden age(i don’t know whether i translate these titles correctly).
All the best
Thanks very much. They sound fascinating. I will see if I can find them…
Ann, I suggest to add one more book for Ukraine – “Evenings in a village near Dikanka”, by N.Gogol (1809-1852). He was one of the first authors to introduce the spoken Ukrainian to the official literature. Hope, you like it – I think it’s fun! You can read it at the weblink below. Good luck!
Thanks – I’ll add it to the list when I next update it.
UPENN has an option to choose a book by the author’s country of origin
1) search by subject – U – Ukrainian, or
2) see the left-side menu here –
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/
Great stuff – thanks Ulianka. A useful resource!
This is an amazing project. Well done!
Thanks!
What a great idea realizing “one world” and may be starting to leave any colonial approach for good.
Thanks – or possibly many worlds. No two readers’ worlds are quite the same I think…
Pingback: The-best-ones-in-March | between worlds
I came upon your blog from the list of Recommended Blogs by WordPress. An excellent project and I am glad to see my country, Malaysia, is already in your list! The reading list is currently too short though, as we already have 14 National Laureates 🙂
I would like to recommend two Malaysian writers to add to your reading list:
1) Adibah Amin – This End of The Rainbow
2) Dina Zaman – I Am Muslim and King of The Sea.
Wish you all the best in this project.
Lovely, thanks Dasar. Great recommendations. I’ll add these to the list when I next update it.
Wow! What a lovely idea. I love reading but don’t always have the time … where did you get the time? Congratulations – I know your world will be greatly enriched through the process.
Anyway, here’s a suggestion for you from Kenya:
Chidlren of Saba – http://www.amazon.com/Children-Saba-Epic-Aphrike-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00GKA1KJO
It’s a relatively new book but its already had some great reviews. Its full of suspense and tells the epic story of a family discovering a secret, powerful legacy handed down to them by their ancestors.
It brought to life the majesty of Africa’s mysteries and vanishing tribes – past and present … full of adventure and I couldn’t put it down …I hope you love it as much as I did!
Thanks – I’ll check it out. It took a lot of discipline, but it was great fun too.
Will the books and stories that you listed be available to the public via e-readers etc or maybe an international book store?
The Book List is impressive…
maybe I should try reading more.
Thanks Nora. Many of the books already are available. In the case of the unpublished manuscripts I read, I’m hopeful that many of them will be published in due course. Watch this space…
I do not see anything listed for Bermuda- the UK’s oldest colony. Shakespeare’s The Tempest was based on the reports of the discovery of Bermuda, unfortunately all secondhand. A number of authors have written in Bermuda, Eugene O’Neil, Mark Twain and James Thurber being a trio of American writers who treated the island as a second home.
Mary Prince, born in Devonshire, Bermuda- the freed slave and anti-slavery agitator wrote her autobiography, which greatly influenced UK Parliament to rid the colonies of this trade.
Another Bermudian writer had some good reviews in the 70 & 80’s, a Brian Burland- his best book probably being A Fall from Aloft, The Sailor and the Fox coming in close behind.
Thanks Charles. Yes, that’s right. I read books from UN-recognised sovereign states (plus former UN member Taiwan), which is why Bermuda is not on the list, a personal regret for me as I know the place well. It was however a contender for my Rest of the World wild-card choice to represent countries not on the UN list – and Brian Burland was the author in the frame for that. You can read more about that here http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/rest-of-the-world/
Pingback: The list | jhAntAng-mAntAnG
Hi. Just happened to pass this column by sheer luck or rather good fortune now as I feel so encouraged to read more books. Such an inspiration. By the way, i would also recommend the following Hungarian novel>pál utcai fiúk /the paul street boys by Molnar Ferenc. Keep up the good work and wishing you all of the best. Cheers.
Brilliant – thanks! I’ll add it to the list when I next update.
This is an impressive list! What would you say are some of your top favorite books that you’ve read? I’m always down for good book recommendations.
https://lifeismuyfantastico.wordpress.com/
Thanks – it’s always tricky to pick out favourites but there’s a list of my top commercially available ones in the FAQs section. Hope you find something you like!
Pingback: Lumea in 196 de carti
What an amazing thing to do. Being from India I am surprised that your list includes maximum books from here.
Thanks Sanjeev. I had lots of great Indian recommendations from book fans in your country and around the world.
I read your Canadian selections with interest, but may I suggest something from the eastern part of the country which has a deeper history? I highly recommend any by Donna Morrissey. Her books take place in Newfoundland…another end of the world place.
Thanks Margaret – I’ll look into this when I next update the list.
This is an impressive list that will take me more than a year to read. I noticed Sandra Cisneros is listed with the authors from Mexico. She is from the United States.
Ooh, thanks – I’ll amend that.
Love this blog. The Italian books list seems a little too modern. I love Sciascia, but Italians can do much, much better than bloody Baricco! Manzoni, Tomasi di Lampedusa, Pirandello, Dante, Levi, Svevo, etc.
Thanks. Yes, I’m a Lampedusa fan too! I wasn’t including works by writers I had already read, which is why he wasn’t on the list, but I may have to rethink that now the project’s finished. Thanks for your other suggestions too – I’ll look into them when I next update the list.
You Are Amazing Morgan………. Hv A Lotzz Of Wishes <3
Thanks very much!
Pingback: Hamid Ismailov, The Railway (Uzbekistan) | Letterature altre
Pingback: Stationary Travels: 196 nations- 196 books | The Moldy Daisy
Congratulations Sis!! I know its not the right place to ask questions but you read a lotta works from India. What do you think of this country sis ?
Thanks. I actually only read one book from India for the project, although lots more were suggested and I hope to read many of them in the years to come. India is certainly an incredibly rich nation for stories!
This is outstanding. I have now added many of the books mentioned to my own reading list. This must have been an exhilarating, fulfilling experience for you. If only I had half the determination and motivation to accomplish something like this. Thank you for introducing me to literature pieces from around the world. As a Comparative Literature student, I have read works from regions that one normally wouldn’t, but this just showcases that literature from outside the western world is just as good as the ‘canon’ or what is known.
Thanks Mary. I hope you enjoy them. It was a great experience.
Pingback: Speaking of reading | Film & Fairytale
Pingback: The World of Books | Queskey
Great work. Maybe you can try poetry from around the world next.
Yes – it would certainly make for quicker reading!
Great idea, wonderful project! I can advice a book from my country- Latvia- that I didn’t spot in your list and that is truely remarkable- The Child of Man by Janis Klidzejs. It’s a novel about a little boy in the pre-war independent Latvia and it is especially special for me because it takes place in the region that I come from- Latgale. Unfortunately my search for its’ English version has been unsuccessful so far but maybe you can find it one day.
Thanks Evija – sounds great. Let’s hope it makes it into English – then I can add it to the list!
Pingback: At Being Well-Read | How Not To Suck
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on kitchen clock. Regards
I love the concept of this blog. This must have been a very fruitful project. In India there is some wonderful regional writing going on (you have mentioned a few of them in your list. I feel they paint a very different picture of the country, than what Indian English writing does. Unfortunately, marketing is a problem for regional writing, and their translated copies don’t really do as well as Indian English writing.
Thanks very much. Yes, the book I read during this project was one of MT’s novels, translated from Malayalam. I am keen to explore Indian literature further.
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World // W 196 książek dookoła świata | where is somewhere else? // co jest gdzie indziej?
Pingback: the week that’s been | laura swanson
Pingback: Ajo e lexoi botën | Politiko
Bykau — the author of Sotnikau — was Vasil, not Uladzimir
Thanks – I have amended this!
By the way, the novel “Sotnikau” was also translated into English by Gordon Clough under the name “The ordeal”
Also the top-20 of the best Belarusian prose works chosen by popular vote are:
1. Uladzimir Karatkevich. The Spikes Under Your Sickle
2. Uladzimir Karatkevich. King Stakh’s Wild Hunt
3. Ivan Melezh. People in the Swamp
4. Yanka Kupala. “Tutejshyja” (‘the locals’) (play)
5. Jan Barszczewski. Nobleman Zawalnia, or Belarus in Fantastic Stories
6. Uladzimir Karatkevich. The Black Castle of Alshany
7. Yakub Kolas. At a Crossroads
8. Vasil Bykau. Sign of Misfortune
9. Uladzimir Karatkevich. Christ Landed in Harodnia
10. Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkyevich. Pinsk Nobility (play)
11. Vasil Bykau. Alpine Ballad
12. Vasil Bykau. The Cry of the Crane
13. Vasil Bykau. Sotnikau
14. Ivan Shamyakin. The Heart on the Palm
15. Uladzimir Karatkevich. The Boat of Despair
16. Yanka Maur. Palesse Robinsons
17. Yanka Kupala. Paulinka (play)
18. Vasil Bykau. The Long Road Home (autobiograhy)
19. Uladzimir Karatkevich. The Land Under White Wings (essays)
20. Vasil Bykau. The Swoop
I love the list but in mexican books you should read One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Hope you like it 🙂
Thanks. Marquez is great, isn’t he, but he’s actually a Colombian writer…
Gabriel García Marquez (Colombia, 1927-2014) lived and died in Mexico. Marquez himself said he was inspired and influenced by the work of Juan Rulfo (Mexico, 1918-1986) – If you read some of Marquez´s books you can easily realise there are similarities.
Thanks Luzy.
for Bulgaria: Doomed souls by Dimitar Dimov. There is also a movie based on the book that is pretty good.
Thanks. I’ll check it out when I next update the list.
You may want to add another one to the Jordanian List! I am Jordanian Canadian, and I have recently published God Forsaken Part 1: Hadi with Titan Inkorp. I’m very excited! And honestly, I’m loving this blog. VERY interesting. 😀
Good to hear from you – best of luck with it!
For Australia I highly recommend `The road from Coorain` by Jill Ker Conway. I am Canadian and could recommend a ton of Canadiana literature, but you made some excellent Canadian choices.
Thanks Marsha. Hello to Halifax – I visited as a student and loved the place.
Great list, with over a 1000 entries now. I worked on a list with Facebook friends of “Novels you might want to read in your life-time given half the chance” – and our lists match about 20 of these novels. You should include Marguerite Yourcenar for Belgium (one of the best writers on this planet). One point, you realise that you have Andric and his book The Bridge on the Drina under both Bosnia and Serbia – was that deliberate?
Thanks very much. Great spot on Andric – I will sort that out. And thanks for the Marguerite Yourcenar tip off too. She sounds great, although most people seem to consider her French.
Pingback: Reading the world: Ann Morgan and the power of blogging | Press Co. Collective
this is amazing and a challenge to me.
Thanks!
Pingback: Sunday Ponderings No. 3 | I Will Bloom
Pingback: I’ve been doing it wrong! | Eastern Songbird
Random authors and books from the bedside table:
Denmark: Smila’s Sense of Snow. Estonia: Purge. France: Anything by Houellebecq. Germany: Thomas Mann. US: American Pastoral. Pynchon. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Canada: Deafening, The Three Day Road. Carol Shields. Greece: Souel. Kazatzakis (all of him). England: Virginia Woolf. The Remains of the Day. Russia: Anna Karenina. Egypt: Alexandrian Quartet. Turkey: The Time Regulation Institute.
Very nice story, and effort overall. I’ve been doing this for years: traveling through books. I think there are a number of humans out there doing something very similar- a great idea to start keeping track of countries. Also: I never moved anywhere before reading a representative book and liking it- which made things so much more fun!
Anyway. Best of luck
Ooh – great. Thanks. Will go through these when I next update the list!
congrats ! I have just started this journey myself, I must say your list is very helpful (I plan to take 10 years rather than one 🙂 )
Thanks – good luck with your quest!
This is great, i’ve merely scanned through the list, (I was looking to see what you wrote about Uganda), in future, you may want to look at Kintu (Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi), Upon This Mountain (Timothy Wangusa), Fate of the Banished, The Unfulfilled Dream, Footprints of the Outsider ( Julius Ocwinyo), The First Daughter, Secrets No More, Waiting (Goretti Kyomuhendo), Voice of a Dream (Glaydah Namukasa), Sigh!!! The list goes on…with a help of a friend, i’m completing a African Writer’s Series challenge (2014). (I might take you on your quest :p )
Thanks Emi. These sound excellent. I’m planning to update the list soon, so will check these out when I do.
Hi! I just discovered your blog and I’m loving it. Whenever I visit a new country, I always try to buy and read a book from a national author (if I can read it in its native language, even better). Good travels and readings. I’ll keep on reading your posts.
Thanks and happy travels!
Hi, is Harry Potter included here? 🙂
It could have been, but no one suggested it! Also, at the time of the quest I wasn’t including books I’d already read on the list. Maybe when I next update it though…
This is so inspiring … I salute you! 🙂
Aw, thanks!
Great idea! My suggestion from Hungary:
Péter Nádas: A Book of Memories; Paralell Stories
Thanks – I’ll add it to the list when I next update it.
Hi Ana,
If I may, I’d like to suggest that “Sana Krasikov” is not a good representative of a “Georgian writer”. As I understand (and correct me if I’m wrong), the idea behind reading a book from each country was to get a sense of diversity of life experiences (and literary idiosyncrasies) around the world. Sana’s book that you chose, reflects neither Georgian life experiences nor Georgian literary culture and understandably so. The writer is too Americanized (having lived in the U.S. for a while, and writing in English) to be able to capture the idiosyncratic nature of Georgian literature. Her book that you chose could have easily been written by an Ukrainian/Russian/Armenian/Belorussian/Azerbaijani/etc. emigrant who has an intimate understanding of life realities of emigrants in NYC from former soviet union. Therefore, in my humble opinion this is not a book/writer that could be relied on to provide a representation (or a taste of) literature from Georgia.
For sampling a true Georgian literary idiosyncrasies, I’d recommend reading:
Data tutachkhia (by Chabua Amiredjibi)
Kvachi Kvachantiradze (by Mikheil Javaxishvili)
And perhaps the most impressive of all Georgian literature translated in English so far:
A man was going down the road (by Otar Chiladze)
Thanks Michino. I actually read an anthology of Georgian literature, not Sana Krasikov – you can see my review here or by clicking on ‘Georgia’ on the list. Thanks for your suggestions – I’ll add what I can to the list when I next update it.
Very very interesting list. But from my Lithuania list I find out little bit random writers – they were sugested by comercial editors, not professional critics, I suppose… Serious in this list are Černiauskaitė, Gavelis, Sruoga.
Thanks – do you have other recommendations you would add?
she read books from my country’s trash , she didnt pick the right books, i feel sorry for her, waste of time!
Hi Roylan. Sorry to hear you feel that. What would your recommendation be?
Pingback: What are you thinking? - Page 335 - Empty Closets - A safe online community for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people coming out
Hi there! I love this idea and I am looking to follow suit. (But just one note, Neil Gaiman is a British author, not American!)
Thanks Triana. Gaiman was a test case for me. Because I got lots of recommendations for books by British and American authors who had lived in other parts of the world for a period of time as books ‘from’ these other places, I wanted to see how it would feel to turn things around and explore whether a non-US writer who had lived in America for 20 years could count as writing American fiction. My UK book was also an unusual choice, being a novel in translation from Welsh. I felt that as most of my reading had been British or American before this project these were an opportunity to test the boundaries a bit.
Even though we are not a country Puerto Rican literature is very unique, therefore I think you would enjoy a book called “el corazon de Voltaire” by Luis Lopez Nieves its sequel is very good as well called “el silencio de galileo”. Translations should be easy to find, enjoy!
Wonderful – thanks Luis. I shall look it up.
With best wishes
Ann
It was challenged but congratulations.I imagine that you’ve discovered many beautiful things and you read also the book of my lovely country Senegal.
Thanks – yes it was a real adventure.
Wow, it’s amazing that you’ve read all these books! I’m so delighted to see that you’ve read Marija Jurić Zagorka’s books; she’s one of my favourite authors (I’m Croatian) and I can’t resist recommending you some other Croatian authors such as Antun Gustav Matoš; he’s an amazing modernist poet who combined themes of love and death. Also, the already mentioned writer Zagorka wrote a cycle of 7 novels – ”The Witch of Gric”; it’s an amazing read set in the second half of the 18th century Zagreb and Vienna; it has elements of Romanticism (love stories, secret castles, nature and the idea of liberty, mysticism, murders).
Many regards, Bye 🙂
Thanks, I’ll check these out when I next update the list!
Hello! I absolutely support you. Hope you’ll have enough time to finish it. And I wanted recommend you some books from my motherland : Kyrgyzstan. Chinghiz Aitmatov : The first teacher, Farewell Gul’sary, The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years. I hope you enjoy it! Good luck! =)
Thanks Anastasia. I did manage to finish the quest in a year in 2012, but I’m still accepting recommendations for the list so I’ll check yours out when I next update the site. Thanks again
Hi Ann, it is a brilliant idea to do this huge project, I am writing to you from China, I recommend Funeral of the Muslims ——Huo Da, which is my favorite book in Chinese, about love, war, feudal ethical. Hope you enjoy your reading 🙂 Good Luck :)~ Jin ~
Hi Jin. Thanks very much for this recommendation – I will look it up.
Pingback: En reise verden rundt, fra lenestolen | RØYSTA15
Love your blog and “The List”! I urge you to consider my favorite book of the past year, “A Time of Ghosts,” by Hok-Pang Tang and David Coomler. It is an astonishing life history of Hok-Pang Tang as he grew up in China, starting before the Communist take-over, through the horrors of the so-called “Great Cultural Revolution” and its aftermath. After coming to America, Hok-Pang would tell his story to Coomler, who wrote it down and wove it together into this moving narrative. I admit that I wept over some episodes. It is a story of torment and endurance, despair and heroic hope, both of an individual and his country. You will not regret reading it.
Thanks very much – I’ll look into this when I next update the list.
This is a wonderful idea! I am part of a group inspired by this, which has been reading its way around the world. I have a question for Anne and readers of this blog–for Kuwait, I read a special issue of Banipal (a Granta-like publication for Arab literature) dedicated to Kuwaiti writers. I found a book I’d like to read but can’t find an English translation anywhere: Ismail Fahd Ismail’s When the Frog Croaked. Does anyone know how I could get hold of this?
Hi. Great to hear about your book group. I hope you’re enjoying the journey. I don’t know about Ismail Fahd Ismail, but I certainly remember Kuwait being a tough country to get English translations from. I would suggest contacting Banipal – they might be able to point you in the right direction. Best of luck – let me know how you get on.
Pingback: Em um ano, escritora lê um livro de cada país do mundo | PortalJaguapita.com
Thanks! Will contact Banipal.
I do have a recommendation–a wonderful poet from St. Lucia called Hippolyte Kendal. The book I read was called Night Vision. I am going to read more of him. He writes about contemporary St. Lucia but also about language and the power of words.
Thanks – he sounds great. The list on this site contains prose works, but I enjoy reading poetry too, so I will check him out.
I am a girl from China. It’s amazing what you’ve done. You are awesome! I know a book called The Funeral of The Muslims written by Huo Da, a Chinese writer. It tells a story of a family. It’s about history, religion, love, the meaning of life and many things. It will help you gain a better understanding of our country, our nation and culture. I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks very much. Several people have suggested this book – it is clearly a popular choice. I have added it to the list and look forward to reading it.
Pingback: Em um ano, escritora lê um livro de cada país do mundo - Livros de Romance - Os melhores e Mais Vendidos Livros de Romance : Livros de Romance – Os melhores e Mais Vendidos Livros de Romance
Dear Ann,
Your reading project is a great idea. I am Brazilian and I like Machado de Assis Jorge Amado and Lygia Fagundes Telles very much.
I would suggest you to read the following authors:
Argentina- Jorge Luis Borges: Fictions:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fictions-Jorge-Luis-Borges/dp/0141183845/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1417799630&sr=8-3&keywords=jorge+luis+borges
Brazil-Autrran Dourado:
A Hidden Life
Pattern for a Tapestry
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aautran+dourado&page=2&keywords=autran+dourado&ie=UTF8&qid=1417799781
Milton Hatoum-He is also a very good contemporary Brazilian writer:
The Ashes of the Amazon
The Brothers
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aautran+dourado&page=2&keywords=autran+dourado&ie=UTF8&qid=1417799781
Italy-Italo Calvino
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller
Italian Folktales
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_6?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=italo+calvino&sprefix=italo+%2Cstripbooks%2C325&rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3Aitalo+calvino
I wish you all the best and good books.
Renata
Thanks Renata. Yes, Italo Calvino is amazing isn’t he? I read ‘If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller’ years ago and you’re right – I should add it to the list. I will check out the others when I next update it. Thanks again
Simply lovely! When I saw that you had authors in Africa, which most people do not include, I knew instantly that I would love your blog! Thanks for being thorough and for including writers of the world.
Thank you. Glad you like it? Do you have any top recommendations I should check out for my list?
Yes… I have a few suggestions:
* Ben Okri (Nigeria) – ‘The Famished Road’;
* Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria) – ‘Joys of Motherhood’, is a classic;
* Leopold Oyono (Cameroon) – ‘The Old Man and The Medal’ really a Cameroonian classic (http://afrolegends.com/2010/07/30/le-vieux-negre-et-la-medaille/);
* Severin Cecile Abega (Cameroon) – ‘The Bimanes’ extremely funny (http://afrolegends.com/2013/06/25/petits-metiers-vendeur-de-soya-small-trades-soya-seller/);
* Ousmane Sembene (Senegal) – ‘God’s Bits of Wood’, ‘ a classic(http://afrolegends.com/2009/09/21/ousmane-sembene-father-of-african-cinema/ ).
Great – thanks. I’ll check these out when I do my next update for the list
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World - Teresa Edmond-Sargeant
You really have an extraordinary experience! That’s amazing!
Thanks – it was an adventure!
The author who is considered “The Vietnamese Balzac”: Vu Trong Phung. His translated works: Dumb Luck, and The Industry of Marrying Europeans, both available on Amazon. The translations couldn’t do justice to the brilliance of the original though.
Also, there is Duong Thu Huong, who has been nominated for the Nobel prize, even though I don’t like her works that much. Many of her novels have been translated into English and French.
Wonderful – thanks so much. I will check your suggestions out when I next update the list.
hello
I call attention your enjoyment of reading and books in particular. I am Salvadoran writer and read the list of the books you read. I found the list to Horacio Castellanos Moya, I, I read some books this author
congratulations
Thanks!
I love the exhaustive and exclusive list. Such a great idea! Saw some of my favourites there 🙂 If you’d like you can read The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra and God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. The former is based in Banaras, India and the latter Kerala, India. Hope you like them!
Thanks – yes, I read Roy’s novel years ago. It’s great isn’t it? I’ll look up Mishra when I next update the list.
This is a great book about Zimbabwe from the white farmer’s perspective. http://www.amazon.com/One-Hundred-Four-Horses-Memoir/dp/0062204378/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419113312&sr=1-1&keywords=104+horses
Interesting – thanks. I’ll have a look when I next update the list.
What a great idea and very insightful. Thank you for sharing the list–truly looks amazing and I cannot wait to dig in!
Thanks Rahila
Pingback: 2015 Reading Challenge – How to find the right book | Pinal County Reads
Pingback: Reading on the Regular - Glacier Design Group
Pingback: Sunday Postcard - December 28, 2014 - Diaries of a Wandering Lobster
Please read the Mayombe by Pepetela.
I never been much of a reader but once I started reading this book, I couldn’t stop and for the first time in my life I finished reading a book in one night. This book explores the story of a young soldier in Angolas struggle for independence from Portugal and his love for his cheating face, Ondina.
That sounds like a great recommendation. I’ll have to look it up!
The USA also is host to nations within the nation such as the Navajo Nation located in Northern Arizona. Books from there have a completely different flavor than those elsewhere. To get an inkling of the Navajo mindset read any of the Tony Hillerman mysteries.
For a controversial view of the Southwest US try Edward Abbey’s Desert Solotaire…my favorite book of all time.
Thanks David. These sound intriguing. I’m certainly keen to read some more literature from America’s other nations
Zanzibar – M.M. KAYE
New Zealand -Bride Flight
India – Thrity Umrigar
Nigeria- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Egypt -Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb
Cheers,shari
Thanks Shari. I’ll check these out when I next update the list
Pingback: A Literary Journey of the World, Sprinkled with Prayer | A Mom Looking Up
Pingback: New Year, New Challenges | thebookeaters.co.uk
I just typed in ‘reading a fiction from every country’ because I thought it would be a cool thing to do, and your list came up. I think it’s a wonderful thing that you’ve done. I can’t do it as fast as you did, but I am going to try to follow your footsteps at my own pace. One novel I would like to recommend that I did not see on your list is “Reading Lolita in Tehran.” Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks Kristin. Yes, I read that book some years ago. It’s very interesting!
Hello!
Truly inspirational what you are doing.
I am from Norway, and have read almost all of the books you have listed there – and of those, I undoubtedly choose Per Petterson Out Stealing Horses. Incredibly touching story.
Thanks!
Pingback: 196 de țări vizitate prin intermediul cărților | BiblioTerapie
Pingback: Around the world in…196 books | vickireads
Hi!
The concept is brilliant and inspiring! I am an Indian and am so happy to find out so many books from India on your list, especially, Mrityunjay by Shivaji Savant. It is in Marathi, which is my mother tongue. Can I suggest a couple of books?
You are reading Train to Pakistan by India’s great writer Khushwant Singh. I would like you to read Delhi by the same author. It tells the story of the magnificent city from the ancient times to the recent times through the eyes of narrators living in the city at different times. I hope you will love it.
Also, please read Totto Chan by Tetsuko Kuroyagangi. I don’t know the exact English title. It is a true story of Totto Chan (the writer herself) a primary schoolgirl who is so troublesome in the classroom that the teachers have no option but to dismiss her out of the school. Her mother then finds out an unorthodox yet amazing school for her, established by a teacher who had revolutionary ideas about schooling. Beautiful innocent childhood novel set during the second world war. It is highly recommended.
Thank you very much!
Keep reading!
What an idea..! I love it..
Thanks. I have recently read Delhi – a great book! I will check out your other recommendation when I next update the list.
Two big omissions for Austria:
Joseph Roth “The Radetzky March”
Elfriede Jelinek “The Piano Teacher” (She won the Nobel Prize in 2004.)
Thanks Barbara. The list is growing all the time through people’s recommendations. I’ll check these out when I next update it.
Interesting list. Only I must clarify that Augusto Monterroso is a Guatemalan writer, born in Honduras, but lived many years in Mexico. Monterroso literature is extremely interesting. Greetings.
Thanks Herbert – great spot. I’ll amend that.
wonderful idea, inspiring!
Thank you
Hi….I’m Aiperi from Kyrgyzstan….and I am a booklover))).. I found the name of our country in your list… It was nice to see it there))) Just wanted to know your opinions about Chinghiz Aitmatov’s works?
Thanks – you can find out what I thought by clicking on Kyrgyzstan on the list (http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/thelist/). Thanks for your comment
Pingback: Biblioideas : Ann Morgan, la vuelta al mundo en 196 librosTiraBUZón
Pingback: Minisfide - Pagina 2
If you haven’t read him already, add Peter Carey to your list of Australians. Guillermo Cabrera Infante’s great work is TRES TRISTES TIGRES (brilliantly translated as THREE TRAPPED TIGERS, though good luck getting hold of a copy). I see someone upstream recommends Calvino; I strongly agree. And as a fellow US expat, I insist that William Gibson is Canadian 🙂
Ah yes, Peter Carey. I read him some way back – he’s great, isn’t he? Calvino too. Haven’t read Infante – will have to check him out. William Gibson, eh? A tricky customer!
I suggest you add Mahmud Dowlatabadi (Iran) masterpiece Missing Sorush which was Translated by Kamran Rastegar
http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/missing-soluch/
Thanks Mohsen. I’ll check this out when I next update the site.
Great list!
Recommending In An Antique Land by Amitav Gosh for Egypt, and Married to a Bedouin for Jordan.
Thanks. The list is for books from the countries in question, rather than set there, but your recommendations sound interesting all the same.
I guess In An Antique Land won’t count then, but Married to A Bedouin is from there. It’s written by a nurse from New Zealand that traveled to Jordan and then fell in love with a Bedouin man and stayed there. She wrote it after being there for decades; her sons work in Petra now. Anyway, just wanted to recommend. Looking forward to reading some of the books on this list 🙂
Interesting – thanks. It sounds fascinating.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/jan/28/fiction.reviews1
Hi!
What a brilliant project you’ve completed (or I guess it’s ongoing on a personal level too?) Literature in translation is not very popular in this country at the best of times, unless you are in the “literary know” in one way or the other. It is a great thing to draw attention to this, and so beautifully.
I thought I could offer another suggestion, for you and other people who may be interested in a different take of Spain, a different perspective of its people. As I am sure you know, there are a number of cultures within the peninsula, much in the same way the UK counts with Scotland, Wales and N Ireland.
The Carpenter’s Pencil by Manuel Rivas is a crafty book, and I think you may like it. Set in Galicia in northwest Spain, it presents one story of one man, a popular doctor, during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil war, the initial hit of Franco’s victory to people considered a threat. The autor started his career as a news reporter, and it’s his journalistic, pared down style what makes the untold meanings linger. This book has luckily been translated into English.
Maybe I am biased, as I’m galician myself, but read this review in TheGuardian and they seem to agree: (I tried pasting a link here but it has come up at the top of the post, sorry)
I hope you like it. Thank you for your blog.
Laura
Thanks Laura – I’ll have to look Manuel Rivas up!
About Kuwit: The bamboo stalk noval, writen by Saud Alsanoesi. Will translate after one month..
Sounds interesting – thanks!
Hi!!! For ECUADOR: look for the work of Pablo Palacio 🙂
Thanks – I will!
Down Under “Australia” I would add “The Fatal Shore” by well known art critic Robert Hughs.
Interesting – thanks. I’ll look it up
I’m from Paraguay and I’d definitely add Son of Man by Augusto Roa Bastos to that list. War, symbolism, allusions, twists, parallel stories, in essence, a complete novel.
Sounds good – thanks Lucas
This is wonderful. Very inspirational! I’m going to be using this post as my reading list for the foreseeable future. Thank you so much! Alisha (from Jamaica)
Thank you Alisha. Enjoy your reading adventures
Hello, im from Ecuador. I totally recommed you the work of Jose de la Cuadra, my favorite ecuadorian author. One of his stories Los Sangurimas describe the ecuadorian montubio and the roots of that fascinating culture.
Thanks – he sounds very interesting
Hi, thanks for including me on your list! Can I send you a copy of A Season For Martyrs?
Thanks Bina. Your work was recommended by a blog visitor. I’d certainly be interested to receive a copy. I’ll be in touch on email
I stumbled across a good Indian writer last year. Book is The White Tiger, by Aravind Agida. Congrats on your reading accomplishments.
Thanks Sam – ah yes. A popular choice!
What was your first foreign book?
Which was your favorite?
My first book was from South Sudan. You can find the answer to your second question in my FAQs. Thanks
Pingback: The ultimate travel reading list | Julie | Bookstoker
Hello Ann, I have just heard your interview on open book and was fascinated by your discussion. I have been enjoying a similar challenge in a good reads group and love finding something new from a different country highlights including ‘The corpse washer by Sinan Antoon , for Iraq, The Dead lake for Hamid Ismailov for kazeksthan , and Bonita Avenue for Holland, but unlike yourself I have also included books set there by non national authors so hats off to you. I will look out for your book and follow your blog for more ideas.
Hi Andrew. Thanks very much for your comment. Three tempting titles indeed. I’ll look into them. Enjoy your own literary travels.
Pingback: The Reading Around the World List | Book Mouse
Pingback: 3 coisas boas da semana | BrummieBR
Fascinating. I second Sinan Antoon’s CORPSE WASHER from Iraq
What classic, important books from around the world still need to be translated into English?
Thanks John. Judging by the unpublished translations I read during my quest, there are many important books yet to be translated. I hope more and more of them will be.
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World: A Q&A with Ann Morgan — WordPress.com News
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World: A Q&A with Ann Morgan - WP Creative
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World: A Q&A with Ann Morgan - The Liberty Herald
For Australia: try “Looking for Alibrandi” by Melina Marchetta.
Thanks – I’ll check it out.
Pingback: How Much Can We Learn About the World Traveling by Books? | Auxiliary Memory
Pingback: Blooming Society Sunday | Wary Wonderlust
This is an absolutely brilliant – thank you so much for coming up with the idea and carrying it through. I heard about it through someone in my book group who saw the article you wrote recently in the Independent newspaper.
I’ve started at the ‘z’ end of the alphabet and have read books by authors from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Yemen, Vietnam and Venezuela so far. They have all been so interesting – you have done a great thing here, thank you again.
Thanks Cordelia – so glad you’re enjoying the books.
Pingback: Böcker, bokrea och läsa världen | does angels bleed crimson blood?
Pingback: Wishful Wednesday 44: Read The World | lustandcoffee
you should definitely read the lowland by jhumpa lahiri, it is based in INDIA Calcutta.It is a very gripping moving and heeart-warming family tale about a voyage between two worlds.It takes one back and forth in time
Thanks – sounds interesting
also read love rosie…by cecelia ahern.It revolves around ireland..a romantic comedy…downright humourous
Interesting – thanks
hello there hope your travelling to interesting places and making great voyages……..
Thanks – and the same to you
hello…..hope ur enjoying ur voyages…btw you should get started in creative writing by stephen may….it’s an incredible guide to writing..
Pingback: Escritora lê um livro de cada país do mundo durante um ano | Quem Inova
You got to read Jose Luis Peixoto, Portuguese writer from Lisbon, he’s got many books translated into English and you should also get in touch with him, he’s really sweet!
Thanks – I’ll check him out
A translation of De avonden (‘The evenings’) by Gerard Reve is planned for 2016. (http://goo.gl/vP1ewS)
Interesting – thank you!
Thank a million (may be two million) for this list, I was searching best novels from different different countries. May God bless you billions of Dollars.
You’re very welcome. I’m glad it’s useful.
Pingback: Reading Diversely | Pow's Book Corner
Pingback: Em um ano, escritora lê um livro de cada país do mundo
As I Brazilian I have to tell you that you must read Ariano Suassuna.
Unfortunately I’m not sure if you can find his books translated, and even if you do, i don’t know how they will be written. Ariano had an unique way to write his stories.
Thanks – I’ll have to see if I can find a translation!
Do you know how I can get hold of a book in English by Ak Welsapar, or any other author from Turkmenistan? The ones you mention don’t seem to be available.
Hi Cordelia. I’m afraid Ak Welsapar’s work is not yet published in English, although I am hopeful that it will be one day. I do not know of other Turkmen work in English, but I would be fascinated to hear if you find out anything!
Okay, since I’m italian, I must recommend you: One,no one and one thousand,by Luigi Pirandello and Zeno’s Consciousness by Italvo Svevo. As a reader, I sincerely recommend my favourites: Madame Bovary, by Gustav Flaubert and 1984 by George Orwell!
Thanks very much. Your favourites are some of my favourites too!
very disappointed that you mention J.K. Rowling for the United Kingdom but not J.R.R. Tolkien.
could also include Evangeline Walton’s retellings of Welsh mythology, under United Kingdom.
Really, Rowling not Tolkien? Seriously?
Thanks for your comment. This list is made up of the titles people recommended during my project and no-one suggested Tolkein that year. I agree, he is a great writer (one of many not on the list). Interesting suggestion of Evangeline Walton – I’ll have to look her up
Pingback: Reading The World Book List | A Guy's Moleskine Notebook
Pingback: Pour faire le tour du monde avec les livres | Cecile's Blog
Pingback: Monday Musings: The Year-of-Reading-the-World Challenge - Best Selling Reads
Pingback: Reading India with #TSBC | My Favourite Things
Pingback: Reading Diversely – 196 Challenge | Kayla Justice Photography
From Nepal I would like to recommend ‘Palpasa Cafe’ by Narayan Wagle.
Thanks very much – it sounds very interesting
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World | Responsive Wordpress
Thank you for this list. I am doing my own version of it and your suggestions are wonderful. I am currently reading a book you might find interesting for Palestine. THREE DAUGHTERS: A NOVEL by Consuelo Saah Baehr is about three generations of Christian Palestinian womenbased on stories from her own family. Wonderful book. http://www.amazon.com/Three-Daughters-Consuelo-Saah-Baehr-ebook/dp/B00KGLV9SA/
Lovely – thanks Kathleen. It sounds great. All the best with your own literary adventures!
As we have discussed, the books you recommend by an author from Turkmenistan are not actually available in English. I would recommend putting “Soul” by Andrei Platonov in this section. This is a really interesting book. A Short History of Turkmen Literature describes it as follows: “the best novel to emerge from Soviet Turkmenistan was not written by a Turkmen, but rather by Andrei Platonov, one of the Russians dispatched to train the locals how to write in the socialist style… Robert Chandler, Platonov’s English translator, reports that contemporary Turkmen authors marvel at the Russian’s ability to capture the spirit of their homeland after so short a visit. Criminally neglected in the West, Soul is one of the great, secret masterpieces of the 20th century.”
You might think about removing “Unknown Sands” the book by an American (John Kropf) which is listed under Turkmenistan. The website Best Books on Turkmenistan describes this as a “Badly written travelogue by a former US embassy worker.”
Finally, one book which is actually by a Turkmenistan born author and is available in English (for a price) is “Rukhnama: Reflections on the Spiritual Values of the Turkmen” by Saparmyrat Turkmenbashi (a repressive dictator who ruled Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006). Best Books on Turkmenistan gave this book the following review “What can I say? It’s a classic. This is what Turkmens were brainwashed with for years during the eccentric rule of Turkmenbashi, and it’s craaazzzy. Reading it is very difficult though, sometimes the words are really just randomly put together, it seems.” I didn’t really fancy it myself.
Very interesting – thanks Cordelia. I hope the manuscript I read by Ak Welsapar (or some of his other work) will be available in English very soon. Watch this space…
Funny someone would cite anonymous review on Amazon–the only one to give it less than four stars–as a basis to remove a book when the leading reviewer, Publishers Weekly, says, “Kropf’s peek at this isolated corner of a shrinking world is a fascinating narrative bound to hook adventurers.” –The author
But are you going to change your listing for Turkmenistan? It would be good to take off the book by John Knopf, since he was not born in the country. I also think it might be helpful to put in the book by Platonov (maybe with a link explaining why it’s there) and maybe the book by Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy – both of these are widely available now.
Hi Cordelia. No, I won’t be changing the listing. Here’s why: this list is not a database of books currently available from countries around the world (to curate such a list would take a team of people working full-time). Instead, it is a record of the books I read and the titles recommended to me during (and immediately after) my year of reading the world back in 2012. Titles such as the Knopf reflect some of the issues I had to grapple with and the rather different ideas many people have about what it means to say a book is ‘from’ a particular place. Although I hope this list is a useful resource for people interested in exploring the world of books, someone else reading the world now would read a different world because the literary landscape is changing all the time, with things dropping in and out of print and new translations coming onto the market every hour.
In the last year I have started to review and add one outstanding ‘book of the month’ (the titles in orange) to the list every month as a way of continuing to let people know about some of the many books that kind fellow literary explorers like you continue to tip me off about. I will consider your suggestions for this and if one of them fits the bill I will review it and add it to the list in due course. Thanks again and all the best for your own reading.
Ann
Pingback: Meine Woche | Binge Reading & More
Thank you – I really hope you’ll consider “Soul” as a book of the month.
Massive Respect <3
Where to start? This is the list I’ve been looking for. I’ve recently started teaching a Literature course and it is easy to get sucked into planning courses using your own favourites, influenced naturally by an anglocentric education and pleasure reading. I can’t wait to try some of these titles.
Pingback: Wondering About: The Books By Which We Live Our Lives | Everything But The Kitchen Sink
thise very good idea. thank you because you red book kurdish 🙂
My pleasure – thanks for your comment!
Pingback: Reading globally | Readers' Salon
Pingback: 8 Steps to Help You Fight Culture Shock - gitanalife
wow, what an amazing feat. So how did you find all the translations? I’m sure many have asked you this already but whose literature did you find most surprising perhaps?
Thanks. That’s a tricky question to answer as there were so many different and extraordinary books. You can find out what I thought of them by clicking on the country names above – and there are more answers about the quest in general in my FAQs. Thanks for stopping by.
If you’re ever looking for a YA fiction novel from Germany, I’d suggest Ruby Red by Kerstin Giest. It’s a novel set in Europe about time traveling and family secrets. It has a great historical element to it, and I thought it was fantastic! It’s also very popular in that country (and in the US, UK and around the world!)
Happy Reading!
Sounds intriguing – thanks!
Impressive list. Really enjoy your blog.
thelonelyauthorblog
http://www.ted.com/talks/taiye_selasi_don_t_ask_where_i_m_from_ask_where_i_m_a_local#t-956242
This is an interesting Ted talk and perspective on what it means to identify a person/author with a specific nation. Watching it in the context of this project brought to mind both the problems with associating people too closely with the countries they are “from” and also just how cool it is that we can experience a bit of all the places in which each author considers him or herself a local!
Also I love the inspiration in this blog! I have been working on my own version of the project for over a year now and absolutely love it!! Such a wonderful idea – thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sydney. Fascinating. And you are right, this question of what we mean when we say a person or a book is ‘from’ a place is a knotty one.
Pingback: Reading a Book from Every Country - Shell Expanding
Pingback: Too Loud A Solitude | Disha
Pingback: The Patience Stone | Disha
Pingback: A YEAR OF READING THE WORLD | WORLD CULTURES
You might already be aware if it but Dalkey have recently published “Rapids”, the first novel by Patrick Boltshauser from Liechtenstein http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/product-category/liechtenstein/
I just wish I could find an equivalent work by a female author!
Ooh, lovely. Thanks Moray. I shall acquire a copy!
I really enjoyed another book from South Sudan, War Child by Emmanuel Jal. Although I have read A Long Way Gone in the past, this book, while written about the same topic, was entirely different from Beah’s novel.
Thanks – sounds interesting
I am kurdish from Iraq.. Kurdish language is specific and separate language from others.. We have valued novels in kurdish as ‘The Last Pomogranate of The World’ by Bachtyar Ali. If you try to find good novels depend on language rather than countries, you may have to consider kurdish novels.
Yes – in fact, Kurdistan was my ‘rest of the world’ choice (see under the ks above)!
More humble and without time limit . I decided to do the same a few years ago. I’m slow but enjoying . I loved your blog as soon as I found it. A marvel.
Thanks very much Jorge – enjoy your literary travels!
Several months ago a colleague at the International Services at our university approached me with a request to create a list similar to yours. I made quiet a few changes to the list, because I focused on the books that would be freely available to our students. Thank you for providing the inspiration (I made sure to give you credit and promote your book, which I am currently enjoying). I ordered several new titles to our collection and I am welcoming suggestions from the university community for new titles. I thought you might like to see some of my selections at http://guides.libraries.uc.edu/globalreads/guidehome.
What wonderful news, thanks Olga. The guide looks brilliant. I have shared a link to it on the A Year of Reading the World Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/A-Year-of-Reading-the-World-344253838955473/
Pingback: Read the World Challenge
Fascinating! Such a great idea! Love it and doing it. Thank you for the list to begin.
Thanks Aukse – glad you like it!
Beautiful and inspiring list, I’ll definitely try some of those!
As a German I suppose you should add Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s “Faust (Part One)” to the list; it is a marvelous (not too long) tragedy and to quote Wikipedia: “considered by many to be one of the greatest works of German literature.” Cheers & keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks Ben. Ah yes, dear old Goethe. I haven’t read his Faust but I referred to a lot of his other writings in my book. I must give the Faust a try. I’m not updating the list these days, as this is a record of the project, but I do add one Book of the month with a new review each month. Thanks so much for the suggestion.
That’s a wonderful idea! And thank you for the list, I’m so exited to start reading the world 🙂
I have a suggestion for Switzerland: The life of Samuel Belet by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz
Thanks Katja. Ramuz is a great writer, isn’t he? His ‘Beauty on Earth’ was my October Book of the month last year (you can see my review by clicking the orange link next to Switzerland). I must try some of his other books too.
Brilliant idea! I feel inspired to start reading more literature from around the world! I see that most of the writers included in your books from Pakistan are contemporary writers. Feel free to add Intizar Hussain’s Basti (nominated for Man Booker 2013) and Kicking up the Dust by Azra Abbas (a lesser known, but amazing Feminist writer’s autobiography). I can send you both translations if you like.
Super project!
Thanks – I am not updating the list now as this is my record of the recommendations I got during and immediately after my year of reading the world. However I do choose one book of the month to add every month so will certainly consider your suggestions for that. Very kind of you to offer to send them too! Kicking up the Dust sounds particularly fascinating. Thanks for the comment.
Hi,
Khasakkinte Ithihasam by O.V. Vijayan is one of the celebrated works of literature from the state of Kerala in India.Translated works are widely available. Take a look at it, if you haven’t read this book.
Thanks – I’ll have to see if I can find a copy!
Any list of Turkish authors would be incomplete without Hasan Ali Topbas! He has been translated into German, French, Dutch, Swedish and Korean, but his 10th novel “Reckless” is the first to appear in English. His novel Shadowless will appear in English next year.
Sounds great – thanks Leyla. I shall get a copy and add it to my pile of books to consider for Book of the month.
here is a review of a book written by the most readable (and most worth reading) Ukrainian author Andrukhovych http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/postsu/andruky1.htm
highly recommended!
not sure if it’s any good in translation but the original is flawlessly whimsical
he is the most respected author in Ukraine. if anything from Ukraine is worth reading, it is this.
Amazing project!
Interesting – thanks!
Pingback: A Year of Reading the World | A Single Atom
Pingback: Your guide to reading the world | For you? Fuer dich? Pour toi?
Pingback: Reading the World | Yi Ling Hwong
Hi!
I’ve just seen your TED talk. Here is a piece from my favorite Hungarian book. it is one of the many one minute stories. Please read it.
http://orkenyistvan.hu/ballad
Cheers,
Rob
Hi Laura,
Thanks for a great project and a great source of inspiration.
On my blog Travel Readings, I have recently posted an overview of a few novels about Syria, a country currently at the heart of news, often for dramatic reasons. In 1993, during a long overland trip in Asia, I spent a few weeks in Syria. The country was still peaceful, even if tensions were visible: bus controlled by security services agents carrying machine guns, traces of the massacres that crushed the insurrection in the city of Hama in 1982.
We visited Palmyra, since then destroyed. We wandered in the bazars in Damascus and Aleppo, two of the oldest cities in the world. I recently read four books written by Syrian authors. All cover the period before the current civil war, but in addition to being very good novels, they offer great insights into life in Syria: its multiple religious, tribal and political fractures, how love is difficult in a very traditional society, and the daily frustrations and exactions under the iron fist of the Assad regimes.
Here is the link:
http://www.travelreadings.org/2015/11/27/books-movies-and-beyond-syria/
Cheers,
Damien
Thanks Damien – they sound like some interesting selections.
Hi! Because you have very few portuguese authors: I think you should try Valter Hugo-Mãe, a little bit more of Eça de Queiroz (like The City and the Mountains and The Maias), Vergílio Ferreira and Mario de Carvalho. Good reads!
Thanks Alice. These sound like possible Book of the month contenders. I’ll add them to the to-read mountain!
Error in the list for Ukraine – instead of “Nikolai Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka” should be “Nikolai Gogol Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka”
And we are still arguing about whether Gogol Ukrainian or Russian writer. He wrote in Russian, but about Ukraine. And he did not like the Ukrainian language. Gogol expressed the Russian imperial look at Ukraine.
What about Kobzar by Taras Shevchenko? http://www.amazon.com/Kobzar-Taras-Shevchenko/dp/1909156558
This book is still the bibles of national identity for Ukrainians.
Thanks for spotting that. I have added Nikolai Gogol’s surname. Yes, this question of what books count as being ‘from’ a country is a common question and many people disagree, particularly in the case of countries with histories like Ukraine. Thanks for your suggestion. I will consider it for a Book of the month choice in due course.
Pingback: Reading the World |
Hi,
Just found out about your journey on TED. It was amazing what you did, very admirable and beautiful. When you said you used the list of countries of the UN I knew that my home would not be there. I live in Puerto Rico, a beautiful island in the Caribbean. We are an unicorporated territory of the USA or in better words: a colony. Even though we have a cultural identity and considered a Latin American country, Puerto Rico does not have a full independence. Our litarature is proof that we are a true Nation. So, I would like to recomend tpu some authors: Mayra Santos Febres, Luis Negrón and Luis Rafael Sánchez. Santos Febres’ s Sirena Selena vestida de pena is a must and Luis Negron’s Mundo Cruel also has been translated. I hope you read them.
Thank you,
¡Un abrazo desde Puerto Rico!
Thanks Luis. I have long been intending to read some Puerto Rican literature as I’ve heard some very good things about. It will take me a while as my to-read pile is pretty huge, but I will check out your suggestions. Maybe one will make a good Book of the month! Thanks again.
Thank you for reading and considering Cape Verde in your reading adventure. Mr. Germano Almeida is my relative. You are more beautiful for doing this abnormal event. Just saw your TED video clip. Anyway i applause any efforts of putting cape verde significance in the map ….you are amazing
Thanks Nuno. It was my pleasure – I really enjoyed this book. Mr Almeida must be a fascinating person to have as a relative!
Pingback: Gruaja që ka lexuar për çdo vend nga një libër… | Magazine Albania | Gjithçka për të gjithë
Hi, I loved your Ted talk and the idea of finding and reading books from every country. Such a great project, I will try to read some of the books you suggest. I wish one day there will be a library with access to all these books for everyone. Take care. Alex
Thanks Alex. A library like that would be great.
Please, please pick up ‘Dust’, by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor from Kenya. A must, must read. And do not forget Taiye Selassie, Ghana Must Go, from Ghana. Absolutely worthwhile.
Thanks! These sound very intriguing
thank u very much . hope u read once a day ” Birds of Amber” to see how and when Alexandria began to lost its cosmopolitan features . and ” The Other place” to see the new exile of the petro- dollars age in Suidi Arabia
Thanks Ibrahim. These sound interesting
Bangladesh and West Bengal were together before 1947, the year when the British rule ended in India.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya is probabably the most read author (novelist) in India of all times. He wwrote in Bangla. Long after his death, his books can be found in all most all the houses of the Bengali speaking people living all over the world. Many of his novels were turned into superhit regional and Bombay movies. His work had been translated in all Indian local languages.
I believe his Srikanta, which is termed by some as the first modern Indian novel, will be an interesting read. Srikanta is treated as an Indian classic.
You can find more here : http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1417962.Srikanta
Thanks Zahidul. Chattopadhya’s work sounds fascinating
Wow the list seems amazing. After I watched your TED talk, I thought this project was quite amazing. Also, I thought it would be great if I could find the books from South Korea, where I live now.
I hope you read the book “The hen who dreamed she could fly” from Hwang Sun-Mi.
Thanks! I have just ordered a copy…
Great project! Thanks for sharing the book list and all the reviews. You should add The Bamboo Stalk by Kuwaiti writer Saud Al Sanousi to the list. The book won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (2013)
Great suggestion – thanks Alya
This is a fantastic resource! I hope to begin using this list to broaden my horizons and begin to read the stories of the world. I teach ESL, so I am always surrounded by different cultures and want to learn more about them through literature. One recommendation I have is a book by an Iranian author that was published in English. It is, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. She writes about the events of the Iranian revolution and about a book club she hosted with young women in her house. They read a variety of Western novels and she talks about how that impacted them. It’s kind of a reverse of what you are doing here, but it is quite an insightful read!
Thanks – yes, I read that book many years ago. It’s great, isn’t it!
For Guatemala, you should add “Time Commences in Xibalba” by Luis de Lion. I am an avid reader of Guatemalan literature (in Spanish), and found it to be one of the most transcendental works of Guatemalan literature from the 20th century. The story behind its publication is fascinating, in short: written in Spanish by a Kaqchikel Maya teacher and poet, published posthumously after he was murdered by the government, non-linear narrative inspired by the Popul Vuh and representing indigenous experiences of oppression, sexuality, and identity crisis in the still-colonial and racist Guatemala. And, just recently available in English (http://www.amazon.com/Time-Commences-Xibalb%C3%A1-Sun-Tracks/dp/0816521344)
Thanks Waqi. These sound intriguing
Hi. I just saw your Ted talk and followed you here. I must say this is a very interesting project. I am impressed that you managed to read so many books while working for 5 days a week (in that 1st year of your project). this surely has pepped me to read more.
Also, in Indian literature (I noticed in some of your comments), I can think one name particularly. Ismat Chughtai. Read her. She was an Indian, but all of her writings have been in Urdu. But you will find a translated version for most of her books.
Happy reading!
Thanks – I shall look out for her.
Where is Kosovo on that list?
Kosovo is not recognised by the UN. You can find out the criteria for the list of countries here http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2011/11/24/when-is-a-country-not-a-country/
I GUESS that you don’t look pakistan read ‘namal’ by nimra ahmad bit hard to understand but good luck ann
Thanks Mirab. There are many books on my to-read list as you can imagine. Hopefully I’ll get to it one day!
Pingback: Read the World: A Year to Transformation
Hi Ann! Your project is amazing! I just saw your TED Talk and I loved it! Congratulations!
Well, I’m from Brazil and I really enjoyed your book choices for Brazil! Chico Buarque is one of my favorite authors.
Thank you for sharing this amazing project with us! I’m inspired now to read books from other countries as well 🙂
Only one thing: for the brazilian books, one author’s name was misspelled. Paulo Coelho is the correct spelling.
Great spot! Thanks. I’ll change it now
Pingback: The International Sci-Fi Challenge
Hi Ann, I’ve just seen your TED talk, and had to recommend “The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher” by Ahn-Do-hyun for South Korea.
Thanks Matthew, I’ll add this to my to-read mountain!
Was wondering if you could differentiate your list somehow to show which books are fiction vs. nonfiction? That would be awesome!
Thanks Lauren. It’s a nice idea but even if I had the time (writing posts and answering comments keeps me pretty busy alongside my writing work!) it wouldn’t be entirely possible. The distinction between fiction and non-fiction isn’t so clear-cut for some books in certain parts of the world and some of them blend myth and legend with history. That said, the vast majority of books on here are what we in the West would think of as fiction. I hope that helps. Thanks for the comment!
Hi there! How did you come about getting Mohammed Toihiri’s novel in English? Thanks!
You can read the story here http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2012/10/25/comoros-beyond-belief/ (All the country names on the list are links to posts about each book)
Ah I see…not available…well darn! I am trying to read FROM the country and if I can’t find an English version FROM I am looking to see who has written SET IN the country or written about their visit to gain some insight. Thank you!
Pingback: Diversity in Literature: Reading around the world | One Writer's Journey
Pingback: Lists & Expeditions
Hi there! Just want to let you know that after watching your TED talk about this project of yours, I got inspired and now I’m considering of doing this as well. Thank you very much for sharing this story. You’ve given me something to be excited about. (I’m excited to finish my classes and finally spend my time reading!!!! haha)
Fantastic – have fun and good luck!
Hi Ann, My names is Hiep from Vietnam. I deeply recommend you the book: “Người đàn bà trên đảo” of Hồ Anh Thái (“The Women on the Island” of Ho Anh Thai, University of Washington press, 2001). You can read full review here https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/the-women-on-the-island/ or here http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/THAWOP.html…This novel were translated into many languages such as English, Korean, French, Spanish… In Vietnam, Ho Anh Thai is a famous writer.
Thanks Hiep – this sounds very interesting
Pingback: VOLTA AO MUNDO EM PALAVRAS | The Man Across The Street
Hello – found your TED Talk and found this journey amazing. I definitely will be reading some of the books you have on your list. I am on my own journey as well and I started a blog where I take a trip through the memories of Nigerians in the Diaspora about culture, sports, music and politics of the country.
Thanks – good luck with your project!
Hey, just saw your Ted talk- inspiration of the night! It somehow made me think of the Book Thief by Markus Zusak..
If you have not read the story or watched the movie- it is an amazing story outlining the power of words and I think you would like it a lot. 🙂
Pingback: Another reading challenge? | The Resident Judge of Port Phillip
Brilliant idea. But not in a million years for me, maybe twenty (if i was younger). You’ve made me realise how restricted and limited my own reading is. Thank you.
Ha! My pleasure. Thanks Trevor.
Hi! I recently viewed your TED talk and decided to make a Christmas gift of your book to my 13 year old daughter. She loves reading and really appreciates the “feel of a real book”. Cool kid. I was wondering if you have any recommendations from you list for a readers around her age?
Thanks so much.
Hi Pharoah. That sounds like a great idea. It’s difficult without knowing your daughter as 13-year-olds can be quite different, but here are three choices that she might like. You can read my posts about them and see which sounds most suitable: my Mongolian book (http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2012/10/27/mongolia-a-high-point/) , my Samoan choice (http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2012/04/22/samoa-myth-fits/) and a book I read from China recently (http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2015/04/28/book-of-the-month-cao-wenxuan/). I hope one of them works out. Happy Christmas to you and your daughter.
I just watched your Ted talk and came to check your list out.It is actually a great resource for anyone interested in reading books from across the globe. I am from Ethiopia and the books you have included are great.But I would suggest you read “Tower in the sky” by Hiwot Teferra from Ethiopia. It’s a great read.Happy new year! 🙂
Sounds great – thanks very much!
Great job. You are source of inspiration for me.My list for you from Nepal are: Arresting God In Kathmandu,The Guru of Love,The Royal Ghost,The City Son by Samrat Upadhya and The Tutor of History, Forget Kathmandu:Elwgy for Democracy by Manjushree Thapa.
Lovely – thanks Hira
Pingback: Even more resources for multicultural youth literature – kcmellblog
Hello! I’m a high school student in Japan. I watched your TED talk about a month ago, and I’ve already reviewed it over five times actually :)) Your speech was quite inspiring and I was absolutely moved, so I want to recommend some books of my country to you.
There are three books I wanna recommend; “The Eighth Day”(by. Mitsuyo Kakuta), “The Devotion of Suspect X”(by. Keigo Higashino) and “Confessions”(by. Kanae Minato).
I’m afraid I don’t have English versions of them, but maybe you can find translated ones on the Internet. They are somewhat serious stories (I’m sorry I wanted to pick some merry ones, but they’re seldom translated 😅).
Hope my recommendation will be a bit help for you.
And sorry for such a long message.. :'(
Hi Shun. Thanks so much for your recommendation and kind comments. They sound very interesting. Very bets wishes for your studies
Amazing!!! What a great job!
Pingback: Books from all corners of the world! | biblioboogie
I watched your Ted talk.. and.. I think I’m gonna do that en 2016! But in French. My bookshelf is full of French, English and American books.. I also got one from Finland. The worse is that I am Belgian and I don’t even have one from a Belgian author! Now, I really want to discover a little bit of the world and do what you did: opening my mind.
What a lovely idea, Laura. Bon voyage!
There is no mention of PUERTO RICO. We have lots of good writers, some of them nominated for international prizes (the Nobel too!).
Yes – Puerto Rico is was not on the list of UN-recognised nations I used as the basis for my project (more information here http://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2011/11/24/when-is-a-country-not-a-country/). However, I am very keen to read some Puerto Rican writers. I hear great things. Who would your top recommendation be?
Pingback: Confession: I’m a Culturally Monogamous Reader | A Writer Writes
I’ve decided to follow in your footsteps, but still change things up a bit!
I’ve created a blog post that links to your site, hope you don’t mind! https://awriterwritesblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/confession-im-a-culturally-monogamous-reader/
Great stuff – enjoy the adventure!
Pingback: YOUR GUIDE TO READING THE WORLD – One Hundred Pages
Pingback: Il giro d’Europa in 28 libri | pensieri sparsi di una coccinella felice
Pingback: La vuelta al mundo en libros: edición América. | Tras las páginas
Pingback: La vuelta al mundo en 196 libros | Sopa de Letras
Pingback: Know Thy World | Writer Veera
Thanks for the fabulous idea! As a full-time medical student I may not have the time to read the entire world in a year, but I certainly intend to start somewhere and this list is an amazing resource. If you’re still reading, I’d strongly recommend Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (Vietnam). It offers excellent light reading and a real insight into food, tradition and politics in the 1980s. Cheers
Great, thanks Isabel. It sounds very interesting. Happy reading!
Pingback: Goals For New Writers In 2016 | B. M. Gregory
I am flattered to be on the list of Slovenian must-reads. The English translation was only published in Slovenia, by our Writers’ Association. If you need a free copy, I can send it to you.
Ooh, thanks Andrej. That would be great. I’ll send you a message
Pingback: Say Ni Hao to Asia’s Literary Exports | The Ploughshares Blog
Hi there!
I’ve got a recommendation for an amazing book about Australia that I personally think typifies what Australia is, or at least what it stereotypically used to be. The book is called ‘A Fortunate Life’ by A.B. Facey and is an autobiographical story of a man’s life, beginning in just before the turn of the 20th century. Published by his children after his death, for me it’s about the descriptions of the landscapes and traditional Australia. A timeless classic
Thanks – sounds great.
Pingback: Reading Is Adventurous | Adventurous Chica
Pingback: Escritora inglesa leu um livro de cada país durante um ano - ABCfox - Noticias Brasil e Mundo
Pingback: Reading the World. Confessions of a Literary Explorer | Martin Ackerfors
Hi,
a really amazing experience!
As reading is like a trip through fantasy landscapes, I suggest a travel writer: Nicolas Bouvier, L’Usage du Monde (The Way of the World – Switzerland). Writting about travel has its own features, and since you’ve been wandering in your readings, my view is that this book will remind you many literary experiences you have already been through.
I hope the translation is good, because Nicolas Bouvier is a stylist in the purest possible way.
Speaking of spiritual journey: Soul Mountain, by Gao Xingjian (Nobel Prize) but I don’t know wether you would put it in the “China” list or the “France” one.
Thank you for quoting Amadou Hampaté Bâ, Imre Kertesz, and Jorge Luis Borges, which are among my favourite writers.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks very much. I read Soul Mountain years ago and it is extraordinary isn’t it – although you’re write the nationality question is tricky. Thanks for the Nicolas Bouvier recommendation too.
Pingback: No time to travel? Read your way around the world. | Le Blog : Intercountry Management
Pingback: Reading Diversely – 196 Challenge – Kayla Justice
HELLO!!!! I´m a student from Venezuela, I beg you read “Doña Barbara” from Romúlo Gallegos or “Sangre en el Divan” (blood on the divan) from Ibéyise Pacheco. THANKS <3
PD: I do not speak much English sorry. I just wanted to share with you this beautiful project.
Thanks Ana. I’m keen to read some more Venezuelan literature so will definitely see if I can find these. All the best
some books that gave me literary hangover Florencia Bonelli – I call artemio fury, and Paullina simmons – The Bronze Horseman.
I’m a big fan of books, and always look for new developments often do not think in Portuguese but my read list has passed the 600 and hope to have time to read more about 10000. hahaha congratulations list.
Thanks Jessica. A literary hangover. I like that expression!
Hi,
Just learned about your amazing project a few days ago. Very inspiring. I have immediately ordered your book, and just today I launched a similar project of my own.
Of course, you and your readers have made it easy for the rest of us, breaking the grounds by discovering all these books from around the world. I am sure that I will find myself referring to your list as my “fall back”-option in more than one case.
Nevertheless, I hope that some of my own readers will provide me with even more suggestions.
For starters, I have begun a list of possible books from around the world, starting with some of the unread titles from my own shelves. If nothing else, the project might at least help me reduce that TBR-pile :-).
My very preliminary list is posted on my blog K’s bognoter (in danish).
Thank you for the inspiration and happy reading!
This is brilliant. Thanks for letting me know and I hope you have lots of exciting discoveries of your own! Happy reading to you too!
Hi Ann!
I’m from Brazil and would like to suggest the epic saga The Time and the Wind (O Tempo e o Vento in portuguese), by Érico Veríssimo. Seven books that goes through many generations of a family in southern Brazil telling the story of how the state of Rio Grande do Sul was built up. It’s deep and amazing, one of the greatest things of brazilian literature.
And I suggest as well the book Quarup, by Antônio Callado. An outstanding story of a young priest trying to find his place in the world, tracing a parallel with a time where Brazil was in a cruel dictatorship and trying very hard to discover its true identity as a nation and a culture. I’m sure you would like it 🙂
Thank you very much and congratulations for the excellent work you do in collecting of this great books all around the world!
Brilliant – thanks Julio. It sounds great.
I have watched your TED Talk on YouTube. I have an interest in your idea, I want to try reading your list. Comment and recommendation are coming after I tried.
Hi,
Great project!
Not sure whether you are still looking for an English version of Gerard Reve’s De Avonden (from The Netherlands). According to this 2015-article http://www.volkskrant.nl/boeken/de-avonden-van-gerard-reve-krijgt-engelse-vertaling~a3850335/ is has not been translated into English yet. However, Sam Garrett will do a translation for Pushkin Press in the near future, the Dutch Foundation for Literature is sponsoring (Nederlands Letterenfonds http://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/). Let me know if you want more info/translation of the article.
Cheers, Josine
Oh – very good. Thanks for pointing that out. I shall look out for it!
Pingback: 新的一年缺乏挑戰？她決定花一年時間閱讀全世界
Thank you for sharing your list! May I recommend “The Door” by Magda Szabo. I recently read this book from Hungary and thought it was absolutely marvelous.
Thanks Phyllis. I’ll look out for it.
Pingback: Reading the World: Country #1 – Iceland | Beyond the Horizon
Pingback: Finished Reading | Spocki's World
Currently, I am binge watching Ted Talks waiting for our first son to be born (anytime now, really cannot wait to meet him), and I stumbled upon yours because I really love to read, but I don’t seem to have the patience to finish a book at the moment. Your Ted Talk made me really curious about which books you have read, to see if it could inspire me to read again.
As I read your list of books per country, I noticed that you would like to read De Avonden by Gerard Reve. So I started the search for the translation. And according to this website https://letterenfonds.secure.force.com/vertalingendatabase/search?type=titels&query=De%20avonden&id=a05b0000000nAeKAAU, a translation will be available around autumn 2016. It says it will be published by Pushkin Press. Maybe I’ll join you in reading it, as I have to confess I never did so myself.
Great – thanks Janet. That’s really kind of you. Yes. This translation is on my radar – looking forward to it! Do join me if you have time (although I suspect you might be quite busy by then!). Thanks very much and all the best for the birth of your son.
Hello Ann. I’m from Beijing, China. I’ve just watched your TED talk and cannot press down my excitement. I am so surprised to find out your project, because I had just come up with the exact SAME idea last December and has just finished reading two country (which areFinland and Argentine by the way). I recently posted a blog on the Chinese website, introduced my idea and listed the countries that I’ve never read. And the people said to me “oh! you watched that TED talk too?” and I was like “What TED talk” and I find out the video of your speech. I can’t believe that a lady from a totally different continent had come up with the exact same idea few years ago (actually, even the trigger was pretty similar: I also came up with this project while staring at my bookshelf), and she has COMPLETED the project. I hope you could understand how exciting this fact means to me. It means that the whole project proved to be achievable and some one has already build a path for the people like me. More over, she told me what may this project may bring to me, and I found all those attracting, inspiring and of course, exciting. So, I really have to say:
Thank you so much, Ann.
What you have done have been so helpful and inspiring and I swear many other people feel the same. You have awaken so many people’s awareness and open up a whole new world for them, literally. And after watching your video which mentioned that it is very difficult to read books from some of those particular countries, I could not believe this list on this site. You bring the actual changes to the publishing industry! You are the real catalyst and this means so much for the era, and I feel that people in the world had never been closer. The world has never been larger and smaller. No doubt, you are a real hero!
___________
And in order to contribute for this list I’d like to recommend a novel from China: Remembrance of Earth’s Past , or The Three Body Problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three-Body_Problem by Liu Cixing. It is a science fiction, a great epic trilogy and personally my all time favorite. I have the impression that the publisher in western world prefer to translate those Chinese books that are written centuries ago or at least several decades ago (if I am wrong please do tell me), and I do not often see bookstore in America selling modern Chinese literatures that are written in this century. Well, we do have great books, in 21st century! and those are new, modern, interesting, exiting, inspiring and suitable for the time, for the world. I bet many of those book may change how western world see us and understand our society and culture—— The Three Body Problem Trilogy is definitely one of them.
Its English translation is now available (thanks for Ken Liu) on Amazon. Thanks for the translation, the first novel of the trilogy won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel! Wow! (Though I have to say the second and the third are definitely BETTER!)
I really do not want to spoil anything so I could not say much about the story but I guarantee, this book is awesome. Liu Cixing has played many bold (I will say unimaginable!) thought experiment on sociology, international politics and cosmology in this book… and those really worth reflect on and simply very fascinating to read. While the whole theme of the book is pretty serious and involve hardcore scientific (sometimes philosophical)staff, but the plot and the character are simply just as entertaining as any Hollywood movie. And the best: those Chinese jokes are real, pretty accurate and laughable. (Many just “guess” how Chinese jokes will be like but I have to say most of them fail…..)
I personally think it count as one of the most groundbreaking science fiction of the world today but I am not a hard core sci-fi fan so I will just keep this opinion to myself. But one thing I dare to say, it is definitely the most phenomenal sci-fi novel in China like ever. Five star recommendation.
________
Thank you again, for sharing, and everything. And wish you the best!
Hi! Thanks for your kind words and the recommendation. Liu Cixing’s work sounds great. I wish you every success with your own reading adventures.
Hello – I just discovered this list. Thank you very much for compiling it.
Pingback: The writer who read the world! – Hend Halim Designs
Pingback: Reading Resolutions: Read Around the World | Between the lines
I’m obsessed with book lists and this is making me swoon. I’m surprised that no one has mentioned The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson, about Communist North Korea. It won the Pulitzer, I believe in 2012. A must read.
Thanks Leslie – the project was about books from particular countries (rather than about or ‘set in’) so Adam Johnson’s book wouldn’t have been an obvious choice. Thanks for reminding me about it though – I’ve been meaning to read it for a while.
Pingback: Updates | Leah In China
Hi!
I learned about your blog today by accident. I’m from Brazil and I’m here to make 2 recommendations for the Brazilian list. I do apologise if my comments don’t go in line with the purpose of this section. I should probably read all your blog to better understand the type of recommendations that are welcome before recommending anything. But I just can’t hold the thrill of the excitement!
1 – I would recommend the removal of the book Jubiabá by Jorge Amado from your list. That is because I read a lot of Jorge Amado, and I can tell you that Jubiabá is so far from being one of his best. It is one of his early works. You can’t get a real feeling of Jorge Amado’s talent, humour and skill with this one. Don’t get me wrong. It is a good book. But it can be quite boring, very biased politically, and so far behind his later books in quality overall. If you jump to another book of his, published only 2 years later, Captains of the Sands, then you will have a master piece! Story, characters, references and writing with much more meaning.
2 – I didn’t see Érico Veríssimo in the list, so I thought I would write a little bit about him. His “Time and the Wind” is often in the lists of the best Brazilian books of all times, when the lists are prepared by old school intellectuals. But also in our generation, it often drives the passions that best sellers do. Such unanimity probably means two things: a) it is good indeed, and b) it says something about the Brazilian taste for literature.
Time and the Wind is made of 3 parts, that are split into 7 volumes. But each part can easily be read separately as a stand alone. Not surprisingly, at different years, students here are asked to master only one of them for their A levels. Part one is named “The Continent.” It is short, intense, beautiful, and an irresistible read. As I said, if you don’t go for the sequels, you still can perfectly say you’ve read a whole piece, as The Continent is often taken as the greatest book in these lands.
Finally, it is a historic novel. If you end up liking the idea of reading the 7 volumes, you will be reading a plot that covers almost 3 centuries of the Brazilian history, with insights into important episodes and several classes of people living during those days.
I hope this is helpful!
All best wishes
Renan
Thanks Renan. This list is a record of the recommendations I got during and immediately after the project in 2012, so I do not remove titles from it. However, I still choose and add one new book each month, so I will consider ‘Time and Wind’ for that. With thanks and best wishes, Ann
Hi Renan,
You were faster lol. I would recommend the same book from Jorge Amado. Amazing, it is one of the best I’ve ever read.
Karin
Other books from Zimbabwe you might like to read: Tendai Huchu’s second novel, ‘The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician’, Bryony Rheam’s ‘This September Sun’, Christopher Mlalazi’s ‘Dancing with Life’ and John Eppel’s novels.
Great – thanks Jane!
Pingback: The Sexy Lamp Test: what are you watching? | The Dumpling Cart
The White Masai (Die weisse Massai), a memoir by Corinne Hofmann is a great read! Would probably fall under ‘Kenya’ on your list.
Thanks for sharing this list, @AYoRtW! More power to you.
Pingback: Un itinéraire autour du monde aux saveurs littéraires | Ensemble, maintenant
Pingback: Reading Like a Human | The Green Study
Pingback: En qué consiste el reto Un país, una autora, un libro - Yo leo el mundo en femenino
Pingback: Reading the World | Being Alvin
What about reading a book from a Hawaii author. Hawaii used to be it’s own country for thousands of years and has a unique culture, different from the United States. I’d recommend Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. There are many others, of course. Lois’s book is written in pidgin English – the language most spoken in Hawaii. If you send me your address, I’ll mail it to you.
Thanks Marlene. It sounds interesting. That’s a kind offer. I’ll be in touch
Pingback: La vuelta al mundo en 186 libros
Pingback: Reading the World | ஐ Flowers from a Book ஐ
Pingback: Leggere il mondo : la storia di Ann Morgan | Lovingbooks
I saw you about a month ago on TedTalk and I fell in love with this idea. I’m proud of you cor continuing this goal. I normally disregard New Years Resolutions but so far I have read two, “A Good Muslim”, “The Bastard of Istanbul” by Elif Shafak and I just started “Smilla Sence of Snow”
On the other hand, I have stumbled across a few books for you. They have turned into movies, actually. The first, which I absolutely love is called “Bliss. It is by a man named Zülfü Livaneli. It is now a movie that is streaming on Netflix. Here is the link to that one. It’s Barnes and Noble. Not sure if you have that in your area.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bliss-o-z-livaneli/1103270375?ean=9780312360542
The second, is one I found out about just last night. The book is called, “Balladen om Marie” by Anastassia Arnold. Unfortunately, whether or not this book is translated in English, I am not sure. Also this would be from Denmark
Another one that has become a movie, this one from Denmark, is called “Seducer’s Diary”, by Søren Kierkegaard.
I do apologies for this long note,
Elizabeth
Thanks Elizabeth – these sound very interesting. Happy reading!
Pingback: Reading the World | ponyeagle
Hi Ann! Hi from Brazil!
I saw your TED talk at the end of last year and I just couln’t stop thinking about it! I just loved your project! Really inspiring as travelling and reading are some of my favorites activities (top ones). I’ve got really impressed about your idea. So I decided to follow you, but in my own pace. And I just started it out! My plans are to begin with the countries that I’ve already visited. All my life to visit 50 countries and let us see how many ‘years’ to read them all!
I would like you wish me good luck.
Thanks for your list: it will be my guide.
Thanks Andréa! Happy reading to you.
A recommendation for Finland – Tove Jansson: The Summer Book. Splendid read and a peak into Finnish identity.
Thanks. Yes, this is a great book. I read it when I was a student
Hi, I’m from Portugal. I am afraid I have never read “The Mandarin and Other Stories” by José Maria Eça de Queiroz, but I think you should try Jose Saramago. It’s a little hard to read for the first time, but when you begin to understand the way he thinks and what he is trying to say, you’ll love it. Maybe “The Blindness” is the more well known or “Memorial Do Convento”. Really, you should try! And congrats for this challenge !
Thanks Ana. Yes, I read ‘Blindness’ a few years ago. It’s great! Thanks for your comment.
Hi! Awesome challenge and very inspiring! I imagine that connecting with the world through literature must be the most wonderful way to do it. I know that nobody can speack every language in the world, but after reading so many books from around the world, don’t you want to learn languages to read them in the original idiom? Also, to contribute to de cause, here some titles and authors from my country:
The towers of Nuremberg- José Sabastián Tallon (Argentina). It’s a book of poems and short stories for kids, but it can be read and enjoyed at any time of life. It is sadly not vey known, but it’s a true gem.
Also,if we talk about children’s authors, Maria Elena Walsh and Elsa Bornemann must be on the list.
Borges is already on your list and it sure is a must-read argentian writer, it’s “mind-blowing”.
Another important names of the argentinian literature are Silvina and Victoria Ocampo, Alfonsina Storni, José Hernández (The Martin Fierro is sort of a national book), Roberto Arlt… The list can be very long and i’m sure that you are already very occupied.
Anyway, good luck and I hope you enjoy very much your readings!!
Brilliant, thanks Carola. It would certainly be great to have the time to learn all the world’s languages!
Pingback: Leggere il Mondo #LeggereIlMondo – 50 libri in un anno
Hi. I am a 12 year old interested in exploring the planet and reading books that drift me away to a whole new world. A few days back I surfed through the internet, looking for information on the authors of whom i had read books of. Astonished, i realized that they were the most famous authors of the world (most of Britain) covering the ones who wanted to share their ideas to the citizens but were unfortunately not part of the english speaking world. This led me to your blog, which is a great inspiration. I, myself, a juvenile am on a quest of reading a book from each and every country of the world. It was quite a shame that I had never read a book from my own country, Pakistan. I would like to thank you for sharing your experience and giving us that boost to make our dreams come true.
Thank you,
Aisha
Thanks very much Aisha – happy reading!
What about Dostoyevsky from Russia? One of the greatest writers of all times (said by non-Russian)! 🙂
Certainly a classic!
Hi London choir girl, great project! congratulations…
I agree with you on lots of books, have a lot more to discover though 😉
I would add
to USA Anne Tyler – Harper Lee (To kill a mockingbird) – David Guterson (Snow falling on cedars) – Betty Smith (A tree grows in Brooklyn) – John Edward Williams (Stoner). Was happy to see Barbara Kingsolver on your list 🙂
To Switzerland certainly Joël Dicker (The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair) – Johanna Spyri (Heidi) –> great book for adults also
To Austria Joseph Roth (Radetzky March)
To Chile Ariel Dorfman (Death and the Maiden) – Isabel Allende (Paula)
To Malaysia Tan Twan Erg (The gift of rain / The Garden of Evening Mists)
To Australia Colleen Mc Cullough (Thorn birds) – Derek Hansen (sole survivor)
thank you <3
susanne
Thanks Susanne. Some intriguing-sounding titles here.
Pingback: Reading the world… – .wondrous books.
Pingback: Leggere il Mondo – La sfida #LeggereIlMondo | Rockaway the days
Hi Ann! What a fabulous project. If one day you have too much time on your hands, a way of marking those books available electronically would be super useful (some of us, e.g. those with visual impairments, do better with reading on Kindles where the font size can be changed).
Are you still taking recommendations? I have just finished a book that had long been on my list of must-reads and I was thoroughly gripped. It is by a Hungarian author from the former Yugoslavia, the area now belongs to Serbia. Set in a tiny town, peopled with seemingly ordinary characters and using uncomplicated but beautiful language, it quietly paints the most extraordinary picture of human drama. It reminds me of the great Russians and, also in its use of devices reminiscent of magical realism, of Garcia Marquez. The author is called Nándor Gion, and the book is called Flower-adorned Soldier, or Virágos Katona in the original. I should add I do not know what the quality of the English translation is like.
I also second the recommendations of Magda Szabó above.
Thanks! It’s a nice idea. The problem is that availability changes constantly, so keeping this information would be a big job (on top of the hours I already spend maintaining the blog each week!) Thanks for your recommendations. I choose one book to write about on the blog each month from the suggestions I still receive every day so who know I may well feature one of yours one day. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Hello Ann, what a wonderful inspiration your blog is! I can really relate to the beginning of your story – I am from South Africa, but some time ago had an embarrassing realization about how little I had read even from the rest of my own continent. Your list also has some interesting suggestions for further reading from my own country!
In case you don’t know it, I wanted to recommend the Picador Book of African Stories, edited by Stephen Gray. This book really helped me on my way, as it is a fantastic “tasting platter” of short stories from 27 African countries (including the Indian Ocean islands). Over half the stories were translated into English for the first time from French, Portuguese, Arabic and Afrikaans. The editor also writes an interesting account of the search and selection process, with many elements that you may find familiar…
Thank you for all the great reading material, I’m looking forward to following your further adventures!
Deborah
Thanks Deborah – it sounds like a very good introduction to African writing.
What an extraordinary project! And the list provides a great base for us all to widen our horizons! But i was sad to see so few recomrndations from Sweden! We are home to some of the best authors that have ever lived, and even some nobelprizewinning authors! Like Selma Lagerlöf and her Nils Holgersons underbara resa genom Sverige, it’s sort of a childrens book, yet not, it depictures Sweden in 1906 from a birds eyes wiev. Or some of Astrid Lindgrens world famous books, Madicken, a rich cheaky girl around the year 1900, who get’s in to a lot of troubles, or Rasmus på luffen, a young orphan living in an orphaneg and never being picked by any of the familys looking for a kid, so he runs away and meet a bum, and they becom great friends, for examples. And a nother childrensbookauthor is Elsa Beskow, with the moost georgus drawings! And then you have August Strindberg, my favourit is Hemsöborna, about a man, Carlsson, who gets a job at a farm but end up merrying the old widow, but cheats on her with the maids, she sneaks out one winternight to catch him, and then gets lemonia, and she dies a few weeks later. When the cascet is on it’s way to the burrial the ice they’ll have to cross breaks, and the cascet sinks, and Carlsson is suposed to have gone under with it… But Strindbergs most famaouse book is probobly Röda rummet, we folow a young man in Stockholm in the 1880’s wich is Strindbergs alter ego. Then you have Vilhelm Moberg who wrote Utvandrarna, Invandrarna, Nybyggarna and Sista brevet till Sverige, wich is a serie about a group of swedes in 1840 who emigrates to America in search of a better life, the travel there and their new life there. A more modern author who i love is Jan Guillou who has writen a great book called Ondskan, about a young man/boy who gets beaten a lot by his stepfather and his mother eventualy send him away to a werry posh internat, but being poor means being misstreated and beaten there aswell. It’s a book about how cruel kids can be to other kids, and the grownups turning a blind eye to it. Guillou later reveled that the caracter in the book was his alter ego. The internat is a real internat in Sweden, where the Swedish price Carl-Philip whent for school, and it has been criticised on numeros times from the schoolinspection and there have been students who have been taken to hospitals, policereports and trials, but it’s still open… Guillou have also written a long series of books about Carl Hamilton a nobleman, an intelligence officer and a attackdiver (some vage similaritys to James Bond) who is pro palestina and as young werry far out on the left politicaly, he is an outspoked komunist, yet he has been specialy recruited by the swedish army, he’s been trained as a navy seal, he has a pol mag in political science, he has a computer degree from university of San Diego and so on… The books start in the 1980’s and follows a series of military operations, as well as the bonds that develops betwen he and his teammates and their life, they are werry political, yet delivers a few laughs from time to time.
Thanks Desiree. These sound great – I hope to get to them some day!
How about exploring a little more and recognising that Cyprus also has turkish as an official language and significant pieces of writing in the Turkish language.you have only included ones in the Greek language.
Yes indeed – this is something I’m keen to explore. The list only has Greek titles because no one has yet suggested a Turkish-Cypriot book that has been translated into English. What would your top recommendation be?
Regarding Turkish-Cypriot writers, I was recommended Aydin Mehmet Ali (who’s touring the UK at the moment) and Nese Yasin.
Great – thanks!
Awesome project. I’m going to bookmark your list so I can refer back to it for reading ideas for myself. I have one more recommendation for your for India: Waiting for the Monsoon by Threes Anna. It’s one of my favourite books and I didn’t see it on your extensive list from that country.
Thanks – sounds good!
I would say don’t waste your time with Jens Lapidus for Sweden, there are SO MANY better writers out there. If you want something of a similar vein, the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson is much better. Regarding other writers, I’d recommend Karin Alvtegen – Shadow and also Selma Lagerlöf, the first female winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. Also if you can find something by Karin Boye (e.g. Kallocain). As a short story, Stig Dagerman’s To Kill a Child is beautiful. If you want a chance to watch a play, Miss Julie by August Strindberg is a classic. In addition, anything by Astrid Lindgren, because Pippi Longstocking deserves more recognition 😉 Montecore is a brilliant for only one Swedish book though – good choice!
Thanks Cecilia – some great suggestions here!
Pingback: Booking Around the World – The Veiled Pursuit
Pingback: Read the World Challenge – Generously Salty Review
Pingback: Upside Down | amarllyis
to understand the Argentine DNA, you must read this book Martin Fierro – Jose Hernandez , it will be complicated his translation.
Hi Ann!
Just listened to your TED talk– fascinating & inspiring!
I know you said you were focusing solely on novels, short stories or memoirs, but I am curious if anyone gave you any recommendation on poetry from other countries?
Thanks & blessings!
Thanks Valerie – not really, as I was asking for prose recommendations. But if you scroll through the comments on the list you’ll find a few poetry suggestions there. You might also find this interesting http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/poetry-parnassus – it was an initiative that ran at the time of the London Olympics to bring a poet from every country to the capital.
With best wishes
Ann
Thanks so much, Ann!
Happy reading 🙂
Dear Ann,
Thank you for your inspiring TED talk, blog and list.
Would like to recommand:
Meir Shalev from Isreal. Four Meals, Esau, Fontanelle.
Herbjorg Wassmo from Norway. Tora trilogy.
Just started with Japan: Murakami.
Looking forward to read more Books from your list!
Kind Regards, Sandy Wiecherink
Thanks Sandy. This sound very interesting. Enjoy the Murakami!
Pingback: Booking Around the World: Afghanistan – The Veiled Pursuit
The Hakawati — Rabih Alameddine from Lebanon. Enjoy!!!!
Thanks!
María – written by Jorge Isaacs from Colombia. Enjoy it. It really worth to be read.
Thanks Juan – it sounds intriguing!
Hello Ann,
I’m Pui from Thailand. I would like to suggest a book from my country. The name of the book is “A history of Thailand” by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit. The book will explore you to know about Thailand.
Hope this help you enjoy to read.
Have a nice day.
Pui
Hi Pui – that sounds interesting. Thanks very much!
This is a great blog! Thanks for taking in the challenge and for sharing your findings! I love that you mentioned books too, so many book enthusiasts knock ebooks done but they are so convenient for traveling! It would be great if you could somehow note which books are available as books to help make my backpack lighter!
I also want to read books from each of the countries I travel to, and I’m currently in south east Asia so thanks for your suggestions. I’d like to recommend a few more for your interest –
Nepal “from goddess to mortal”,
Cambodia ” first they killed my father ” and the (happier) sequel ” lucky child “,
Vietnam “when heaven and earth changed places”.
I like to really understand the culture and history of the places I read about, hence my suggestions are of a certain theme, but really good reads in my opinion! I’m looking for some more books for Thailand if anyone has suggestions, focused on cultural traditions or history.
Thanks, and happy reading! (Ps sorry for the typing, I’m on an iPad on the road!)
Thanks Aisling – happy reading (and travelling) to you too!
Also, some nice stories from Botswana are “The number 1 lady’s detective agency ” series.
Hi, I was not able to read through all the comments but as for good German literature I am missing Erich Maria Remarque (e. g. All Quiet on the Western Front). Subjectivly speaking, his works are much better than the ones from Hesse 😉
Thanks Elfi – certainly a classic!
I’ve got impressed from you. After watching your TED video, I thought again about how I live my life and what I want to do now. and I got more confidence about cooperation between people. Thank you : ) Hope to meet u again someday in our life.
Ah, thanks. That’s lovely to know
Pingback: Да прочетеш света в 196 книги | LifeBites.bg
Pingback: Why I Read: Translated Literature (And How You Can Too) | Babbling Books
Pingback: Ann Morgan „Mój rok z czytaniem książek z każdego kraju na świecie” | lookatted
Pingback: Ann Morgan : Mój rok z czytaniem książek z każdego kraju na świecie | lookatted
Pingback: The list | sutarneelamani
Pingback: 5 Bold New Book Club Ideas! Bellevue | King County Library System
Is it my imagination? Or I can’t seem to find Britain/Great Britain/England?
You’re right – they’re not there, but ‘United Kingdom’ is. That’s how GB is known at the UN.
Pingback: Comoros – the54booktour
There’s translation of Sabahattin Ali’s (who is on your list as Turkish recommendation) Madonna in a Fur Coat published 2 weeks ago in England. I read it and fell in love with it’s characters and the story from the very beginning. It under 200 pages long.
It is already one of my favourite books read lately!
Yes – I have a copy ready to read. Looking forward to getting stuck in!
Pingback: Why I’m Reading A Book From (Almost) Every Country – The Course of Events
Pingback: Autran Dourado Wikipedia | Bottle2
This is such a great idea! I’m going to follow your recommendations and try start this next year! Though I’m probably looking at setting myself one country book a month as my reading list is very full with others at the moment. My question is (and I haven’t looked into this yet), are these books easy to find, e.g. Amazon?
Thanks. A lot are, some aren’t. And some aren’t commercially available at all. If you click the country names you’ll see how I cam by each book. But a lot more has been translated since 2012, so I’d also encourage you to explore further and find your own choices too. Good luck!
Hello! I am a French girl and my absolute favorite book is “Mood Indigo” by Boris Vian. It’s just so sweet and surreal . I hope you will like it! 🙂
Thanks Shelly – it sounds interesting
Hi. Me and my friend just started the journey by ourselves. I can see you got Bessie Head as part of Botswana, but she is born in South Africa.. I don’t know if you knew that or not. And thanks for this blog, it will help us on our journey.
Yes indeed. The question of what makes a book ‘from’ a country was one of the most interesting and challenging aspects of the quest, as you’ll no doubt find in your adventure. Enjoy!
Hi am ina from Somalia
well i really enjoyed watching your Ted Talks video of reading book around the world
i really enjoyed your enthusiasm about learning other cultures by the reading translated books from there
well i can recommend you one prominent Somalian Author he is called Nuruddin Farah
1- Secrets
2- Crossbones
well i hope you enjoy his works
but personally i hope you discover Stefan Zweig Works
he is an Austarian Jewish Author and he is my Favorite Author in the world
well this is my last recommendation GoodReads.com
this is great website for all book lovers i hope you discover it also
Thanks – yes ‘Secrets’ was my choice for Somalia. Farah is great. Thanks for your suggestions
Pingback: Book Searching – ProjectedLibrarian
This is such a wonderful list. I am a Jamaican writer and you can find my book It’s Complicated: Short Stories About Long Relationships on Amazon.
I am also going to link this site onto my blog.
This is a great resource for readers wanting to try something new.
Thanks Run. Your book sounds intriguing. Good luck with your writing
Thank you. Someday, I’d like to share my fiction with you too.
Pingback: Reading your way across the globe – RUN WRIGHT
Hi, What you did is amazing. I’m gonna check your list whenever I wanna choose a new book to read 🙂
As an Iranian I would like to recommend “The Blind Owl” by Sadegh Hedayat. I would absolutely like to know what you think about it.
Thanks Irsa. It sounds interesting!
I just watched your TED talk, and was so inspired by you. I am going to pick books from your list starting now. I just wanted to recommend this book that I recently enjoyed. It is a autobiographical comic strip style book by an Iranian author – Marjane Satrapi. The book is called ‘ The Complete Persepolis’. I found it very eye opening, and have been recommending it to everyone, just in case you are interested. 🙂
Thanks Vin, that does sound interesting!
Which one from the list has translated to Indonesian (except the Indonesia book)? Think would be great if i start a copy project 😀 I just watch your TED presentation in http://s.id/94z Nice share
That’s a very good question – it would certainly be fascinating to know! That would be a wonderful project. Thanks for the comment
May I suggest adding The Sorrow of Belgium by Hugo Claus to your list (under Belgium, of course).
Thanks. I’ll certainly consider it for one of my Book of the Month choices.
Hola from Venezuela! Just read about your project and I think is awesome! Will try to read some of the books you got (in spanish so it might be a little hard to fond them too) specially from africa/asia countries. Form Venezuela I love Romulo Gallegos “Doña Barbara”, Miguel Otero SIlva “Casas Muertas”, Jose Rafael Pocaterra “Cuentos Grotescos” (collection of short stories) and Teresa de la Parra “Ifigenia”. Im pretty sure you can find those in english, if not, let me know if you are instered and Ill try to do it. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Hola Sosiree. Thanks – these books sound interesting
Brilliant! Thank you for this great list, I’d like to add:
France: Albert Camus / Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot / Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
India: Rabindranath Tagore
Italy: Italo calvino / Umberto Eco / Dario Fo, Mistero Buffo
Russia: Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago
Some classics there. Thanks Giuseppe
This is amazing! I want to create my own map. From Ghana: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
Pingback: Couple Traveling Around The World Blog | Boom Sport
Pingback: The list – joliesor
I have just watched your Tedtalk, found your challenge totally inspiring! I wonder if you would put up your list on goodreads.com as a reading challenge, as it would reach more people and provide a convenient tool to keep track of reading.
Thanks Bahar. It’s an interesting idea, although there are a few issues as some of the books are not available to buy (although a few have been published since the quest). Also, although people are very welcome to use my quest as a guide, I hope people will also explore other books as there have been some wonderful translations published since my project. Definitely something to consider though. Thanks for your comment!
Hi Ann, I love your project, which I only became aware of last spring. I have a recommendation for you – Eve Out of Her Ruins by Mauritian writer Ananda Devi. I’ve just read the book and met the author at a reading. It’s a heartbreaking and poignant portrayal of the lives of four Mauritian teenagers. The language, rendered in Jeffrey Zuckerman’s translation, is beautiful and poetic. As a side note, you’re project inspired to me take up my own project of reading works written by authors of the places I traveled to this past summer. I also used your TedTalk in an undergraduate course on translation studies I’m teaching this fall. Thank you for promoting literature in translation and for your inspiration.
Thanks very much, Shelby. This sounds fascinating. It’s going on the TBR list. Great to hear about your reading and teaching – I hope the rest of the year brings you some wonderful classes and stories.
I have recently come by a book that you will find find in the Biography section called “In the land of Invisible women A female doctor’s journey in the Saudi Kingdom” by a London Muslim named Qanta A. Ahmed. I hope you enjoy it.
Sounds intriguing – thanks Elizabeth!
Pingback: Reading the World – Scott's Blog
Pingback: A year of reading the world | Must See - Tasmetu
Pingback: Прочитати світ. По книжці із кожної із 196 країн - Блог Yakaboo.ua
Pingback: Recomendaciones de libros de cada uno de los países del mundo
Wow! This is very intriguing. I watched your presentation at the TED online and found your project very interesting. Parochial books could very well talk a lot about the place, people, culture and history. As a child, I used to wonder about the reasons for interpretations and language translations. With immense stories available, and growing, in the non-English speaking world, a bibliophile is destined to be a slave to a translator. Just an idea here, please ignore if someone has already hinted at, it might be a great project if language is considered as the universe to explore instead of countries. This way, for e.g., arabic speaking countries might look united with history and culture while a country such as India might look divided with each state and province having its own story to be told. Coming from a Telugu speaking land, I suspect there are a wide repertoire of local language publications (and hence authors) which remain hidden to the modern English-speaking world. And India has 22 official languages while number of languages spoken as mother tongue is over thousand. Your project has triggered an interest in me to begin to look at book reading as not just to quench one’s thirst for knowledge but to understand humans and their history which defines to a lot of extent their current predicament or fortunes and better appreciate the coming days.
Thanks Vijay. Yes, languages are a fascinating way of looking at literature, aren’t they? I have read translations from several of India’s official languages and very much enjoyed them. You’re certainly right that there is a huge amount of great literature hidden from the English-speaking world.
Pingback: Just Google It | The Flâneur's Turtle
Absolutely amazing! This is awesome! Congrats!
Beautiful idea and superb list. One more for you… I Write What I Like by Steve Biko (South Africa)
Thanks – ah yes, a classic!
Pingback: The list | As Good As it Gets
Pingback: 8 Steps to Help You Fight Culture Shock - Postcards & Polkadots
Pingback: Ways to Celebrate International Education Week | Grand Rapids Community College Library
Paradise of the Blind by Dương Thu Hương (Vietnam). A good read 🙂
Pingback: The list | adelkolli's Blog
What an intriguing idea! And kudos for having finished your project. Following your inspiration i think I’ll take up one continent for now. I’m most curious about Africa. Thanks to you i now have something to look forward to every weekend.
Keep up the good work. And all the best.
I’ll be following your blog for updates!
Sorry to be a nitpick, but the last name of one the Hungarian authors is misspelled, should be Peter Esterhazy, not Esterharzy. No, I’m not Hungarian, but I’ve read some of his books 🙂
Thanks very much – great spot. I’ll amend
Pingback: 10 Books and Movies That Will Spark Your Wanderlust | Travel Guides For Muslim Travellers | Have Halal, Will Travel
Hi Ann, I’m from Morocco and i’ve just watched your Tedx and find the idea so amazing that I decide to do the same thing but not in one year. So far I read for 14 countries and your blog is a great source of books’ suggestion. I’m used to read in french but now i try to do it even in english, spanish and arabic.
I think it’s an amazing way to discover the world through the literature. Thx for sharing your experience with us and wish u a good luck
Thanks Narjisse – happy reading!
Pingback: Resolution: Read the World | the sandguppy
For a very new entry for Barbados – The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson. Beautiful book.
Oh. And Buckingham Palace District Six by Richard Rive for South Africa
What is the what by Dave Eggers is a book that really gave me an idea about culture in Sudan
Pingback: Top 10 Reads of 2016 - A Deliberate Life
Pingback: Book List 2016 | amarllyis
Pingback: Stell: My Reading Challenge – Greensboro Bar Association
Pingback: Moana, Polynesia as a Monolith, and Books by and About Polynesians – The Course of Events
Loved your TED Talk! Thank you for all that you do!
I was inspired by the Norwegian novel “The Ice Palace” by Tarjei Vesaas. A tender exploration into the nature of human connection featuring two 11 year old girls. I wrote a short essay for Arnold Weinstein’s great course “Fiction of Relationship” on the novel: https://plus.google.com/104222466367230914966/posts/cS9GgPF8npm
Pingback: #translationthurs carries on now read the world with female writers | Winstonsdad's Blog
Great list! If you need inspiration despite all – I started a new blog this year called Reading Destinations where I intend to provide links to all my reviews from Edith’s Miscellany and Lagraziana’s Kalliopeion sorted by country.
Well, the blog is still under construction and I didn’t intend to promote it at this time, but you might already find some books for your list, notably by European authors. By the way, I make a point of gender equality on all my blogs, so half of the books are from the pens of women!
Thanks! Happy blogging.
Pingback: Reading the World – #1book1country | A Norwegian in Milan
Pingback: Mulosige
Pingback: Postcards from Ann’s bookshelf – la impresionista
First of all thank you for this amazing list! If I may, I would like to make a few suggestions, I wasn’t able to go through all comments, :9 I apologize if some suggestions are redundant.
Czech Republic:Kundera’s “the unbearable lightness of being”
Italy: “history:a novel” by Elsa Morante, cesare pavese’s “the moon and the bonfires” , “Pinocchio” by Collodi, as well as something from Italo Calvino: “if a night of winter a travelers”, “the baron in the tree”, “invisible cities”, “six memos for the new millennium”…
Stefano benni is a more contemporary writer but his unique writing style made him a very popular writer among Italian young adults. I think the only translated novel il “timeskipper”.
South Africa: I would suggest Doring Lessing’s Martha Quest. “African landscapes” is also a good read.
USA: contemporary writer Elisabeth Strout’s “Olive kitteridge”
Ukraine: I’d like to suggest something from Irene Nemirovsky, but since most of her works haven’t been translated maybe The Mirador, written by her daughter?
Hope you like some of those recommendations as they are some of my favourite books. Thank you again for the great blog!
Oh, and nobel prize winner South African author Coetzee “waiting for the barbarians”!
Thanks Valeria. Some of your favourites are among my favourites too!
Hi. I’m Iraqi and spent my life in Iran, Syria, and Europe, in addition to Iraq. I’ve recently started to blog about reading, thinking, and writing on my blog muhammadalwaeli.com.
For Iran, I’d like to suggest two very famous novels about the role of women in the Iraq-Iran war.
The first one is One Woman’s War: Da (Mother) by Seyyedeh Zahra Hosseini. Its arguable the most famous novel in Iran. (goo.gl/i9UNHP)
The second one is I’m Alive by Masoumeh Abad, also pretty famous. (goo.gl/HVUBxR).
Both have been translated into English. The first one is available on Amazon, but I had difficulty locating the English version of the second one any of the famous online bookstores. But I promise if I find the English version of I’m Alive in English here in Iran, I’m going to to send it to you via mail.
Interestingly, I’m not well read in Iraqi literature, although I’m Iraqi. 🙂 But if I come across some Iraqi classics, I will let you know.
Thanks Muhammad. Good luck with your blog!
Pingback: Citind in jurul lumii – Căsuța Oliviei
Pingback: Um livro de cada país durante um ano | Biblioteca de São Paulo
Pingback: Да прочетеш света в точно 196 книги | LifeBites.bg
I picked a copy of Dragon’s Fin Soup : And Other Modern Siamese Fables by S.P. Somtow while on a holiday at Koh Samui, Thailand. I’ve read two stories and it is a fabulous read so far – so vivid in its imagery of Thai tradition and idiosyncrasies. Highly recommend it 🙂
Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21841670-dragon-s-fin-soup
Sounds great – thanks for telling me about it, Sandhya!
This is an amazing project! I would like to try a variation of it reading only upbeat and humorous books. I’m ill now and want to keep things positive and hopeful.
May I suggested another book my favorite author, Robertson Davies From Canada? I love the Cornish Trilogy. It’s intricate, and wonderful, and quirky.
My favorite book of all time, although I find the political philosophy abhorrent, is Atlas Shrugged.
Thanks Susan – I hope you get better soon. Happy reading. Ann
Hi, Love the list. I have 2 authors to recommend from Japan Takashi Hiraide who wrote The Guest Cat and Sun-Mi Hwang from South Korea who wrote the Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly. Also a note you have put Neil Gaiman in the USA section when he is from England.
Thanks Tiffany. Those sound very tempting.
The question of what makes a book ‘from’ a place was one of the major themes of the quest and is something I discuss quite a bit in my book. You can read why Neil Gaiman was my US pick here: https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2012/03/16/united-states-supersize-gods/
This is impressive you are my guru… only one question, why did you read a title in the middle of Elena Ferrante’s quadtilogy, instead of starting from the beginning? This is really a pity for your reading experience.
And ond suggestion, for China you should absolutely add Brothers (Yu Hua). A great picture of China from the 60s to nowadays (and very funny too). Ah, and Beijing coma (Ma Jian), about the protests in Tiananmen in 89
Ah, thanks. ‘My Brilliant Friend’ is actually the first in the series, so I started at the beginning. Thanks for the Chinese recommendations.
Thank you for your work. Do you have any recommendations for books about Native Americans?
My pleasure. The most famous would be Louise Erdrich’s work, particularly The Round House. Always keen to hear of others though!
Sherman Alexie and Leslie Marmon Sliko are classic choices as well. I teach both and they are generally well-received by my students (though Alexie moreso).
I’jaam by Sinon Antoon is stunning, and a quick read. Antoon was born and raised in Iraq, and “I’jaam” is about life under the Ba’athist dictatorship.
Thanks Alexandra – it sounds great
Dear Ann Morgan, thank you for that wonderful list! I would like to share two of my favorite Italian women writers: Dacia Maraini: The silent duchess- so beautiful! And the more contemporary Margaret Mazzantini, in particular Morning Sea. But she has written many other wonderful novels ( and movies).
happy reading:)
Pingback: Vaš vodič za čitanje sveta – diz que diz
Pingback: The list | random scribbles
Pingback: How-to: Read More and Efficiently (5 Tricks From a Critic) - The Scribbled Kite
Pingback: Febrero, libro de Nueva Zelanda: The Bone People – -Huevos Fritos-
For South Sudan, I have just ordered “There Is a Country: New Fiction from the New Nation of South Sudan”, ed. Tong, Nyuol Lueth, from Amazon.
Pingback: I want to listen to songs I have never heard for a whole month | Bryan Allen Smith's Blog
Awesome reading adventure!! Thank you for the list!! For Haiti – “Restavec” by Jean Robert Cadet; For Bahamas “The Disappearance of J D Sinclair” by Keith Russell.
From Romanian literature, I recommend Mircea Eliade – Maitreyi (1933); Liviu Rebreanu – Forest of the Hanged (1922). I also recommend The Woman with the Booklet (“La Rêveuse d’Ostende”, 2007), one of my favorite books, written by the French-born Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
Hi, I watched your TED talk just now and find this website. I am so inspired by your project. I am a student of translation in China and I like reading. As I myself don’t have many acesses to books translated from other countries, I really want to read books i don’t know from your website. And I also really want to recommend you Chinese books because there are so many wonderful Chinese books and stories that will amaze you. Unfortunately, there is much less English-translated books from China. If you want to read any Chinese book, I’d love to try to translate for you.
Julie XU.
Thanks Julie – that’s very sweet of you. If you had to choose one book that should be translated into English what would you choose?
Great collection of books! Thanks a lot for the compilation 🙂
I would really recommend “Forest of the Hanged” by Liviu Rebreanu and “Morometii” by Marin Preda. Also Zaharia Stancu seems interesting. There’s also poetry, Eminescu, and one of the greatest comedy writers ever, in any language, Caragiale (he also wrote in German a lot). Also, all these writers write in a Romanian style, about Romanian tradition, in our language. Hertha Muller is a footnote in our history.
Pingback: Challenge Yourself to Summer Reading | Minute School
Pingback: The Saturday Six – 7/15/2017 – opinion & tonic
What a wonderful list! So much reading to do now. Out of interest , I loved Baking Cakes in Kigali but why is it under Zambia? It’s set in Rwanda. Keep this going. It’s AMAZING!
Thanks! The book is under Zambia because that is where the author Gaile Parkin was born and raised. Where books are ‘from’ is a complicated question. Although many of the books on the list are set in the country they’re listed under, not all of them are. For me, it’s more about the cultural identity and perspective of the author rather than the setting, but others often feel differently!
Hi Ann,
I’ve been following your project since early in 2012, though this actually is my first time commenting. Your regular articles were a great distraction from work that year, which the Olympics had made quite stressful!
Your blog was one of the things that inspired me to start my own project this year. I’m aiming to read a book from every country in the world, whilst in that country. It’s early days, but I’m blogging about it here: https://travellingtheword.com (albeit with less regularity and panache than you!)
Looking at your list again, I’ve been surprised by how often we overlap. In fact, all three of my first authors are shared with your list. I was worried that I’d internalised your list from memory, but I think it’s more an instance of just how few options there are in English from some countries, especially when you take price and length into account.
So just to say a heartfelt thanks for the inspiration. I’m new to blogging, so any tips or advice is gratefully received!
Ben
p.s. don’t know if you saw this article, published a few weeks ago: https://geediting.com/blog/most-iconic-book-set-in-every-country/. I had wondered if they’d been influenced by your list, given a few similarities, though I suspect it’s just the same issue I mention above.
Hi Ben. Great to hear from you at last. Wow. This is a mammoth undertaking. How long do you think it will take you? My tips such as they are are to be curious, openminded, ready to challenge your own blind spots and fastidious. Thanks for the article – I hadn’t seen it before. All the best and do let me know how you get on. Ann
Hi Ann, thanks for the reply. I’m allowing myself a fairly generous time window to finish it: essentially, if I finish it before I die, I’ll be happy! As I say in the introduction: “this is just a road that leads to a bigger pile of books, and hopefully, something interesting to say about it at the end.” That’s reason enough to do anything, to my mind.
Fantastic – enjoy the journey!
Pingback: (Ongoing) Ann Morgan Challenge -Reading a book from every country | Lady Locks ❤ Rambles and Ravings
Pingback: How to Read More – Keep to the Write: Making Writing Happen
I like your project, but i feel hurt when I heard you listing Taiwan as an country, it’s just a part of China. That does not mean I am against reading books from Taiwan, though Taiwan share the most common history with China mainland, it does have some unique culture worth reading just like other parts of china mainland. In fact, you can just say this is all the countries and territories you selected and also open for nomination for others, otherwise you may find get yourself into some sovereign dispute etc. Anyway, I like your idea 🙂
Thanks! It’s a difficult question as you say – and something I discuss in my book. (I also included another non-UN-recognised territory: Kurdistan). Thanks for your comment.
Pingback: Your guide to reading the world – Read Pakistan
Pingback: Как за год я прочитала по книге из каждой страны мира | My site
Hi Ann,
This is an amazing project. I don’t know if you are still looking for a translation of Auezov’s The Path of Abai. There is an abridged translation of the first two volumes here: http://auezov.kz/files/811.pdf
Thanks Chen!
I am a budding amateur blogger who writes about a lot of topics inclusive of the books I read, but nowhere close to you, but I have a lot of dreams. Also I am an avid reader, again nothing in comparison to you. I am a slow, and a very involved reader. I loved your idea. And if I could, I would suggest ‘Sapiens’ by Yuval Noah Harari, Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murthy and also a good version of ‘The Mahabharatha’. Keep inspiring! 🙂
Thanks – yes, Sapiens is great, isn’t it? Good luck with your blog.
For Sweden: Astrid Lindgren; everybody has read her!
Meša Selimović was bonn in Tuzla (modern Bosnia) but was also a self-declared Serb. The works of Ivo Andric became a classic of modern Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian literature but he too is a Serb.
Thanks – interesting!
That’s a common problem not only with ex Yugoslavia but all other nations which were once a part of the same country. Everybody lays claim to mutual writers, scientists etc.
“What claim lays she to thee?” – the Comedy of Errors indeed.
Awesome list. I’ve read some of the books in this list, and I can say they really portrait many aspects of each country. In Chile I would of course add Pablo Neruda, he writes poetry but also has a couple of stories. Dostoievski in Russia, of course, and Steinbeck from the USA. Thanks for this list, and for inspiring us to know the world through literature. Will be definitely reading many from your list 🙂
Pingback: A punto de despegar – 200 países, 200 libros
Pingback: Как за год я прочитала по книге из каждой страны мира — BBC Russian
Hi thanks for this amazing insight. I am greatly inspired by what you said and created a website that will recommend you books from countries from which you have never read a book before. I do this based on your goodreads data. I would love if you check it out and give me some feedback. This is not a commercial project I am just doing this to help everyone expand their reading horizons
https://recommendmebooks.com/
Pingback: 4 No-Pressure, No-Stress, No-Deadline Reading Challenges – Scientist.ml
Pingback: 4 No-Pressure, No-Stress, No-Deadline Reading Challenges ⋆ New York city blog
This is such an amazing work! If you have the chance check out a Brazilian book named “Captains of the Sand” by Jorge Amado. The book was originally published in 1937 (during a dictatorship) but its approach remains relevant and current as many of the explored social problems persist. It is considered one of the classiscs of the Brazilian literature, I highly recommend it!
Thanks Bruna – sounds great!
Hi Ann,
I saw your Ted talk this morning and was so inspired. I’d love to recommend that you read a few books that I originally read in Spanish but are also published in English. The first is an extraordinary short story by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez called “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” (“El Ahogado Mas Hermoso del Mundo”). I first read this in class at the University of Tennessee about three years ago, but my mind still remembers this story fondly and frequently.
If you are interested in non-fiction, and something a little longer, I would strongly suggest “Oblivion: A Memoir” (“El Olvido que Seremos”) by Hector Abad Faciolince, who is a Colombian author as well. Abad wrote this as a biography about his father, a public health activist, who was eventually killed for his outspokenness surrounding health during the Colombian violence of the late 20th century. This story was particularly special to me, as it was a gift from a Colombian friend who was once a colleague of the man about whom the biography was written. The friend that gifted this book to me told me that this is a book that many natives have read. Hope you enjoy these!
On a separate note, I am going to be moving to Paraguay in a few months to serve in the Peace Corps, and am excited to investigate your Paraguay book list.
Thank you for your work!
Thanks Susannah. These sound interesting. Wow. What a fascinating posting. Paraguay is a tough country to find translations from so I’d be interested to hear of anything you discover on your travels!
Pingback: 200 países, 200 libros: un viaje por la literatura de todo el mundo – ASÍ NOTICIAS
Pingback: 50 DIY Reading Challenges to Make 2018 the Best Year of Your Reading Life ⋆ New York city blog
The Head; Pedro Cabiya from Puerto Rico.
Nigéria: As alegrias da maternidade (Buchi Emecheta) / versão traduzida no Brasil em 2017. Em ingles: The joys of motherhood (1979)
Nice blog! I’ve become more aware of this matter in recent years, althought here in Brasil we have even the matter of reading literature from different country areas since its continental dimensions. For instance, Érico Veríssimo from the south, that wrote the epic “Time and the wind”. or Raduan Nassar (Ancient Tillage, A cup of rage) from São Paulo countryside, a classic like The Sad End of Policarpo Quaresma, from the carioca Lima Barreto, a collection of poems by Drummond de Andrade, from Minas, considered our greatest poet, or Child of the dark from Carolina de Jesus, also from Minas, a contundent testimony on life in a favela, Rachel de Queiroz (The three Marias) or Graciliano Ramos (Barren Lives), from Northest, just to name a few that are all nationaly recognized. Apart from these, I’ve just read The Museum of Eterna’s Novel from argentinian Macedonio Fernandez, probalbly one of the best modernist novels that are.
From Spain you should try anything by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, like The Flanders Panel (on a crime mistery to be solved through a chess game in a painting), The Club Dumas (about a hunt for a book which opens the gates of hell) or Captain Alatriste (cape and sword genre).
Pingback: Offbeat Book Blogs | Russell Memorial Library
Hello, I just heard about this amazing project. I intend to follow it in 2018 and I am preparing my books to be read along the year. Also, I took the time to check all the books I’ve already read and their author’s nationality. By doing so…
I found myself with a problem, I wonder if you had the same:
For instance, I read The Hobbit, from the famous writer Tolkien. I was about to mark “THE UK” when I found out he actually was born in South Africa. So I thought whether should I really mark THE UK or SOUTH AFRICA, since he was born there but most of his work was done in The United Kingdom.
Yes, the question of what makes a book ‘from’ a place is tricky, isn’t it? I spend a whole chapter on it in my book. In truth, my choices varied somewhat from place to place. Author nationality often played a big part for me – although not always, as you can see from the book I chose for the US! Good luck with your reading adventure and happy new year.
What an invaluable list. I am on a quest for great literature of the world and most lists seem to over emphasise Uk and USA literature with odd nods to other nations.
This list will serve me well as I travers the literature of the world.
Namaste and care,
mhikl
My pleasure – happy reading Mhikl!
Hi Ann, I am truly ecstatic to have found your blog! This is such an amazing experience! I am currently reading my way through all the different “classics”, and I am so happy to see that some of my favorite books have made it to your list. Your blog broadened my view on to the world and I have so many books to choose from now. Thank you for your inspiring work!
Read Desperate in Dubai after visiting the UAE so I had a context for the character plays. Interesting plot of four women aspiring to grow with dreams of marriage. Enjoyable read.
Pingback: Book List 2016 – amarllyis
Pingback: Happy 2018! | That's What She Read
Hi! I just found out about our project and I am amazed. I am from Bulgaria and I would like to recommend Under The Yoke by Ivan Vazov. You can easily find a translated copy of it in English. It’s one of the most well-known works from the Bulgarian literature, written by one of the most famous Bulgarian authors, we also study it in school. It’s about the April Uprising, a key moment in our history, and it is worth every page. Another book you can try is The Iron Candlestick by Dimitar Talev. I also saw you read Doomed Souls by Dimitar Dimov, so I suggest you read Tobacco, another one of his works.
Take care! 🙂
Thanks Calie – these sound great!
Pingback: This Year, Join Me in a 12-Book Reading Challenge – David G's Blog
Pingback: This Year, Join Me in a 12-Book Reading Challenge | 813 TRAVEL
Pingback: Re-routing the Literary: The Rise of the Blog – Themes in Contemporary Literature
Pingback: #100DaysOfReading – My Rules / Code returning soon | Librarian From Alaska
Pingback: This Year, Join Me in a 12-Book Reading Challenge | Amazonas
Pingback: Lukusuunnitelmia vuodelle 2018 – Kirjavarkaan tunnustuksia
Dear Ann,
I saw your TED Talks recently and it really motivates me to think the new year resolution. I plan to read one non-fiction covering biographies or events from each country in English or Chinese in the new year 2018.
My book list starts from here:
1.Reading the World by Ann Morgan
2.…
I’ll also review your book list and pick up some non-fictions. Thanks for your great encouragement for me.
Cathy in Hong Kong
(https://ayearofreadingnonfictions.wordpress.com)
How lovely. Thanks Cathy – happy reading!
Thank you!
Hi, great project! I’d like to recommend my own book! How Fast Can You Run, a novel based on the life of Lost Boy of Sudan Michael Majok Kuch, (Harvard Square Editions, 2016). Here’s the link: http://harvardsquareeditions.org/portfolio-items/how-fast-can-you-run/
Pingback: Hawaii: Final roundup – Meerkat
If you don’t mind I’m going to steal / use this list :P. I have decided to try to read a book from an author of every country of the world, and this list has a lot of inspiration! Not going to do it in a year though. This will be one of those big projects, occasionally occupying my mind, which allows me to collect lots of books in second hand shops and such. Did you manage to read a book from every country?
Be my guest – yes I did! Enjoy the adventure.
Just watched your TED talk – very interesting! Did you read any children’s books?
Thanks – one or two. See my choice for Dominica and the book of the month I read for China a few years ago…
Pingback: #100DaysOfReading Day 18 (weekly post) | Librarian From Alaska
Pingback: #100DaysOfReading Day 25 (weekly post) | Librarian From Alaska
Thank you for this list! You’ve inspired me to set off on my own version of this journey (I won’t finish in a year like you did, though). I saw that you read independent countries; in that process, did you happen to come across anything from Mayotte? My searches are turning up nothing!
Great! I did UN-recognised states. Mayotte isn’t one of these, so I’m afraid I didn’t look for anything from there. Do let me know if you discover anything!
Ah, that’s what I meant to acknowledge, but I wasn’t clear…I’m sorry about that. So far, the only work I’ve found that’s close is The Tropic of Violence by Nathacha Appanah (it looks like the translation is due from MacLehose Press in 2019). The author is Mauritian-French, but the book is set in Mayotte. I’ll keep asking around though. Thanks for the reply!
Pingback: This Year, Join Me in a 12-Book Reading Challenge – A Content TV
Pingback: Stell: My 2017 Reading Challenge – Greensboro Bar Association
Pingback: 2018 Reading Challenges and Book Lists - pafa.net
Pingback: The Mission (or a conversation in Leah’s head) – Ladies of the World
Pingback: Oman: Final roundup – Meerkat
Pingback: Revisiting Reading Around The World | Blair Necessities
Pingback: Reis om de wereld in 196 boeken – Le petit requin
Watched your TED talk just now.Really exciting project,i would like to roll in and do something for the project.I’m living in China and if you need any book from China feel free to contact me.BTW,Is there any way to read your books from your collecting?I think I can’t go to all the places in the world but I would like to read them like you.
Pingback: Reading the World. – Herbie, writer
Pingback: All About Diversity Blog Hop – Escape Reality, Read Fiction!
Pingback: Get Out of Your Rut... Sometimes. - Kate Norlander
I just watched your TED Talk and have to say, great project! I’m doing something similar, so if you don’t mind I’ll be looking through the list from time to time. Also, I’m from the Philippines and noticed you don’t have Nick Joaquin (Penguin Classics has a compilation, The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic). If you’re into poetry, there’s also Jose Garcia Villa (Doveglion).
Hi there, I’d like to recommend some German and Chinese literature:
– “Faust: A Tragedy” by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This work was first published in 1808 and is one of the greatest work in German literature, which is why many students in upper school still (have to) read it today. It is the first of two parts, but since the second one is way more complex and contains many references to Greek mythology it is not commonly read in school. There are many translations you can choose from.
– “The Sandman” by German writer E. T. A. Hoffman. First published in 1816, it is a short story of the book “Night Pieces”. I haven’t found an English translation yet, but there is an online translation at https://germanstories.vcu.edu/hoffmann/sand_e.html.
– “Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang. It’s an award-winning Chinese science fiction-novelette pubished in 2012 which you can find a translation of in Ken Liu’s “Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation”.
– “The City of Silence” (2005) by Chinese author Ma Boyong, also a science fiction short story. A translation can be found in Ken Liu’s “Invisible Planets”, too.
This is an amazing project and I’d like to do something similar one day, but sadly I won’t have time for that in the near future.
Thank you for sharing your lists and experiences!
Hai! Thanx for this nice and inspiring list, I’ll use it as a ‘suggestion’ list to read around the world. Are you still searching for a translation of “De avonden” van Gerard Reve? In November 2016 Pushkin Press published The Evenings in the UK and in Januar 2017 the translation was also available in the United States. As a Dutch lady I see you have a few ‘very old’ Dutch books on your list. I’ll suggest you to keep the (upcoming??) translation of “Het smelt” van Lize Spit in mind. “The melt” I thing the title will be.
Thanks! Yes, I read The Evenings soon after it came out in English – fantastic! Thanks for the recommendation of Het smelt! It sounds interesting.
Pingback: It’s Not That Difficult: On Oprah and Her Book Club Picks | a lifely read
I heard you on TED Radio Hour and was so inspired by your interview! (I also couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of you before! This is so up my alley.) There is no way I could do what you did in a year, but reading the world is now a long-term goal that I’ll be actively pursuing and tracking. I love to travel and to read novels from other countries, but altogether, I realized I’d probably only read books from about a dozen countries or so. Time to remedy that!
Thank you for sharing your list and your experiences. I am so excited to dive in and get started. I’ll be checking your list for some of those hard-to-find countries, and reaching out to friends and family and social media for suggestions as well.
Today, I shared a couple links to your project and a brief summary of your project over at my website, under my Daily Dose: Inspired series. Looking forward to seeing the recommendations that come in, and building reading community.
Great list, I will make use of it! Update: Gerard Reve’s De Avonden has been translated in 2016 by Sam Garrett, (Pushkin Press) as (unsurprisingly) The Evenings.
Thanks – yes. I read this last year. It’s great. Need to update!
Hi, I am Elena. I’m Russian living in the US . I’ve heard your TED talk , and was fascinated with the project!! I love reading myself, and try to read international women writers as much as possible. Very glad to see my home country well represented. If I might suggest Victoria Tokareva – short stories and a couple novels that are painfully realistic. Ludmila Ulitskaya is also in tone with that. As for classics , you can’t beat Chekhov’s short humorous stories.
Can’t wait to read through your list!! And the suggestions from the comments too 🙂
Thanks – I love Chekhov’s stories. Your suggestions sound intriguing!
Pingback: vous aussi, faites le tour du monde !
Did you count Timor-Leste as a country? It’s on the UN’s 195 countries list. I could have counted wrong, but I only counted 193 on your list. Sorry for bothering you. I could also have heard it wrong, but I listened to your Ted talk and I thought you said you were doing 196 countries.
Hi Samuel. You’re right that there aren’t 196 countries on this list – there are actually 197. I did one extra bonus country at the end of the year. Timor-Leste is there as East Timor (the English version of the name).
Ok. Thank you.
Pingback: Reading books by authors from 30 countries | I read that in a book
Do you have any suggestions for ways to get books if they’re not on Amazon or at a nearby library/bookstore? For example, would you know where to get a copy of the “Republic of San Marino”?
It’s tricky, isn’t it? I’m afraid I can’t help with individual books. My quest was six years ago and the availability of books changes all the time (there have also been lots of other amazing books published since my project that are not on my list) but look out for my post on tips soon!
Samuel,
You can find a used copy of “Republic of San Marino” on the Abebooks website for about $10.50 USD. Good luck; I hope you find it and enjoy it.
Thank you.
It is really tricky. I’m 11, so only some books are appropriate and for some of the countries it can get really hard. Do you have any research tips?
Look out for my post coming up in the next few weeks! Happy reading!
Pingback: Reading the World Project – Center for Intercultural Dialogue
Hi Folks,
I am trying to recommend some of these to a pre-teen. I wanted to read them together like our own kind of book club and discuss. Can anyone vouch for a few that might be a good place to start that is age appropriate-ish?
The pre-teen reads at an 11th grade reading level, so I am really just trying to focus on filtering based on content as opposed to difficulty.
Thanks for any help.
Meghan
I am a preteen myself. Are there any countries in specific you’re looking for? I have filled my list halfway so far.
Pingback: Books About Central America and the Northern Triangle Countries – Horror Insights
Hi, I’m AARI from South Korea.
I’m surprised of your work because I’m doing the same project this year. I just watched your TED speech, and I’m surprised again cause what you thought and felt when you started this project is exactly what I thought when I decided to the project ‘Reading the World’.
Thank you for your precious work!
Thanks AARI. Good luck with your reading adventures!
Hello! I would like to thank you for sharing this project. Because of this, I started collecting books around the world. Sometimes I travel to 1940s Lagos, Nigeria or 1800s Columbia or 1970s Philippines. Thank you so much. This makes me a very wide reader. Keep it up! 👍😀
Pingback: The Journey Begins – Slowly reading the world
Hello Kirsty. Just stumbled upon this and has re-kindled my spirit to attempt at something like this; not with a targeted timeline, but to try and expand my author list to across the world and also capture the same online (if it helps others).
I discovered your website today and love the idea of reading a book from every country in the world. Just out of curiosity, do the UK books include authors from England, Wales, Scotland and NI?
Thanks Dene. The list contains all the valid recommendations I got during and immediately after the project so there is a mixture. As you’ll see if you click on the review, the book I chose to represent the UK was translated from Welsh.
what a great project, I have one question though, I am sure someone as already asked this, but there are so many comments I didnt see it. What happens if you didnt enjoy or like a book? Did you start another? Thanks, Jo
Thanks! Mostly this wasn’t a problem as I was going on recommendations. I didn’t have time to start again. However in the rare cases of bad books, there were usually interesting reasons why they were bad. You’d have to read my book for the fully story!
Pingback: Mekatelyu, I Built a Thing – Pangaea's Box
Hello! 🙂
May I know if all you read was fiction? Or there were biographies and history books included? By the way, I love your project! It’s really amazing.
Thanks. It was mostly fiction with a few memoirs and one or two history books thrown in the cases of some of the harder to reach nations.
Hello. I have heard from Sardinian friends (Italy) that there is a special sort of literature there. I would certainly recommend Michela Murgia’s novel, Accabadora (also translated into English), about a very old tradition of mercy-killing done by old women in the community. Fascinating and still a controversial topic discussed and interviewed about.
Thanks Bunny – this sounds interesting. I shall investigate…
Pingback: Project: EDI Great Reads Books – Data With Beata
Hi, my name’s Rebeca. I don’t even know how to start saying this, but I’m brazilian (so I beg your pardon if my english is not good as it should be in a globalized world) and I had nothing to do on a sunday afternoon, so I began to search for something to watch to kill some time when I found your video on Youtube, and it messed with me deeply. I’m a reader too, and I’ve always tried to read things from different cultures and origins. Since your blog is famous probably lots of brazilians have already told you this (we have this caracteristic that is kind of rooted in our society: we bad-mouth our country and says all kinds of horible things about it between us -And that’s the thing: we can say bad things about Brazil. You people from the outisde don’t. Don’t ever say to a brazilian something bad about his/her country. They get very pissed -, but, deep-down, we love it the way It is. So we really like to exaltate it’s qualities.) but to enter in the universities in here there’s is this test named “Vestibular”. Every university has one. It’s a very long test with more or less 80 to 100 questions about everything a student must now to enter in one of their courses (and they can be about anything they want, from Physics to English, from Math to Literature, from History to Chemestry – Brazil’s educational sistem is one of the richests in the world in therms of subjects). And, to pass Vestibular, there’s a long list of books you must read and a longest list of books that you have to, at least, know the story it tolds. But a very interesting thing is that these lists doesn’t have only brazilian literature – they also have tons of portuguese and, from ten years on, african books, because of our origins. So, here in Brazil, we’re kind of educated to do what you’ve done, and I found so interesting that because of this both of us, who are in oposite sides of the map, may connect because of stories that have nothing to do with the reality we are used to…
Since you’re willing to see how we – brazilians – see the world by the books we read, I think is fair that you go throug the literary experience most people in here have. I’ve decided to send you the list of books we must read for sure to enter in USP (University of São Paulo – one of the most important universities in the country) and to suggest one of my favorites: I’ve seen you already had experiences with Machado de Assis, our most famous writter outside Brazil, by reading “Dom Casmurro”, but I have this opinion that this book actually creates a shadow for another book way more better of his, named “Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas” (It seems like it was translated to “The Phostomous Memoirs of Brás Cubas”) It’s in the list I’m sending you, and I think you should start from this one. Is one of the most genious things I’ve ever read.
Hope you enjoy your experience.😉 Britain gave me some of my favorite books, and I hope with all my heart Brazil may give you the same.
LIST OF BOOKS REQUIRED BY USP
“Iracema” ‐ José de Alencar
“Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas” ‐ Machado de Assis
“O cortiço” ‐ Aluísio Azevedo
“A cidade e as serras” ‐ Eça de Queirós
“Vidas secas” ‐ Graciliano Ramos
“Minha vida de menina” ‐ Helena Morley
“Claro enigma” ‐ Carlos Drummond de Andrade
“Sagarana” ‐ João Guimarães Rosa
“Mayombe” ‐ Pepetela
Thanks Rebeca. That’s so interesting. I shall look those books up!
Pingback: The List « A Year of Reading the World – Free Range Retiree
Hello from China! Below are my favorite Chinese books that you should definitely read to understand the richness of Chinese culture.
1. The Right Bank of Arguna River by Zijian Chi. This is my first recommendation to you because China, contrary to most people’s belief, is extraordinarily diverse. There are 52 nations in China, each with their own culture. In this book, Zijian explores the life of Evenki people in Northern China in the 20th century, from the end of the Qin Dynasty to the modernity of the New China.
2. The Rickshaw Boy by Lao She. While the previous book should greatly enrich your understanding of the culture of China, this book should enrich your understanding of different social classes in China in the 1920s.
3. Fortress Besieged by Zhongshu Qian. While the previous book touches the lower class people in China, this book is about the upper class. If you decide to read the previous one, you have to read this one because they are so contrasting yet similar.
4. The Story of the Stone by Xueqin Cao. This is one of the “四大名著” (literally means ‘the four greatest pieces of literature’). It follows a rich family in Qin dynasty from its height to its downfall, and is in my opinion the most representative work in term of style of ancient Chinese writing.
5. If you are interested in the style of ancient Chinese writing, read poetry by Li Bai and Bai Juyi. Make sure that you also listen to their recordings so that you can appreciate their musical elements.
6. If you are more interested in modern Chinese literature, read novels by Lu Xun. His works are revolutionary and helped shape the mind of modern Chinese people.
I know these are a lot of books, and some of them are quite long, but I guarantee you that they will worth your time and efforts! China is in my opinion the most culturally diverse and complicated country in the world due to its size and history. If you read only one or a few books in China, it’s hard to gain a well rounded understanding of what China really is and how it came to be. GOOD LUCK!
Wow. That’s quite a list! Thanks.
Pingback: Reading the world | my quest to read a book from every country in the world – The Fictional Reader
Pingback: Reading the World: die ganze Welt lesen - Kocarek GmbH | Fachübersetzungen | Übersetzungen | Übersetzungsbüro | Übersetzungsagentur
Slowly but surely I am going to through the world in books. It’s been so inspirational. Thank you, Anne. I am not at the letter O and can make a suggestion for Oman. It’s been published in spring and is a good read (also available on kindle) ‘Celestial Bodies’ by Jokha Alharthi.
Thanks Virginie! So glad you’re enjoying your literary adventure. Thanks for the recommendation – I read this a few months ago and I agree, it is an enjoyable book. Wishing you all the best for the rest of your quest.
Pingback: Read Around the World - Elif the Reader
Afghanistan – A Fort of Nine Towers, Qais Akbar Omar – a must read!
Pingback: Guide for fun and energising Xmas gifts | Cultivating joy
Aaargghhh! I am stuck with Palau. I contacted Susan Kloulechad who still has not published any of her writings. Unfortunately she is not willing to share (I told her I was prepared to pay for her book). Anyone out there who has found a solution? I do not see myself to read a travel guide for the area. Hoping to have some positive feedback! Thanks.
I thougt this was such a brilliant idea, so I have now started up my own project. I began reading the world in january this year and I must say it’s the best thing I have ever done concerning litterature.
Wonderful! Happy reading, Susse!
Pingback: Reading the World: Country #3 – Ireland | Beyond the Horizon
I really love this project, fantastic idea! Just a little surprised to see only one in this project, considering Taiwan’s importance in publishing and the literature world in Asia. Here are a couple additions from me, hope that helps getting a bit more exposure for Taiwan. 🙂
Wang Wenxing – Family Catastrophe
Huang Chunming – The Taste of Apples
Zhang Da-chun – Wild Kids
Pai Hsien-yung – Taipei People
Wu Ming-Yi – The Man with the Compound Eyes
Wonderful. I’ve been meaning to chase up Taiwan for a while. Will look into these and see if there might be a book of the month among them. Thanks!
Pingback: [Tipp] Mit 80 Hörbüchern um die Welt – Catbooks & Traveljournal
Pingback: Your Year in Travel Reading: 12 Books by Female Novelists From Around the World – The Brand New Sunrise Travel Blog
Pingback: Reading Around The World Challenge: inspiratie en selectie 2019 | Birgit leest
Pingback: Women of the World: She Would Be King (Book Review) - Sartorial Geek
Ann after these long years did you finish reading all the list ?
Hi Mohammed, I have read quite a lot of the list, but I have also read many other fabulous titles not featured here, following where my curiosity leads. That’s the thing about reading – it can lead you off down all sorts of marvellous paths!
i can’t believe my self this famous ted speaker gave me a reply ohhh thank you
Pingback: Reading Challenge: Reading Around The World - Joshua Reads The World | Book Blogger
I must say I was extremely delighted to see this list and your story, I challenged myself at the beginning of the year to read books from 30 African countries and complete the rest in coming years, God willing. It was difficult finding books from some countries but this list was very helpful.
Very glad to hear that, Funmilola. Thanks for your comment and good luck with your quest.
Pingback: The Good Muslim – Last Page Memoirs
Hello i’ve just have a question. Cant you read in any foreigner language?
Yes. I can read French and German (very slowly with a big dictionary). But for this project I kept to the language that most people in the UK read – English – to see if it was possible for one person here to read the world.
Pingback: 200 países, 200 libros: un viaje por la literatura de todo el mundo | Miralibro
Pingback: 198 Livros: Paraguai - I, the Supreme • Mais um Destino
Pingback: English Novels and Stories, please
Pingback: 198 Livros: Omã - Earth Weeps, Saturn Laughs • Mais um Destino
Pingback: The 5 Best TED Talks About Books and Reading – The Book Habit
Dear Ann Morgan,
Namaste!! I am an enthusiastic reader from Nepal. I am very glad knowing about your project. This is fantastic. I am really touched by your move. To the books from Nepal I would like to add some fantastic books you may add in your list like Palpasa Café by Narayan Wagle, Karnali Blues by Budhisagar, Nepaliya Hunalai by CK Lal and State of Nepal by Kanak Mani Dixit. These are the books I really appreciate because the writer are fine intellectuals from Nepal and have given their best in these books. Further more I would love to know your top 10 books from all over the world in your list that have moved you after reading that you would suggest others. I would love reading them. Waiting your reply… Much love and respect from Nepal. Dhanyabad!!
Hi Sujeet. Thanks very much for your message. These recommendations sound great. You can find a list of my top ten commercially available reads from the project in the FAQ section on this site – although I continue to discover more wonderful books from all over the planet every month. With best wishes and thanks, Ann
Pingback: 198 Livros: Samoa - The Girl in the Moon Circle • Mais um Destino
Pingback: Books for travel lovers: a list to travel the world without leaving your house | | Monday Feelings
Pingback: Anchors aweigh – Literary Grand Tour Book Quest +
Pingback: 9 March-9 April 2019 – theresahelke
Pingback: 198 Livros: Arábia Saudita - Girls of Riyadh • Mais um Destino
Pingback: 198 Livros: Chile - Ways of Going Home • Mais um Destino
Pingback: Read Around the World/US Challenge - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps
Pingback: The challenge – This month I live in…
Pingback: الخريطة الأدبية للعالم The literature map of the world – UNKNOWN’S
Pingback: 198 Livros: Laos - Mother’s Beloved • Mais um Destino
Pingback: Intercultural Learning: Cultivate Immersive Travel & A Kinder World
Pingback: How to Diversify Your Reading in 2019 - Benjamin McEvoy
Buchi Emecheta’s books in Nigeria (some are in London). Sugar Can With Salt by James N’Gombe about Malawi at the end of the Banda regime.
https://www.amazon.com/Sugarcane-Salt-Longman-African-Writers/dp/0582052041/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Sugar+Cane+With+Salt&qid=1570199541&s=books&sr=1-4
Hi there! I am reading your original list right now but am having trouble finding the books for Tuvalu and Panama. Any ideas? I have tried libraries and the publishers to no avail!
Very tricky. I know The Golden Horse was available for a while, but I think it may be out of print again now. I’m afraid I don’t have any leads at the moment, but if that changes I’ll post something on the blog. Good luck with your reading adventures.
Pingback: 7 site-uri de neratat pentru iubitorii de cărți – GarantiBBVA4all
Hello.
What an awesome list. I am glad that you knew this one: Mika Waltari: The Egyptian. it inspired us to take a cruise on the Nile few years ago and to compare of modern life and of the time of Sinuhe. Result was amazing.
Thank you for this fantastic post.
Have a good day!
Thanks! Sounds like a fantastic trip.
This is an incredible feat and something that I didn’t realize was so troubling on my bookshelf either. After spending the last year trying to read books authored by women of color I found your ted talk and realized still how few global voices I was reading. I’ve spent some time trying to locate audio copies of the books listed but I’m having a tough time. Any recommendations would be appreciated as I am an audio reader and would thoroughly like to check out some of the books on this list.
Thanks Julia. Hmmn. I know that publishers such as Orenda Books offer audio versions of their translations, but I’m not sure if they are available outside the UK. Let me put out some feelers and see. In the meantime, as a good listen, I heartily recommend Trevor Noah’s Born A Crime – a fascinating perspective on apartheid in South Africa, narrated by the man himsellf.
PS. I have just heard that Orenda audiobooks are available outside the UK – they might be a good place to start! I really enjoyed Helga Flatland’s ‘A Modern Family’, which they publish.
Pingback: Hər ölkə ədəbiyyatından bir kitab oxuyan xanım – MAYAK
Australia – A Long Way From Home by Peter Carey – audio was great.
Pingback: Could you read a book from every country in one year? | Robby Robin's Journey
Pingback: Livro Comores - The Kaffir of Karthala (198 Livros) • Mais um Destino
I just found a book from Mexico whose topic I’d recommend, especially in these times. It was written in 2009 and first issued in an English translation in 2015. It is called Signs Preceding The End Of The World and is by Yuri Herrera.
Thanks Karen – yes that is a great book!
Pingback: Mauritânia - The Desert and The Drum (198 Livros) • Mais um Destino
Pingback: International Reading Challenge 2020 – S E A O F K N E E S
Pingback: My best reads of 2019 – Red Violet
Somaliland (an Independent nation not currently recognized by the UN): “A Woman of Firsts” by Edna Adan Ismail
Pingback: 12-month Reading Challenge – IREADIUM
Pingback: Moldávia - The Good Life Elsewhere (198 Livros) • Mais um Destino
Pingback: Journey Completed: Reading the USA, State # 50: North Dakota and More – Hopewell's Public Library of Life
Hello Ann. Thanks for the great list. could you please clarify if all the listed books are mostly fiction based or true stories
Hi Ishree. Most are fiction, but there are some memoirs and one or two other forms of non-fiction in the mix.
Hi Ann. It’s great to see your list of books and lust for reading the world. I have a book suggestion, ‘When Breath Becomes Air’ by Paul Kalanidhi, an American. And ‘Sapiens’ by Yuval Noah Harari’, an Israeli.
Thanks! I love ‘Sapiens’ – in fact I was lucky enough to meet Yuval Noah Harari a few years ago. I haven’t read ‘When Breath Becomes Air’ but I have heard good things about it – one for the to-read mountain!
Pingback: El Salvador - One Day of Life (198 Livros) • Mais um Destino
Pingback: Read-the-World BINGO – A Year of Microactivism in Libraries
Pingback: 4 Ways to Beat Loneliness while Social Distancing - Caribbean Warehouse
Pingback: The World is a Library: Put your Regional Book on the Shelf
Pingback: 10 Unique Ways you can Travel from Home - Clumsy Girl Travels
Pingback: How To Read The World — Tales from the Cusp
Pingback: get out those armchair traveling shoes – vesta clare
Pingback: Kirja maailman jokaisesta maasta – 100 täynnä – Mediatyöläisen lelulaatikko
Pingback: Reading the world for children
Pingback: A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear | gemma D. alexander
Pingback: São Vicente e Granadinas - Spirits in the Dark (198 Livros) •
Thank you for doing this. I am making my way through the list. I have not read it yet, but another option in the Armenian category is The fool by Raffi ISBN: 9781618950604
Thanks David. Happy reading
Pingback: What I’m Reading During COVID-19 Quarantine – Heather's Compass
Pingback: 9 Ways to Feed Your Wanderlust Right Now - Soup Before Supper
Pingback: Read Diverse Books – CALD Resource Blog
Hi Anne!
Your project is amazing!
I want to recommend you a book by Maria Semenova – “We are Slavs”. If you want to get acquainted with Russia, you certainly need to know its origins. This book will help you.
You will learn about the life of Ancient Russia, gods, traditions, culture.
This is my favorite author, his style will fascinate you!
Thanks Irina. This sounds intriguing!
I’ve noticed you haven’t listed any African American writers here, the British section seems to be almost all white as well. Might want to try Toni Morrison, Richard Wright or Colson Whitehead for the US, Zadie Smith or Irenosen Okojie for the UK, and maybe Esi Edugyan’s “Washington Black” for Canada.
Thanks Rudka. Great suggestions. The list is a record of the recommendations that were made to me during and immediately after my quest back in 2012. I don’t update it now except for adding my book of the month titles. You’re right that the US and UK suggestions were very white, which was one of the reasons for my making the brilliant ‘The Good Immigrant’ a book of the month for the UK a few years back. I’ve been looking for a lesser known writer of colour to feature for the US for a while now. Watch this space!
Ann, I have just discovered your glorious site. The vision, the project, your reviews leave me speechless. Well not quite: do you know if anyone has tackled the same goal for poetry? If not… I am sorely tempted.
Thanks Rachel. Not as far as I can remember. But even if they have, your journey would be different to theirs. Why not go for it? I’m sure it would be a wonderful adventure!
Love your list! I would definitely add Manlio Argueta – One Day of Life to El Salvador.
Thanks Geoffrey
And Mihail Sebastian – ‘For Two Thousand Years’ for Romania. You should check this one out if you haven’t read it 🙂
I just started my journey of reading a book from every country a month back and my search led me to your site and this is just what I needed!
You really should try out “Goat Days” by Benyamin and “Hangwoman” by K R Meera from India!
You perhaps have made my journey to read such books quite easy! Thank you so much!!
Also, these comments are a goldmine!
Enjoy the journey!
what you have done is wonderful. i enjoy it very much. Thank you.
Pingback: Where To Find Books In Translation : BookerTalk
that Cool
Hi! I’m Rachel. I’m a French-Canadian currently living in Nicaragua and traveling a lot to Costa Rica. I love this blog, It’s a great start to avoid «the danger of a single story» of which Chinua Achebe warn us in a great Ted Talk. I have a few suggestions to make to enrich the list.
From Austria, one great book is The Wall by Marlen Haushofer.
For better representation of the french part of Canada here are a few options! The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy, A drifting year by Dany Laferrière, Kamouraska or In the shadow of the wind by Anne Hébert are among my favorites.
Here’s a new suggestion for Nicaragua: Divine Punishment by Sergio Ramirez and for Costa Rica, Mamita Yunai by Carlos Luis Fallas although I don’t know if there’s any english translation. As for Gioconda Belli, she wrote a lot of great books but I agree totally with In the infinity in the palm of her hand which is one of the best she wrote. In Costa Rica, Limon Blues and Limon Reggae are my favorites by Ana Cristina Rossi.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Rachel! Great suggestions
Hi! I’m a book blogger and I set out this year to read more books in translation (@whilereadingandwalking on Instagram). I wrote a whole post on great books from Spain by Spanish authors: https://bookriot.com/books-set-in-spain/ . My favorite was Nada by Carmen Laforet.
I would also recommend: Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga for Rwanda.
Great – thanks Leah. Nada sounds great – I’ve ordered it. I enjoyed Our Lady of the Nile too! Wishing you all the best with your blog.
I liked your list
Pingback: So Vast the Prison | gemma D. alexander
Hey! I had come across your site a couple of years ago but at that time I was involved in a lot. I ended up starting my World Reading challenge a couple of months back. Ever since I decided, I kept looking for this site and I am so glad to have finally found it!
A lot of the books I have read so far also match your list so your list is now my go-to for looking for options 🙂 Thanks so much
Some good ones I have read recently are ‘Everything Happens As It Does’ by Albena Stambolova (Bulgaria), ‘The Orphan Sky’ by Ella Leya (Azerbaijan), ‘Smaller and Smaller Circles’ by FH Batacan and ‘Fruit of The Drunken Tree’ by Ingrid Roja Contreras (Colombia).
Thanks again for the inspiration and for keeping this list updated.
Thanks Nitisha. That’s lovely to know. These sound intriguing! Happy reading.
i was expecting one book from each country, i am a slow reader and that would have kept be busy for a decade. Now that i see multiple entries… You have highest number of books from india, got any reason behind it or just coincidence? Im from india btw.
Thanks Shibani. The list is a record of the valid recommendations I got during and immediately after my 2012 quest. As you can see, Indian readers were the most enthusiastic!
Can I please have the original list? Would love to start it.
You already have it – the country names link to reviews of all the books I read for the original quest. Happy reading!
Thank you….😊
Thank you for putting this resource together! Here are some amazing books from other cultures I’ve read over the past two years, and they all come highly recommended (I set a goal to read mostly female authors from other cultures and found an abundance of incredible books) – enjoy!
Argentina: A Mouthful of Birds, Samantha Schweblin
Australia: Thornbirds, Colleen McCollough
A Fraction of the Whole, Steve Toltz
China: The Dark Road / The Noodle Maker, Ma Jian
Red Sorghum, Mo Yan
In the Pond / Waiting / The Crazed, Ha Jin
The Night Tiger, Yangsze Choo
Czech: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting / Life is Elsewhere, Milan Kundera
India: Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie
Iran: The Walking, Laleh Khadivi
Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi
Japan: Teach Us To Outgrow Our Madness, Kenzaburo Oe
Lebanon: Oranges in No Man’s Land, Elizabeth Laird (a book for young children but still really good!)
Mexico / USA: The People of Paper, Salvador Plascenia
Nigeria: Ben Okri, the Famished Road
Oman: Celestial Bodies, Jokha Alharthi
Russia: Pale Fire, Vladimir Nobakov
Senegal: Redemption Indigo, Karen Lord (retelling of a Sengalese folk tale by Barbadian author)
Singapore: How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
Sudan: Elsewhere, Home, Leila Aboulela
UK: Zadie Smith
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernadine Evaristo
USA: Unsheltered, Barbara Kingsolver
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, Lydia Davis
Thanks Tanya – some great suggestions there!
Hi Ann. I have a bookstagram account and recently decided to read a book per country. I googled to get some ideas of books and came across your blog and your project!! I just started and just finished my first book! 🙂
I just began following you in IG too! I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
-Natasha (@booksblissandbiscuits)
Thanks Natasha. Enjoy your reading adventure!
Natasha, I am also reading Ann’s list, I’m about halfway through. I started following you on instagram, would love to have someone to talk about the books with! Jennifer
Pingback: The Country Where No One Ever Dies | gemma D. alexander
Love this idea and will be using it for my own world journey. I’m not sure what the criteria was you used but some of the novels under Australia were about Germany.
I’d like to recommend two others which perfectly capture what living in Australia can be like:
1. The Choke by Sophia Laguana – this incredible tale follows a young girl as she grows up in the Australian outback, totally neglected but with a beautiful way of viewing the world. The characterisation is powerful and the descriptions of the landscape transport the reader so you feel like you are following alongside the protagonist, wishing you could help her. Such a powerful book!
2. Ash Road by Ivan Southall: this is a young adult/ children’s book about what used to be known as the worst bushfire in Australia, Ash Wednesday. The book is similarly raw and you can feel the fire behind you and the dust and the deadness of the landscape. He has some other great novels too but this one is a great introduction.
Thanks Taryn. These sound great. Setting wasn’t really a consideration for me – it was more about perspectives and voices. That’s why not all of the books on the list are set in the countries in question (just as many British novels take place in other parts of the world). Thanks for your comment
Hey! I am doing a similar project and loving it. I would like to thank you for the website, I got many suggestions from your project and I love it that you keep posting. I thought of also suggesting a few novels you might like:
Croatia: Belladonna, Dasa Drndić
Emirates: Temporary People, Deepak Unnikrishnan
Liberia: Murder in the Cassava Patch, Bay T. Moore; She Would Be King, Wayétu Moore;
Portugal: Notebook of colonial memories, Isabela Figueiredo
Rwanda: Our lady of the Nile, Scholastique Mukasonga
Switzerland: Sweet Days of Discipline, Fleur Jaeggy
Ukraine: Fieldwork of Ukrainian Sex, Olga Zabuzhko
Venezuela: Night in Caracas, Karina Saenz Borgo; Doña Bárbara, Rómulo Gallegos
Zambia: Patchwork, Ellen Banda-Aaku; The old drift, Namwali, Serpeli
Yay! Thanks Julia. Some great recommendations here. I’ve read the Mukasonga and the Jaeggy but not the others. Great tips.
Pingback: Viajar en tiempos de pandemia: vuelta al mundo literaria – Apuntes Viajeros 2020
Pingback: 31 Things You Can Still Do This Year - Pauline Wiles
I have been checking this list as I do my own reading around the world, thought to drop in and say thanks.
PS: Just read Broken April, I loved it!
That’s lovely. Thanks Bree. Happy reading.
Pingback: What’s the first novel ever written? | The Delve
Pingback: 198 Livros: Tunísia - The Pillar Of Salt • Mais um Destino
WOW. This must of taken you a long time to compile, and I want to thank you for this effort. This is such a wonderful list that I’m bookmarking for future reference. I have already read my January book set in Italy!
Pingback: O início de uma jornada – O mundo na cabeceira
Pingback: Reto 200 libros 200 países – Generación papel
I recommend: Egypt: The Cairo trilogy by Nageb Mahfouz
For Saudi Arabia I don’t really recommend the girls of riyadh.
Thanks. Yes. I love Mahfouz’s writing.
Margaret Atwood isn’t on your list of Canadian authors! No list of Canadian authors can be complete without her. The Handmaiden’s Tale, The Testaments, The Blind Assassin, the Oryx and Crake trilogy are just a few of her amazing works.
Thanks May. I love Margaret Atwood and have read many of her books, which is why she isn’t on the list. When I was preparing this project, I was looking for books by writers I’d never read before. This list is a record of my world reading – no doubt yours would be different. As stories have showed me, we all live in slightly different worlds!
Pingback: A list of reading around the world | Author Becky Benishek
Pingback: We Need Diverse Books - Where Are They? - Diversity in Mind
I have a suggestion for Afghanistan
Drunk Chickens and Burnt Macaroni by Mary Smith. This book is amazing and gives amazing insight into Afghan culture from an outsider’s pov.
For Germany, I recommend the Babylon Berlin book series by Volker Kutscher. I cant tell you how good the English translation is, as i read the books in German, but they are set in a very interesting time in German not too distant history
Many thanks to you and your readers for the ‘The List’, which has proved very useful in my own ’round the world’ reading project. I have listed a number of authors and novels below, and I apologise if they have already been covered elsewhere. Some of them are obvious, others are not well known in the UK. The authors are listed by their country of birth. Countries M to Z will follow in due course.
Australia Richard Flanagan The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Austria Norbert Gstrein Winters in the South
Bangladesh Zia Haider Rahman In the Light of What We Know
Belgium Stefan Hertmans War and Turpentine
Belize Zee Edgell Time and the River
Benin Olympe Bhely-Quelem As She Was Discovering Tigony
Bolivia Rodrigo Hasbun Affections
Brazil Bernardo Carvalho Fear of de Sade
Bulgaria Miroslav Penkov Stork Mountain
Canada David Szalay All That Man Is
Larry Tremblay The Orange Grove
Chad Sam Miantolem Beasnael The Plagues of Friendship (Currently unavailable)
Costa Rica Carlos Fonseca Colonel Lagrimas
Cuba Jose Carlos Somoza The Athenian Murders
Czech Republic Andrzej Tichy Wretchedness
Denmark Pia Juul The Death of Halland
El Salvador Manlio Argueta One Day of Life
Estonia Andrus Kivirahk The Man Who Spoke Snakish
Fiji Paulini Turagabeci The River
Finland Arja Kajermo The Iron Age
France Laurent Binet HHhH
Bernat Manciat The November Boy (Occitan)
Germany Elizabeth Herrmann The Cleaner
Guyana Roy Heath Kwaku
Hungary Arthur Koestler Darkness at Noon
Iceland Sjon The Blue Fox
India Ahmed Ali Twilight in Delhi
Iran Hushang Golshiri The Prince
Iraq Muhsin Al-Ramli The President’s Gardens
Ireland John Banville Birchwood
Italy Roberto Tiraboschi The Eye Stone
Japan Shusaku Endo Silence
Jordan Maan Abu Taleb All the Battles
Kenya Kinyanjui Kombani The Last Villains of Molo
Liberia Wilton Sankawulo Birds are Singing
Libya Kamal ben Hameda Under the Tripoli Sky
Luxembourg Hugo Gernsback Ralph 124c 41+
Some wonderful choices here – thanks for sharing them, David. All the best for your continued literary adventures!
Pingback: Books in Translation – The Writer's Cuppa Brew
Thank you, Ann.
I hope that at least a few of your readers find something to enjoy in my list. I am 150-odd countries into my literary journey, which means I am running out of novels that meet my (arbitrary) criteria and are available at anything close to a reasonable price. Switching to short stories will extend my ‘travels’, as will allowing in collections of myths, legends and traditional stories.
As promised, here is my M to Z list of countries, authors and novels, this time in an easier to read format (I hope).
Malaysia – Shahnon Ahmed – Rope of Ash
Mexico – Guillermo Arriaga – A Sweet Smell of Death
Myanmar – Wendy Law-Yone – Irrawaddy Tango
Netherlands – Tim Krabbe – The Rider
Nigeria – Chigozie Obiome – The Fishermen
Norway – Jo Nesbo – Midnight Sun
Philippines – Eric Gamalinda – The Descartes Highlands
Poland – Andrzej Zaniewski – Rat
Portugal – Mario de Carvalho – A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening
Romania – Norman Manea – The Lair
Russia – Andrey Platanov – The Foundation Pit
Saudi Arabia – Yousef Al-Mohaimed – Where Pigeons Don’t Fly
Senegal – Fatou Diome – The Belly of the Atlantic
Slovakia – Ursula Kovalyk – The Equestrienne
Slovenia – Ales Steiger – Absolution
Spain (Castilian) – Alberto Sanchez Pinol – Cold Skin
Spain (Catalan) – Merce Rodoreda – Death in Spring
Spain (Basque) – Bernardo Atxaga – The Lone Man
Spain (Galician) – Manuel Rivas – In the Wilderness
Sweden – Sjowall and Wahloo – The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
Switzerland (French) – Roland Buti – Year of the Drought
Switzerland (German) – Jonas Luscher – Barbarian Spring
Switzerland (Romansh) – Toni Halter – The High Meadows
Togo – Kossi Efoni – The Shadow of Things to Come
Turkey – Burhan Sonmez – Istanbul Istanbul
Vietnam – Viet Thanh Nguyen – The Sympathizer
Lovely – thanks David. Some great recommendations here. Good luck with the final quarter!
Pingback: Expand Your Horizons ft. Foreign Literature for Writers - JessEmmy
Disappointed to not see any Australian Indigenous perspective included.
Some recommendations below:
Catching teller crow / Ambelin Kwaymullina, Ezekiel Kwaymullina
The Yield / Tara June Winch
Terra Nullius / Claire G. Coleman
Song of the Crocodile / Nardi Simpson
Taboo / Kim Scott
Ghost River / Tony Birch
No Sugar / Jack Davis
Stolen / Jane Harrison
Tiddas / Anita Heiss
Thanks Florence. This has long been a gap I’ve been wanting to fill. Some brilliant recommendations here. Thank you!
Pingback: Book recommendation – gos.to
Pingback: Reading the World.. – Lost in Data Land
Pingback: Ann Morgan – “The List” - Jasper Bad Hat
Pingback: Un año leyendo el mundo – JOSE LUIS URRUTIA
It was a challenge to make but requires congratulations from our side. Great list of books!! I am inspired by this.
Pingback: Get Out of Your Rut… Sometimes. – Kate Norlander
This is an impressive list! What would you say are some of your top favorite books that you’ve read? I’m always down for good book recommendations.
Thanks! You can find a list of some of my favourite commercially available reads here: https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/faq/
Pingback: Reading a book from every country - Jocy Lara
I appreciate the sincerity of this write-up of yours. Can’t wait to see more!
I would like to recommend the book Yodakanohosi.
The book‘s protagonist is similar to me.
He is the order bother of the beautiful Hachi-suzume and Kawasemi.
However, he is ugly in appearance and is hated by his bird friends .
Having lost his place in the world, Yodaka risked his life to fly through the night sky, and one day, he become the “star of Yodaka” burning blue and white.
What a beautiful recommendation, thank you Haru. This sounds like a wonderful story. I will see if I can find it.
PS. I wish you many more happy reads.
You should read this book: “Grave of the Fireflies”
It is a Japanese book that has been translated to many language such as English, Chinese and so on. This book is about the lives of a young brother and sister who lost parents in World War Ⅱ and takes place during and after the war.
Thanks Kenzo. It sounds intriguing.
The Summer of Five Seven Five
This novel for Japanese elementary school students.I read that I read when I was in the fifth grade. The main there is “Senryu”,which is a part of traditional Japanese culture.Senryu is composed in the rhythm of 5,7,5,and I think you will enjoy learning about Japanese culture through the story.Also,in this book reading it as much as I did.You can experience an elementary school student’s sweet love story. I hope you will enjoy.
Thanks Iroha. This sounds very interesting.
That is an unbelievable number of books on your list!
I’m a student in Japan and recently I read a collection of stories in old short a book called “Mokuba no Kishu” (The Wooden Horseman) by Tetsuro Miura. The stories all center around children and range from somber to warm-hearted. They are all beautiful stories and easy to read, so please consider looking into Mokuba no Kishu (The Wooden Horseman).
These sound fun. Thanks Hakana!
The book I would like to recommende is “5 Minutes Later, Unexpected Results Await You “by Haru Momoto.This is a book that contaihing 30 short stories.The main character changes from story to story , and these stories ronge from heartwaring to shocking and msy have interesting twists, which is very exciting. Each story is divided into sections, so you can read them during breaks in between reading other books.
I like this idea – a good book for busy readers! Thanks for the recommendation.
I suggest “Honeybees and Distant Thunder” by Riku Onda. This is a story about a piano competition. The main characters are four young people who are trying to become pianists. Also, it won the Prestigious Bookstore Award and Naoki Prize, marking the first time a book has receives both. I think the expressions made through the piano performances are interesting, so please consider reading this book.
Wow. It sounds great. Thanks!
I recommend the bock God is a Fifth Grader.
On the surface the main character looks like a typical young girl. However, she is a girl who grew up with memories or the sky until the age or 10. And what’s more is that she can still converse with the gods. What is the “true happiness” that this girl has known even before her both? It’s a mystery that really drowns you into the story.
‘A mystery that really drowns you into the story’ – that’s a powerful description. Thanks for telling me about this book.
Pingback: Week 4 – Semester Projects – Language Partners Program
Good list, I am using your list for myself and my own challenge, as I am currently on country 43 with my YouTube reviews. Thanks for adding this list to your site. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm1CKw5lArtyvDUyTyNpKFA
Thanks Jo. Happy reading!
Pingback: 198 Livros: Costa Rica - La Loca de Gandoca • Mais Um Destino
The pre-teen reads at an 11th grade reading level, so I am really just trying to focus on filtering based on content as opposed to difficulty.
Thanks for any help.
Thanks Shirley. It’s difficult to answer questions this as people’s ideas of what is age appropriate vary considerably, both within countries and around the world. However, sites like https://www.outsideinworld.org.uk/childrens-books.asp?page=reading-around-the-world have lots of good international recommendations for young readers. You can also find some great things through the #worldkidlit hashtag on Twitter. Good luck!
Pingback: My 2022 Reading Challenge Book List – Robs Home
Pingback: 1,000 books to read before you die checklist pdf | Result Videos books download game songs gana vlog
Pingback: The Delve | Dig deeper.
Pingback: An A-Z, round-the-world reading challenge – Courtney E. Williams
Thanks for creating such a helpful list. I have been inspired by your journey and am slowly starting to tick countries off my list. I am using a random country generator to pick the next country, and then using your list as a starting point for which books to read. The trouble is once I have read one book from a country I just want to keep reading and learning more!!
I have just read First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child by Loung Ung for Cambodia, and have In The Shadow of the Bunyan Tree by Vaddey Ratner to read next. Then my next country is Colombia. I have had 100 Years of Solitude on my shelf for a while so a good excuse to finally read it!
That’s lovely to know. Thanks Rachael. I like the sound of that random generator. Happy reading!
Pingback: WEEK 4 – SEMESTER PROJECTS – Language Partners Program
Argentina: Silvinia Ocampo and Victoria Ocampo have both written some interesting works, and Silvinia’s are recently being translated into English
Thanks for the tip-off, Alex!
Hey!
Thanks for a great list!!
I would also recommend Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki from India (translated version by C.V. Karthik Narayanan – 5 volume series).It covers a whole lot of South India from historical point of view and has a totally unexpected anticlimatic ending.
Thanks – sounds intriguing!
A debt of gratitude is in order for sharing data, helping me a ton in Academic Blogging going. I truly feel a debt of gratitude.
Thanks for sharing good information.
I noticed that Martinique wasn’t on your list, I haven’t found a translated title but I did find this novel that I thought might interest you.
“The Rose of Martinique: A life of Napoleon’s Josephine” by Andrea Stuart.
If your like me and didn’t realise that Josephine was born on the Island of Martinique then you might like to read it. The novel sounds very interesting and entertaining.
Thanks Kathy – an intriguing suggestion!
Aadujeevitham” (Goat Days) is a novel based on a true story about Najeeb, an Indian immigrant who endures extreme hardship while trapped in labor in Saudi Arabia, tending to goats. It’s a powerful tale of survival, isolation, and the longing for freedom. The original work is written by Benyamin and has been translated into English by Joseph Koyipally
Sounds great. Thanks Safa!
Somewhere I came across mention of An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie – I ordered it through my library on inter-library loan. I highly recommend it – glad I ran across it. There is also an interview with him on the web.
Yes, it’s an amazing book. It was my choice for Togo back in 2012.
Pingback: Die Welt lesen – Portrait of a Book
Pingback: The Literary Diaspora | Wadadli Pen
Pingback: Reading Around the World Book Challenge - Roaming The Pages
Pingback: Reading: On the Trip – Ball Family Travel
Hiya Ann!
My name is Delina Yemane Dawit and I’m from Eritrea. First of all, I LOVED your project, it’s brilliant! And second, I noticed that for Eritrea you read books written by Eritrean diaspora. While that’s interesting too, I want to suggest some books that may provide the perspective of someone who lived most of their lives here. I don’t think you can find them easily in London so I would like to send you copies through some relatives who live in London. I hope that’s ok. The books I have in mind are:
Two weeks in the trenches by Alemseged Tesfai
The Nurenebi File by Tesfaye Gebreab (translated into English by Alemseged Tesfai)
Let me know what you think!
That is a very generous offer. Thank you so much, Delina. I would be delighted to receive these books if you are sure it’s not too much trouble to arrange. Eritrea was definitely one of the most difficult countries to find work from! I’ll email you. Thanks again.
Hi Ann!
I was very happy to find so many books on your list from Hungary. We are a very small and linguistically quite isolated country. Many of the younger writers do not / or belatedly get translated. I would like to suggest one of my favourite books, ‘The Book of Fathers’ by Miklos Vamos. He is a contemporary of Peter Esterhazy and, in my opinion, just as brilliant as his duly famous colleague. This book is very special and a terrible on to translate as it offers a peak into the change Hungarian language went through in the past couple of centuries. Peter Sherwood, its courageous translator, did an amazing job.
Wonderful, thanks so much, Sophie. I will look this up!
I’m using your list as an invaluable resource for my similar project. For which many, many thanks.
For anyone looking for something from Papua New Guinea, can I recommend an independent press there called Hibiscus Three? Quite unbelievably I’m eagerly awaiting an anthology of Papuan scifi.
Wonderful, thanks Ben. This sounds like a great recommendation. Papuan sci-fi, eh? I’m intrigued!
Pingback: Livro da China - The Good Women of China | Projeto 198 Livros
Pingback: My Read the World Project? Completed it! | Elena Square Eyes
Pingback: Week 4 – Semester Projects – Language Partners Program
Pingback: 10 signs that show you’re a cultured person - Billionaire Club Co LLC
Pingback: Travel Unravelled: Your questions answered - Hostelworld
A Couple of Canadian Classics are
– Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery
– The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood
– The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
Ah yes. I’ve not read the Laurence but the other two are firm favourites.
Hello, my name is Rafaela and I’m from Brazil and here we have incredible literature! My book suggestion would be vidas secas (dry lives) by Graciliano Ramos. The book is amazing because talks about one family that is running away from the misery and drought of northeast of Brazil; so you can learn about Brazilian culture.
Thanks Rafaela. This sounds fascinating!
https://www.hayfestival.com/eurovision-book-contest
Hay did a Eurovision Book Contest as voted for by the public of books from the participating nations this year – did you see it? Rather fun.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
As someone who’s doing a very slow version of this project (I’m reading 5 books per year from countries I haven’t read a book from previously), I wanted to pass along this book to anyone interested: https://www.amazon.com/Indigenous-Literatures-Micronesia-Oceania-Literary/dp/0824877462/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3V9BGK4FE07BQ&keywords=Teweiariki+Teaero&qid=1687396071&sprefix=teweiariki+teaero%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-2
It’s an anthology of literature from the region of Micronesia – one of the regions it’s hardest to find books from (even most of the books listed here for the region don’t get me any usable results, sadly!). I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but it looks like it includes writers from Micronesia, Palau, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, among others.
Wonderful. Thanks for this, Josh. Happy reading to you!
What an incredible resources, thank you for creating this! Back in January I started featuring books in my shop from a different country or region each month. We also just started a book club with the same concept. Your list has some a amazing recommendations for future!
Some of my personal favorites that we’ve highlighted so far, which I don’t think are listed above:
-Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta or Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (Nigeria)
-They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears by Johannes Anyuru (Sweden) – maybe my favorite book of the year!
-We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon (Brazil)
-Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali (Turkey)
-Walking Practice by Dolki Min (S Korea)
I also have a regular customer from Bulgaria who recently recommended Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov. It won the International Book Prize this year. I haven’t read it yet, but she says it’s one of her favorite books!
Hooray. Thanks Maren. These sound excellent.
Yes, I love Gospodinov’s writing. His Natural Novel was my choice for Bulgaria all the way back in 2012!
My best wishes to your shop and book club!
Hey, for Costa Rica I recommend Mamita Yunai, its about the treatment of Costa Ricans, Indigenous peoples, by United Fruit Company in the 1930s. Its one of the most important books in our history and you might find it interesting.
Sounds wonderful. Thank you!
Pingback: Voyages sans frontières : Les réponses à vos questions - Hostelworld
Hi! I’d love to add some newer recommendations from Argentina. “Las malas” by Camila Sosa Villada and “La virgen cabeza” by Graciela Cabezón Cámara, both extremely good and showing a different side of Argentinian reality. Different from what you usually see from the outside, very far from the hegemonic narrative and discourse. There are many excellent authors in that vein, literatura villera is something you might want to look into considering the reviews I’ve seen from you and your taste (at least what little I’ve gathered about it),
I’d also add Rodolfo Walsh, his mysteries but most of all “Operación masacre” which tells a real, terrible story from one of the dictatorships here in a beautiful, emotionally intense combination between investigative journalism and literary prose. Both highly human and highly political. I would get some background info on the historical context first though. An in-depth knowledge is not at all necessary to enjoy it (of course it does add another layer), but going in with the basics is perfectly possible. I’d assume English translations give some context first, but I don’t really know how reliable an English-spèaking-world viewpoint of Argentinian history and politics would be. It depends, I suppose. If you can get an edition with the prologue by Osvaldo Bayer, it’s amazing (it’s about the events, the author and Walsh’s role in the actual events). Osvaldo Bayer has some amazing works himself. Worth checking out.
Happy reading! Thank you so much for everything you share here!
Wonderful recommendations. Thank you so much. And I love your reflections on the problems with English-speaking perspectives on Argentinian history. This is why reading the world is so important – to disrupt and challenge what we think we know.
Pingback: Viaggi da scoprire: Le vostre domande trovano risposta - Hostelworld
Here’s one for Argentina:
Weight of the Wait, Public Deception and the Endgame 1980 – 2020
by Maria Victoria Navajas Claros
Follow the endgame research funnel from start to finish. Discover issues of standard policy and the cascading effects on wartime trafficking, recruitment, public manipulation, and unrestricted biowarfare.
http://weightofthewait.net Full free PDF ebook.
Pingback: Project 2024 – Africa, List | The Australian Legend
Pingback: Adventures in African Literature — a New Reading Project Dawns : BookerTalk
From South India:
1. Amma, Poonachi, One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan.
2. The God of Small Things by Arundathi Roy
3. White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
From Nepal
The Woman who Climbed Trees by Smriti Ravindra
Ah yes. One Part Woman was a recent book of the month of mine. A great read! Thanks for these suggestions.
Brazil, add the books: “O Jardim das Aflições”, “O Imbecil Coletivo”, and “O mínimo que você precisa saber para não ser um idiota”, all by Olavo de Carvalho (https://olavodecarvalho.org/). The author is hated by Brazilian Academia (Universities) because they exposes the ignorance of teachers and others writers, and because it is essentialy to understand the recent Brazilian cultural decay and to know the previous Brazilian culture when Brazil produced more important literature.
Other author is Pedro Calmon, a Brazilian traditional teacher of History. He explains each step of Brazilian history. Book of reference for teachers, intelectualls, etc.
minor misprints : Lydia Salvayre → Lydie Salvayre, Garde du Nord → Gare du Nord
Thank you. Well spotted!