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Challenge: read a book about every country


Liadin

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I saw somebody talking about this on Goodreads the other day and thought it would be a cool thing to try to do. I like reading books set in faraway places, but even so it seems like most of my non-secondary-world reading is set in either the US or UK (and let's be honest, that gets boring). So here are the rules for my personal challenge:

- To count, a book has to be primarily set in a particular country. Can be historical or contemporary. Can be a short-story compilation, a memoir or a history book, and it can be otherwise crap, so long as it gives a sense of the history and culture of the place.

- Books with speculative elements count so long as you can make an argument that they're "about" the place (borrowing some cultural elements is not enough). In my judgment, Tigana is not about Italy, while Who Fears Death is about Sudan.

- The author does not have to be from that country, but it's better if she is.

- The book only counts if you finish it.

So far I have 29 countries:

Afghanistan: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini

Argentina: The Peron Novel by Tomas Eloy Martinez

Australia: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullogh

Brazil: The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles

Chile: House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

China: The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

Colombia: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Congo: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Dominican Republic: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

England: many

Germany: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Greece: Sailor’s Wife by Helen Benedict

Greenland: The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

India: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Ireland: Ireland by Frank Delaney

Japan: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Korea: Fox Girl by Nora Okja Keller

Malaysia: The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw

Mexico: Los recuerdos del porvenir by Elena Garro

Morocco: The Harem Within by Fatema Mernissi

Nicaragua: The Country Under My Skin by Gioconda Belli

Nigeria: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Puerto Rico: The House on the Lagoon, Rosario Ferre

Russia: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Singapore: Following the Wrong God Home by Catherine Lim

Spain: For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Sudan: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

USA: many

Venezuela: Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende

I didn't realize till making this list that I don't seem to read many books set in European countries outside the UK and Ireland. (Seems like I read something by Emile Zola in school, but as I can't remember the title it doesn't really count....) And where's Canada? And the Middle East? And why is everything I've read about China and Japan by authors who aren't actually from there? I need to get busy. :read: :read:

So, recs? Anybody interested in joining me in this challenge?

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You've not read the Three Muskeeters or the count of Monte Cristo?

I'm interested. Would stuff like The Odyssey, the Mahabaratha, Water Margin or the Jómsvíkinga saga count?

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Liadin,

How about:

Canada Catseye, Alias Grace or Blind Assassin by Margaret Attwood

Egypt Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

Estonia The Czar's madman or Professor Marten's Departure by Jaan Kross

Italy Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi

Japan The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Basho BAH! Sorry didn't see you already had a Japan

I'm probably being more than usually blockheaded here - but what exactly is the challenge here? Is it just to see how many countries you can read your way round?

I certainly think you should keep us posted on your literary travels though.

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You've not read the Three Muskeeters or the count of Monte Cristo?

I'm interested. Would stuff like The Odyssey, the Mahabaratha, Water Margin or the Jómsvíkinga saga count?

I read about 250 pages of The Count of Monte Cristo, decided it was too melodramatic and manipulative for me, and quit. Sadly, I think I'm past the ideal age for Dumas. Les Miserables is on the horizon though.

As to your question: well, I'm not personally counting the Odyssey (nor am I counting the Bible for Israel) just because it feels a bit too remote to me. But I think you could count them without cheating.

Well since you dont have an Iranian work up there I suggest The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat, pioneer modernist in Iranian literature probably the greatest Iranian contemporary writer.

Nice, thanks!

Liadin,

How about:

Canada Catseye, Alias Grace or Blind Assassin by Margaret Attwood

Egypt Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

Estonia The Czar's madman or Professor Marten's Departure by Jaan Kross

Italy Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi

Japan The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Basho BAH! Sorry didn't see you already had a Japan

I'm probably being more than usually blockheaded here - but what exactly is the challenge here? Is it just to see how many countries you can read your way round?

Essentially. I'm sure there are dozens of tiny countries out there from which there is no literature to speak of in English, but it seems like an interesting thing to try to do.

On the Atwood: is there something especially Canadian about those books? I've read The Handmaid's Tale, but didn't come away thinking I'd read a book about Canada. (Although come to think of it I read the Anne of Green Gables books as a kid, and those probably count.)

And thanks for the recs.... even though I have one from Japan, it's a pretty important country to just stop at Memoirs of a Geisha.

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And why do you Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as a work from Congo? Its true that the story happens in Congo for the most part but Conrad is a Polish-English writer. He could not speak fluent English till his twenties but his prose is flawless and smooth.

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I read about 250 pages of The Count of Monte Cristo, decided it was too melodramatic and manipulative for me, and quit. Sadly, I think I'm past the ideal age for Dumas. Les Miserables is on the horizon though.

...

On the Atwood: is there something especially Canadian about those books? I've read The Handmaid's Tale, but didn't come away thinking I'd read a book about Canada. (Although come to think of it I read the Anne of Green Gables books as a kid, and those probably count.)

in contrast to handmaids tale these ones are all rooted in canada, although no doubt canadian boarders will have a more rounded perspective.

Catseye - girl growing up in Canada 40s-50s, family returning to live in the City after years in the Canadian wilderness extremely troubled relations with other girls of her age remembered through flashbacks as an adult living in canada

Alias Grace - based around actual real historical murder mystery told from two POVs from 19th century canada

Blind Assassin - canadian family tragedy intercut with pulpy science fiction. A sad tale with the sombre backdrop of the canadian woolens industry.

Meaning no disrespect to your age but I would say that if you think you are past the reading age for count of monte cristo then you are probably past the reading age for les miserables . I found les miserables too melodramatic and over the top for my taste when I read it a good few years ago.

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And why do you Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as a work from Congo? Its true that the story happens in Congo for the most part but Conrad is a Polish-English writer. He could not speak fluent English till his twenties but his prose is flawless and smooth.

You're right, the thread title really should be "read a book about every country," but I can't figure out how to change it. There's a group on Goodreads doing this that is much more interested in the author's country of origin than the setting of the novel, and I'm the opposite. (So long as people from that country aren't decrying the author as an ignoramus, I'm good with it.) But it could be done any way round really.

in contrast to handmaids tale these ones are all rooted in canada, although no doubt canadian boarders will have a more rounded perspective.

Catseye - girl growing up in Canada 40s-50s, family returning to live in the City after years in the Canadian wilderness extremely troubled relations with other girls of her age remembered through flashbacks as an adult living in canada

Alias Grace - based around actual real historical murder mystery told from two POVs from 19th century canada

Blind Assassin - canadian family tragedy intercut with pulpy science fiction. A sad tale with the sombre backdrop of the canadian woolens industry.

Meaning no disrespect to your age but I would say that if you think you are past the reading age for count of monte cristo then you are probably past the reading age for les miserables . I found les miserables too melodramatic and over the top for my taste when I read it a good few years ago.

Good to know. I'd heard Les Mis was good but would rather pass on the melodrama--good thing there's plenty of French lit to choose from.

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I should participate in this if only to finally read the following four books I have sitting on my bookshelf:

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (India)

The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki (Japan)

Four Reigns by Kukrit Pramoj (Thailand)

The Egyptian by Mika Waltari (Egypt)

All have been gifted to me by various houseguests who either came from the subject country or that of the author's. They are all pretty long, however, so I don't think I will attempt to add to the reading list beyond those at this point.

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As much as I admire your quest, food luck finding a book from my country (Andorra) translated to English (I don't think there's any).

You are missing some "easy countries", and The Bible is your friend here. Most books work for Israel, with the Exodus working for Egypt, the Book of Ezekiel for Irak, and much more.

Another very useful book would be the One Thousand and One Nights/Arabian Nights. With this you should cover most of the Middle East, I guess. At the very least, you would add Arabia Saudi, Iran, Irak,...

I Claudius or any novel set in the Roman Empire should serve for Italy. If you havn't read it, I would suggest the Finnish novel "The Egyptian" (Mika Waltari) for Egypt. And for Portugal, I recommend "Pereira Declares" from Antonio Tabucchi, set in Salazar's dictatorship which I found an interesting read.

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I read about 250 pages of The Count of Monte Cristo, decided it was too melodramatic and manipulative for me, and quit. Sadly, I think I'm past the ideal age for Dumas. Les Miserables is on the horizon though.
Meaning no disrespect to your age but I would say that if you think you are past the reading age for count of monte cristo then you are probably past the reading age for les miserables . I found les miserables too melodramatic and over the top for my taste when I read it a good few years ago.
What's this, I don't even... :stunned::crying:

The style of this period was to be melodramatic. Actually, it may even be in the culture. You find it too melodramatic, you find my culture too melodramatic, this is an affront, en garde! (Not reading the three muskeeters, too melodramatic... grumble. Next time you will tell me the Hunchback is too melodramatic too.... bloody capers haters) :fencing:

Now, seriously, if you want to read stuff from 19th century without melodrama, to learn about the country, read Maupassant, maybe Balzac would fit, but stay the hell away from Zola, Hugo, or, apparently, Dumas (especially from Hugo, actually)

So, beyond that, what about Stendhal, Proust, Giono, Vian, Sartre, Balzac, Camus, Gary, George Sand, St Exupery (you didn't read the little prince?) or Leblanc (Arsène bloody Lupin!)

And why do you Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as a work from Congo? Its true that the story happens in Congo for the most part but Conrad is a Polish-English writer. He could not speak fluent English till his twenties but his prose is flawless and smooth.
Cause she is looking for novels taking place in specific countries, not written by authors of specific nationalities.

Though of course I tend to agree that no matter the location, a book written by a non-native will hardly reflect the country's culture in all the subtle spaces where it usually shines through. Style, for example, among other things.

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http://news.bookweb....onelyP_list.pdf

I was going to do this until I discovered that a discouraging amount of the books weren't available via Kindle.

There's a lot of books written by foreigners visiting other countries, specifically the amount of Bruce Chatwin struck me as a really odd

choice particularly for the Czech Republic and Australia - surely no shortage of local writers there.

Plus isn't it cheating to list Rebecca West's black lamb and grey falcon separately for Croatia and Macedonia when the entire book is a travelogue through Yugoslavia between the wars?

You are missing some "easy countries", and The Bible is your friend here. Most books work for Israel, with the Exodus working for Egypt, the Book of Ezekiel for Irak, and much more.

Another very useful book would be the One Thousand and One Nights/Arabian Nights. With this you should cover most of the Middle East, I guess. At the very least, you would add Arabia Saudi, Iran, Irak,...

Heh, Heh and if we add to that Around the World in Eighty Days then we have a whole bunch of other countries too! Why the world would be ours in only three books!

What's this, I don't even... :stunned::crying:

The style of this period was to be melodramatic. Actually, it may even be in the culture. You find it too melodramatic, you find my culture too melodramatic, this is an affront, en garde! :fencing:

Mais oui! En garde Monsieur! :fencing:

Now, seriously, if you want to read stuff from 19th century without melodrama, to learn about the country, read Maupassant, maybe Balzac would fit, but stay the hell away from Zola, Hugo, or, apparently, Dumas (especially from Hugo, actually)

So, beyond that, what about Stendhal, Proust, Giono, Vian, Sartre, Balzac, Camus, Gary, George Sand, St Exupery (you didn't read the little prince?) or Leblanc (Arsène bloody Lupin!)

...

Though of course I tend to agree that no matter the location, a book written by a non-native will hardly reflect the country's culture in all the subtle spaces where it usually shines through. Style, for example, among other things.

What about Flaubert?

I agree with you on the non-native writer - no matter how good for interesting you're going to get an outsiders perspective.

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Though of course I tend to agree that no matter the location, a book written by a non-native will hardly reflect the country's culture in all the subtle spaces where it usually shines through. Style, for example, among other things.

But not necessarily, last year I read Le Testament français by Andrei Makine, who is a Russian writer writing about thongs that happen (partly) in France.

Although, I am not sure that this book fits your list. Ignore.

Do you only read the bboks translated into English or also in foreign languages?

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Cool! As anyone who's friended me on Goodreads can see, I kind of obsessively tag everything by location (up to and including 'mars').., but I don't think I do all that well country by country.

lets see:

South Africa - Zoo City, Lauren Beukes

Algeria - The Stranger, Albert Camus

UK - lots

Afghanistan - A Thousand Splendid Suns

India - Sea of Poppies, Amitav Ghosh

Turkey - The Dervish House, Ian McDonald

Thailand - The Windup Girl (barely...)

Russia - Deathless, Cat Valente, a few others (all genre, I think. My parents would kill me if they caught me reading russian literature in anything but russian, but my russian needs improving to read grown up lit, and i'm lazy about it.)

Spain - Shadow of the Wind

Israel - lots

France - The Cardinals Blades (Hey, if Dumas counts...and anyway, I've read Dumas)

Colombia - A hundred years of Solitude, Marquez

US - lots

So thats 13, 9 of which are by authors native to that country (or 10, if you count Camus)

I'm not counting books like The Baroque Cycle or Otherland, that are fairly globe spanning but somewhat incidentally so. Or "Love Slave to the Sheikh", set mostly in Australia, but, well...)

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What about Flaubert?
I've not read Flaubert. But iirc he's closer to Maupassant than to Hugo. And for some reason his name always make me think of Proust.

But not necessarily, last year I read Le Testament français by Andrei Makine, who is a Russian writer writing about thongs that happen (partly) in France.
It's still an outside perspective, and an author who was raised and taught (to write among other thing) in another culture. It always shines through.
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EB: You're right, I seem to have missed all the French lit you would expect one to read as a kid. Will have to work on that.

Dacey: I only read English and Spanish (and most good books in Spanish are translated to English anyway). But no harm in rec'ing books that haven't been translated, for those that do read the language.

I have a ton from Sweden, obviously, what kind would you like? What time period?

Hmm, basically anything that's high quality and not too modern (I tend to prefer historical fiction over modern urbanites with midlife crises and such). Is that too broad?

It's still an outside perspective, and an author who was raised and taught (to write among other thing) in another culture. It always shines through.

Agree with you that a book written by a local is better. Essentially, I'm not requiring it for my reading because sometimes people write really good books about countries they aren't from, and I'm just as interested in reading good books as in learning about cultures. Counting only books that are about the country the author is from seems rather limiting in practical terms (the other option being to disregard where the book is set and only look at where the author is from--I saw someone on Goodreads counting Heart of Darkness for Poland and it blew my mind).

That, and I don't think I'm a perceptive enough reader to notice the subtle style differences between an author who's a native and one who isn't. :P

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