Around the world in books

Manderley

Slowly does it.
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Last year, I discovered that most of the books I had been reading were by Scandinavian, British or American authors. I realised this was a bit narrowed and that I probably were loosing out on a lot of wonderful books and writers by sticking to safe territory, so I decided to read wider, broader. Thus I came up with the idea of travelling around the world in books. One book every month should be from a country I've never read before. So far I've visited Angola, Sri Lanka, Croatia, Hungary, Iran and Portugal. In previous years I've also covered France, Russia, Iceland, Algeria, Japan, Canada, Spain, Turkey, Bosnia, Finland, Australia, China, Haiti, Colombia, and South-Africa.

Now I'm looking for new countries, new writers, new books - and I'd love to hear some recommendations. Do you know any wonderful writers out there in the big wide, world I should check out on my literary travel around the world?
 

ShapeSphere

Hello, Hooray
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Interesting post Manderley. Not sure if these are what you want, as they're old books and well-known, but here are some I really enjoyed and recommend:

Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka -- Czech Republic (actually 19th century Bohemia)

Perfume, Patrick Süskind -- Germany

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Hannah Arendt -- Germany

Aesop's Fables -- Greece

Finnegan's Wake, James Joyce -- Ireland

The Divine Comedy, Dante -- Italy (13th/14th century Florence)

The Prince, Machiavelli -- Italy (15th/16th century Florence)
 

DamaNegra

Mexican on the loose!
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Oh, cool thread!

I can recommend Mario Vargas Llosa (don't read Conversation in a Cathedral or whatever it was translated to, though). He's from Peru.

Also Isabel Allende. She's from Chile.

From Mexico I can recommend David Toscana (he writes beautifully) and Carlos Fuentes.

From Japan, I'd recommend reading Yukio Mishima. That man has a beautiful way with words I haven't found in anyone else (and he's the main reason I decided to learn japanese, so I could read his work as he wrote it).

Hmmm, where else?

Also, from Spain, I can't recommend El Quijote enough. It's truly an outstanding masterpiece.
 

jennifer75

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Mexico...

Laura Esquivel - Like Water for Chocolate

Latino Daniel Reveles (born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents) currently lives and writes in Mexico. Short stories.
 

maxmordon

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From Latin America, I bring you:

The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa -- The last days of Trujillo's dictatorship in Dominican Republic.

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by the same author above -- 1950's Peru. Specially the Soap Opera craze in Latin America at the time.

Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos -- Early XX Century Venezuelan country. Also Canaima about the rubber workers in the Amazon by the same writer.

The Tunnel by Ernesto Sábato -- 1950's Buenos Aires

I am assume since you mention Colombia you're already familiar with García Márquez, so that's why I don't mention him.


From around the Globe...


The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hasek -- WWI Austro-hungarian Empire.

The Samurai by Shusaku Endo. XVII Century Mexico seen through the eyes of Japanese noblemen in a diplomatic mission.

So far those are the ones I can think of to recommend...
 

maxmordon

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Oh, cool thread!

I can recommend Mario Vargas Llosa (don't read Conversation in a Cathedral or whatever it was translated to, though). He's from Peru.

Also Isabel Allende. She's from Chile.

From Mexico I can recommend David Toscana (he writes beautifully) and Carlos Fuentes.

From Japan, I'd recommend reading Yukio Mishima. That man has a beautiful way with words I haven't found in anyone else (and he's the main reason I decided to learn japanese, so I could read his work as he wrote it).

Hmmm, where else?

Also, from Spain, I can't recommend El Quijote enough. It's truly an outstanding masterpiece.

Dama, it has been a while since I saw you on the MSN. I read during my holidays Cuatro Manos by Paco Ignacio Taibo II and I wanted to know your opinion about him, this is the first Mexican writer I read.
 

ezc_19

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The Bridge On The Drina by Ivo Andric - Croatia

It is simply a masterpiece. Earned him the Nobel Prize.