I'm wanting to read books set in every country. They don't necessarily have to be written by a native, but they have to take place in that country, or at least for the majority of the book.
This is an incredible story that still stays with me. It’s set in Iceland. It’s called Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.
Burial Rites tells the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, a servant in northern Iceland who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer, and became the last woman put to death in Iceland.
r--evolve on
Perhaps you could list a few countries you’re interested in starting with or countries you’ve already read about? I think this would help others give you more targeted suggestions, since there are so many countries in the world.
Ill_Yak2851 on
I like that idea – feel free to share some titles or recommendations. I loved the Beach for Thailand, it was really a great read. And of course The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Sweden, i could go on – guess that’s why your idea intrigued me.
TedIsAwesom on
What genre or story style do you go for?
Cause I can Canadian suggestions.
rashan688 on
Japan: Totto-Chan
Russia: literally anything written by Tolstoy
France and Germany: All the Light We Cannot See
Korea: Pachinko ….tbh I hated that book but it’s won a ton of awards so maybe you’ll like it
yourlittlebirdie on
Poland: Push Not the River by James Conroyd Martin
Egypt: Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
Sweden: The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell or Beartown by Fredrick Backman
Scotland: Breakers by Doug Johnstone
Italy: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Ireland: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Palestine: Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani
Iceland: Snare by Lilja Sigurðardóttir
Israel: My Michael by Amos Oz
India: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Denmark: The Exception by Christian Jungersen
rainyj000 on
Idk if it counts but Moriarty’s Men by Eva Chase takes place in multiple countries, the three places I remember of the top of my head is London, Brazil, and I believe Chile
notbymyhand on
What’s the point of not stressing that the author be native ?
It’s better not to read books from certain countries than have them written by foreigners and failing to capture the feel and culture or being outright stereotypical and racist
mannyssong on
Tahiti: Island of Shattered Dreams by Chantal Spitz
Mongolia: The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschiang
Samoa: They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel
(All native authors)
pennyflowerrose on
Happy isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux will cover a bunch of places in the South Pacific, or you can count it for just one of the countries.
For Mexico I’d read something by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
There’s this novel, Cold People by Tom Rob Smith that is set in Antarctica. Not a country but in case you are including it.
randomberlinchick on
New Zealand: The Bone People by Keri Hulme
Sweden: The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell
11 Comments
This is an incredible story that still stays with me. It’s set in Iceland. It’s called Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.
Burial Rites tells the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, a servant in northern Iceland who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer, and became the last woman put to death in Iceland.
Perhaps you could list a few countries you’re interested in starting with or countries you’ve already read about? I think this would help others give you more targeted suggestions, since there are so many countries in the world.
I like that idea – feel free to share some titles or recommendations. I loved the Beach for Thailand, it was really a great read. And of course The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Sweden, i could go on – guess that’s why your idea intrigued me.
What genre or story style do you go for?
Cause I can Canadian suggestions.
Japan: Totto-Chan
Russia: literally anything written by Tolstoy
France and Germany: All the Light We Cannot See
Korea: Pachinko ….tbh I hated that book but it’s won a ton of awards so maybe you’ll like it
Poland: Push Not the River by James Conroyd Martin
Egypt: Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
Sweden: The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell or Beartown by Fredrick Backman
Scotland: Breakers by Doug Johnstone
Italy: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Ireland: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Palestine: Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani
Iceland: Snare by Lilja Sigurðardóttir
Israel: My Michael by Amos Oz
India: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Denmark: The Exception by Christian Jungersen
Idk if it counts but Moriarty’s Men by Eva Chase takes place in multiple countries, the three places I remember of the top of my head is London, Brazil, and I believe Chile
What’s the point of not stressing that the author be native ?
It’s better not to read books from certain countries than have them written by foreigners and failing to capture the feel and culture or being outright stereotypical and racist
Tahiti: Island of Shattered Dreams by Chantal Spitz
Mongolia: The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschiang
Samoa: They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel
(All native authors)
Happy isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux will cover a bunch of places in the South Pacific, or you can count it for just one of the countries.
For Mexico I’d read something by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
There’s this novel, Cold People by Tom Rob Smith that is set in Antarctica. Not a country but in case you are including it.
New Zealand: The Bone People by Keri Hulme
Sweden: The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell