I've realized how little I've read set outside of North America or Europe, and I'm trying to change that! My requirements are no gratuitous violence or sex scenes with dubious consent. I'm open to different time periods, male or female characters, etc. Particular interested in anything set in South Asia. TIA!
by Puzzled-Raspberry-96
4 Comments
Check out Brasyl by Ian McDonald. He also wrote sci-fi set in India and Africa.
Africa: Chinua Achebe is a touchstone African writer, but his books have some pretty intense themes.
Heart of Darkness is also a touchstone, but it’s still a white westerner writing about Africa. However it was influential in post-colonial African literature and does a good job as a primer of those movements on the continent.
The Dark Child by Camara Laye is memoir but a great coming of age story.
South America: Through the Night Like a Snake, which I will take every opportunity to recommend.
Anything by Roberto Bolano.
Fever Dream by Schwebelin.
Asia: Coin Locker Babies by Murakami
The Hole by Pyun
I read several by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2025 and loved them. Particularly enjoyed Half a Yellow Sun.
Pachinko, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The House on Sun Street