Hello! As the title says, I would like to read a book per country as a long term goal and I was thinking it would be better if it was a female author, but I´m absolutely open to read a male author if the book reflects the way of living in that country or is enriching/makes you reflect about certain topics that affect the country (for example I was considering The Kite Runner). Do you have any recommendations?
By far I´ve read from:
USA
Argentina (where im from)
Belgium
Chile
Czech Republic
England
Japan
South Korea
Mexico
Spain
Uganda (not sure if this actually counts, I´ve read Anthony Capella)
Here are some books I really enjoyed reading, in no particular order:
So Thrilled for you, Helly Bourne
The bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
I Who have never known men, Jacqueline Harpman
El buen mal, Samanta Schweblin
Cometierra, Dolores Reyes
El año en que hablamos con el Mar, Andrés Montero
Entre los rotos, Alaíde Ventura Medina
Una casa llena de gente, Mariana Sandez
Unknown Woman, Stefan Zweig
The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid
The hunger games, Suzanne Collins
Thanks!!!
by dennkotyk
17 Comments
My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite for Nigeria.
If you’re interested in Hosseini’s work, I’d maybe start with A Thousand Splendid Suns, because it is focused on two women protagonists. The Kite Runner is still incredible and absolutely worth reading though.
Snow White And Russian Red, Poland
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (France)
Any of Maeve Binchy’s books, Ireland
White Teeth by Zadie Smith, UK
Crimson Lake series by Candice Fox, Australia
The Sleeping Dictionary by Sujata Massey, India
Chimamanda ngozi adiche- Nigeria – half of a yellow sun
Yaa gyasi – Ghana – homegoing
Sappho- Greece
Elena Ferrante- Italy- My Brilliant Friend
Simone de Beauvoir – France- the second sex, woman destroyed
Eavan Boland- Ireland
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (India, though she now lives in the US)
Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author who has written several novels. *The Handmaid’s Tale* is probably the most popular.
Italy: Elena Ferrante – My Brilliant Friend,
Italy: Natalia Ginzburg – Family Lexicon
The God of small things by Arundhati Roy, India
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, Germany
The eight life by Nino Haratischwili, Georgia & Germany
Hurricane season by Fernanda Melchor, Mexico
If you are considering The kite runner, I’d suggest A thousand splendid suns by the same author
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi – From Oman
The Woman from Tantoura by Radwa Ashour – Egyptian author but the book is about Palestine
The Notebook Trilogy by Ágota Kristóf – Hungarian author
h{{The Elegance of the Hedgehog}} France
For Australia – maybe Melissa Lucashenko or Helen Garner?
Yael van der Wouden’s The Safekeep for the Netherlands.
Lesley Nneka Arimah’s What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (Nigeria) and Zen Cho’s Spirits Abroad (Malaysia) are both excellent short story collections that include stories both set in their home countries and in diaspora communities.
I second the recommendations for Elena Ferrante for Italy and Zadie Smith for the UK, based on the books you mention enjoying.
Sayaka Murata and/or Mieko Kawakami for Japan! Breasts & Eggs by the latter in particular explores what it’s like being a woman in society.
The Door by Magda Szabo from Hungary.
France- Daphne du maurier or Anne Garretta
Iran: Marjan kamali
Turkey: elif shafak
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Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (Norway)
The Door (or) Abigail by Magda Szabo (Hungary)
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. (Italy)
Stolen by Ann Helen Laestadius (Sweden)