Chris’s Comments (group member since Feb 01, 2011)

Chris’s comments from the Around the World in Books group.

This is the place to discuss the winner of December's poll for Japan - Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.

Please feel free to discuss December's book from Japan - IQ84, here.

Again, we have a tie. Joint winners were 1Q84 and Kitchen.

Poll is now live at:

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/75062-please-vote-for-the-group-s-december-book-the-options-are-from-japan

and will be open until 28 Nov.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Ring by Koji Suzuki - I don't think we've read a horror yet?

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

December's book will be from Japan.

Please suggest any books you'd like to read before 20 Nov. I'll then put these into a poll. Thanks!

Joint winners were Madame Bovary and Grey Souls

Feel free to talk about Grey Souls, by Philippe Claudel, here. The book was joint winner of the poll for France this month.

Feel free to talk about Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert, here. The book was joint winner of the poll for France this month.

Just to say that the poll is now live at http://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/41216-around-the-world-in-books?type=group and will close on Wed 24th.

A French colleague also recommended Three Strong Women by Marie N'Diaye. She also suggested Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen.

Somebody else (almost forcefully!) suggested that I read The Debacle (Les Rougon-Macquart, #19) by Emile Zola.

And I'd like to throw in a kid's book for something different The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

We haven't read any books of countries beginning with F yet, so let's for November.

Please suggest any books you'd like to read from FRANCE, FIJI and FINLAND below.

I'll set up a poll on Mon 15th Oct so please get your suggestions in by then.

Great blog post, Jayme - It's always reassuring to know the author's credentials when reading historical fiction. It is frustrating when they completely ignore fact, isn't it!

I read the other book from Chile this month but after seeing this post I think I'll have to give this a read too!

I found this really interesting - the man can definitely write. That combined with his early life in Chile and subsequent travels around the globe (and a willingness to get involved in the cultures he lived in) makes for great reading. I felt it ran out of steam near the end when he moved back to Chile and talks quite extensively about the current politics - but this was porbably more interesting at the time it was published and for a Latin American audience. Despite that, I do recommend reading this book, but you don't miss anything in the last couple of chapters if you want to read something else.

Poll's over , people. Next month's chosen book is Chronicle in Stone by the Albanian Ismail Kadare. Looking forward to this one!

The book chosen by poll to be read in October is Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare, which is from Albania.

Feel free to discuss here.

Hi all, the poll is now live and will run until Sunday 23rd at - http://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/41216-around-the-world-in-books?type=group

Are there any American Samoan books??

This Kadara author sounds very good. I like the sound of Chronicle in Stone... because of this review "Culturally the city has a Muslim Turkish heritage. This contrasts against the Greek/Christian/peasant culture. All of this is woven into the story. Different cultures, strange beliefs, bizarre people and shocking events – they are all part of this novel. At the center is a young boy trying to understand it all."


Other options are Biografi: A Traveler's Taleby Lloyd Jones
The Albanian Affairs by Susana Fortes
The Accursed Mountains: Journeys in Albania by Robert Carver
Land of Eagles: Riding through Europe's Forgotten Country by Robin Hanbury-Tenison