Books in which the location plays a large role

[Dianne]

I'm looking for novels in which the location - town,city,country - plays a major role in the novel. The reason I'm looking is that in my book club we read a travelogue annually followed by a dinner reflecting that country's cuisine and we're running out of countries! Most of the travel memoirs on the market now are about people who have moved to France or Italy and they are great but we need other countries. I thought a novel in which the setting is almost a character in the book would be a possible solution. I'm looking for stories that show you a place and talk about the buildings, the people, the food, etc. If anyone can recommend any like that, or any other travel books I'd be very grateful!

[Linda]

Dianne,

I understand your dilemma... Two authors came to mind - Lucy Maud Montgomery with the Anne of Green Gables series. Prince Edward Island is on my wish to travel list. Regretfully, there is no talk of food... but, from what I've researched the food is excellent (think those PI seafoods). Charles Dickens is another and there is some food references - you didn't mention England, so perhaps there is something there for you to consider.

It is true that most of the newer books feature France and Italy.

Good luck in your pursuit.

[Carol]

This book bounces about in several countries, but it contains culture, food, politics and an interesting look at Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The Lacuna

[Joan]

For a portrait of London today, I suggest John Lanchester's Capital--an excellent read, as is The Lacuna which I also thoroughbly enjoyed.

[Carol]

Joan wrote: "For a portrait of London today, I suggest John Lanchester's Capital--an excellent read, as is The Lacuna which I also thoroughbly enjoyed."

Joan, that one sounds good.

[Brian]

Here are three books with a strong sense of location that also offer great cuisines:

after the quake by Haruki Murakami. Poignant and slightly surrealistic short stories taking place in Kobe and Tokyo in the the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake. Noodles and sushi; and, because it's Murakmi, you can probably throw in some fast food.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene. Saigon falling apart in the mid-fifties. I don't really know Vietnamese food but I bet it's great.

Conversation in the Cathedral by Mario Vargas-Llosa. Lima in the mid-fifties. The intersection of family and politics in Vargas-Llosa's masterpiece with great sense of place. Not easy reading, but gives you an excuse to have some great ceviche and other Peruvian delights.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands by Jorge Amado is teeming with incredible-sounding food. It's a long complicated book, though. I read it long ago, and I still remember my mouth watering at some of the meals Dona Flor created.

[Sara]

Louise Penny's mystery series (that completely transcends genre) is set in Quebec and a small town nearby. The setting(s) and all the food get fine development--quite evocative! The first book is Still Life. The latest comes out in August or September.

[Anthony]

For sure the Davinci Code. All of the scenic places in Italy really help the story. After visiting Italy and then seeing the places Dan Brown talks about really made the book even better!

[brooke1994]

Try Cape Light by Thomas Kinkade. This is a charming book about a small New England town and it's residents. Normally I don't read a lot of adult fiction (even though I am an adult), but this one is capturing my attention.

[Lynn]

I'd recommend An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude. It's a nonfiction book about a Canadian couple's two-year adventure sailing the Caribbean in their own boat. There are even delicious-sounding recipes included throughout the book. You get a mix of memoir, travelogue, cookbook, and sailing guide all rolled into one. I didn't want it to end.

[Gina]

I second the recommendations for The Lacuna.

[Ruth]

How about The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux. The location is as important as the characters.

[Dianne]

Linda wrote: "Dianne,

I understand your dilemma... Two authors came to mind - Lucy Maud Montgomery with the Anne of Green Gables series. Prince Edward Island is on my wish to travel list. Regretfully, there i..."

Thanks for the suggestions, I hadn't even considered Dickens but it's a great idea. As for P.E.I. I'm lucky enough to live just across the bridge from there. Our book club has read Lucy Maud and loved her books but the close proximity of the location makes it too much like home for a travel book! It's not "foreign" enough!

[Dianne]

Carol wrote: "This book bounces about in several countries, but it contains culture, food, politics and an interesting look at Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The Lacuna"

Thanks Carol, I'll check that one out!

[Dianne]

Joan wrote: "For a portrait of London today, I suggest John Lanchester's Capital--an excellent read, as is The Lacuna which I also thoroughbly enjoyed."

Capital sounds like it might work for what we want - I'll have a look at it. Thanks!

[Dianne]

Brian wrote: "Here are three books with a strong sense of location that also offer great cuisines:

after the quake by Haruki Murakami. Poignant and slightly surrealistic short stories taking place in Kobe and ..."

I'm writing these three down to check out. After The Quake sounds particularly interesting, and I've been wanting to read Grahame Greene for a long time. Thanks so much for your suggestions.

[Dianne]

Sherry wrote: "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands by Jorge Amado is teeming with incredible-sounding food. It's a long complicated book, though. I read it long ago, and I still remember my mouth watering at some of t..."

Sounds great. I'll have a look. Thanks!

[Dianne]

Sara wrote: "Louise Penny's mystery series (that completely transcends genre) is set in Quebec and a small town nearby. The setting(s) and all the food get fine development--quite evocative! The first book is..."

This sounds good. I live in Canada, but Quebec really does have a distinct culture of it's own so that would be interesting to check out. Thank you!

[Dianne]

Anthony wrote: "For sure the Davinci Code. All of the scenic places in Italy really help the story. After visiting Italy and then seeing the places Dan Brown talks about really made the book even better!"

Dan Brown does bring a location to life doesn't he? I don't think we have many Dan Brown fans in our book club but it's worth bringing up for discussion. Thanks!

[Dianne]

Narnian525 wrote: "Try Cape Light by Thomas Kinkade. This is a charming book about a small New England town and it's residents. Normally I don't read a lot of adult fiction (even though I am an adult), but this one i..."

I've never read Thomas Kinkade, but the word "charming" tells me I should consider it. We live very close to New England so the culture/food isn't that far different than ours. I might consider the book anyway just for myself. Thanks!

[Dianne]

Lynn wrote: "I'd recommend An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude. It's a nonfiction book about a Canadian couple's two-year adventure sailing the Caribbean in their own boat. There are even delic..."

As a matter of fact we read that book a couple of years ago and had a wonderful Caribbean dinner. I could have stayed on that boat with them forever. What an incredible adventure. Thanks for taking the time to make a suggestion!

[Dianne]

Gina wrote: "I second the recommendations for The Lacuna."

Thanks Gina, I'll be looking into that one.

[Dianne]

Ruth wrote: "How about The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux. The location is as important as the characters."

I'm not familiar with that title at all, but I will have a look. I love a book with strong sense of place. Thanks so much!

[Karen]

The first book that comes to my mind is Like Water for Chocolate by Layra Esquivel. Plenty of Mexiacan food.

Also Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda if Indian food appeals to your group.

[Carol]

Dianne wrote: "Ruth wrote: "How about The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux. The location is as important as the characters."

I'm not familiar with that title at all, but I will have a look. I love a book with stro..."

The Mosquito Coast is fantastic, let us know what your club thinks of it. We had a lively discussion here :

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...

[Dianne]

Karen wrote: "The first book that comes to my mind is Like Water for Chocolate by Layra Esquivel. Plenty of Mexiacan food.

Also Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda if Indian food appeals to your group."

I just started reading Like Water For Chocolate today. It seems quite whimsical, a good thing. I've only read a few pages but already the cooking references sound pretty good. Our book club read Secret Daughter last year and you're right it is a book with a strong sense of location. Thanks for your suggestions!

[Yulia]

What about The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham. You could see what type of food they eat in that region of China. If you want to do a book about Korea, you could discuss The Orphan Master's Son or Please Look After Mom. The latter might work better since a scarcity of food is a very much an issue in North Korea and is probably not very appetizing right now.

[Carol]

I am reading "The Painted Veil now, it is a wonderful story of personal growth set in China.

[Dianne]

Yulia and Carol - A lot of people have told me The Painted Veil is a wonderful book so I've put that on my list. I'm going to look at the two Korean ones as well, we've never done an Asian dinner and it would be a lot of fun. Thanks for your suggestions!

[Book Concierge]

Carol wrote: "This book bounces about in several countries, but it contains culture, food, politics and an interesting look at Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The Lacuna"

Excellent recommendation!

[Ann D]

Dianne,
This book may be too gritty for your book club's taste, but if you want very compelling book about the Chinese economic miracle and its effect on ordinary people read Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory. It was published in 2011.

Hessler speaks fluent Chinese and lived there for many years. He drove through many parts of China and talked to a lot of people for this book. His emphasis is on how people really live - lots more opportunity, but still very difficult lives.

This book would also give you an excuse for a great Chinese dinner.

[Barbara]

Dianne, I don't see any books about Eastern Europe on the suggestions so I will add some from that region. I read these before and during our travels there last summer based on suggestions from this group. Under the Frog follows two young men in Hungary between the end of WWII and the Hungarian uprising of 1956. The Zookeeper's Wife is the story of a zookeeper's family who hid Jews during the German occupation. It is nonfiction but reads like fiction. The Impossible Country: A Journey Through the Last Days of Yugoslavia is an outstanding book written by an American journalist who was traveling and reporting through the former Yugoslavia during the last days before the wars broke out there. Again, it is nonfiction but very readable and will teach you an immense amount about a very complicated region.

[Andrea]

How about one of Peter Hessler's books on his time spent living in China? River Town or Oracle Bones

Or the novel set in China Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

[Marschel]

The Dan Brown books are excellent for Paris and Rome. I think you can almost do walking tours based on the exciting scenes that take place in the churches he has used. I don't know if you ever use the Rick Steves travel guides but he usually has a page or two at the back of each book that gives you films and books, including fiction, that that inform you about the place you are visiting. I love to match up films with places as well as books.

[Marschel]

I realize my previous content was pointing you right back to cities your group has probably over-explored, so thought I'd throw out an older memoir called a "A House in Bali" by Colin McPhee. It is really lovely and I read it many years ago when I visited southeast asia. It is dated and life in Bali is no longer really as described in the book, but certainly the culture is strong there and lives on in many ways as McPhee found it.

[Becky]

"The Garden of Evening Mists" by Tan Twan Eng takes place in Malaysia.

"Farming of Bones" takes place in the Dominican Republic

"Snowdrops" takes place in Russia (Moscow). Also The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky - Food is important.

"Scenes From Village Life" by Amos Oz takes place in Israel. Also Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev (an excellent book).

"The Thief" by Fuminori Nakamura takes place in Japan as do the books of Hurukai Murakami

The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna is set in FInland as is Diego Marani's New Finnish Grammar.

Anil’s Ghost is set in Sri Lanka - similar to India. Feasting Fasting by Anita Desai is set in India and the US - food is very important.

This is just the tip of the iceberg - if you have a special country please ask.

[Rebecca]

'Burial Rites' I didn't know anything about Iceland so I loved the vivid descriptions of this rather harsh land.

'Girl with the Pearl Earring.' I loved the way Tracy described the interiors of each home and I also love delft pottery, so that was a plus for me.

[Jennifer]

For mysteries: James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series (Louisiana), Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (Trenton NJ and very food focused!) Michael Pearce's Mamur Zapt novels (Egypt).

[Xdyj]

The Yacoubian Building is set in Cairo, Narcopolis in Mumbai, The Bastard of Istanbul in Istanbul, & I think they all contain some fascinating descriptions of the places they're set in.

[Sue]

No One Sleeps in Alexandria is a great book which has that Egyptian city during World war II as its setting.

[Ken]

I read and reread The Sun Also Rises when I need a Paris, Pamplona, San Sebastian fix. Hemingway is an excellent geography and gastronomy man....

[T.G.]

Newengland wrote: "I read and reread The Sun Also Rises when I need a Paris, Pamplona, San Sebastian fix. Hemingway is an excellent geography and gastronomy man...."

Jake's love for Brett is akin to modern day stalking. Classic read, though

[Ken]

At least Brett lives to laugh about it. Consider poor Catherine in A Farewell to Arms. For her it was a farewell to arms, legs, heart, lungs, you name it.

But the ending is relevant to this thread. That was one memorable flight across Lago Maggiore!

[Dianne]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I'm getting a good list of titles.

[Cecily]

I have quite a lot with an oriental theme, all reviewed on this shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

For a book group, perhaps the most interesting are:

Japan, historical: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

Japan, classic: The Tale of Murasaki

Japan, contemporary(ish): The Character of Rain (even though I didn't much like it!)

China, contemporary(ish): Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth

China, contemporary: A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

China, factual contemporary: Getting Rich First: Life in a Changing China

China, classic: Six Records of a Floating Life

China, historical: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

[Jane]

The Lacquer Lady by F. Tennyson Jesse -- Burma or Siam, I can't remember which. I really liked it. Ms. Jesse was a relative of the poet. I took it with me when I was in the hospital several years ago, and devoured it, until the wee hours one night
--you can't sleep anyway in hospitals. :-)

[K.]

This was (obviously) a great question that really got us all thinking. It also sounds like you have contrived a fabulous set of social occasions this way. I think it's brilliant. While I don't think the cuisine is likely super appealing (maybe roast beef and mashed?) I just wanted to pitch in Thomas Hardy's novels. His "Wessex" (south west of England) is very famously present in his novels. I re-read The Mayor of Casterbridge this year and enjoyed it.

[Jane]

Two books I loved in which setting plays a big role: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki which is set in Japan as well as British Columbia and Lyrics Alley by Leila Abulela which is set in Sudan and Egypt. The latter tells of the connections between those two countries through vivid characters and relationships. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I love this list.

[Jane]

The Mayor of Casterbridge is great, and one of my favorites. I also very much enjoyed the movie, with Ciaran Hinds as Michael Henchard and James Purefoy as Donald Farfrae. The adaptation's very close to the novel.