7. A book set in a country that fascinates you

[Melanie]

Catherine wrote: "I am also trying to find something for Italy, I'll check out the suggestions in here.

Do you think Eat, Pray, Love counts? I've only seen the movie, so I assume a third of the book is also set in ..."

I just finished The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners, which is set on the island of Capri, Italy.

[Serena]

Tara wrote: "Any ideas for Israel and/or Palestine? "

What comes to mind immediately for me is Dawn by Elie Wiesel

[Kim]

I love England, having visited there 40 years ago, so my book is going to be Enchantress of Numbers

[Storm]

I put Oedipus the King under this. I love Ancient Greece

[Cyndy]

Cuba and The Conch Republic fascinate me, so I read The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille. It starts and ends in Key West (The Conch Republic), but the bulk of the story takes place in Cuba. It was a good DeMille read and I do love a good DeMille.

[Brittani]

I read west cork for this! Set in Ireland. Definitely one of my top destinations to visit before I die!

[Crumb]

If anyone is really interested in Ireland, I just finished The Magdalen Girls. It was very good!

[Casey]

I was actually disappointed by the book I read for this challenge. It was The Girl Who Leapt Through Time it was so poorly written. (though this could also be the translation) I turned away Memoirs of a Geisha because though it would technically fit, it was still written by an American. The other book was written by a Japanese native. But it wasn't very good, the film was miles better.

[Dessie]

I really love Ireland and I came across The Speckled People: A Memoir of a Half-Irish Childhood. Such a good book. I have never read anything written in that style before and it was so interesting as well! I am not one to read a lot of historical books but this had just the right amount of history in it, mixed with everyday life after WWII. Fascinating!

[Jill]

Sooo....I am fascinated by the Galapagos Islands and Peru (specifically Machu Picchu). While Peru is a country, Galapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador. I'd LOVE to read a book (novel, historical fiction, or well done non-fiction) about either or both. I ran across Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut, but not sure about books on Peru/Machu Picchu. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

[Patti]

An Irish Country Doctor

This is a cute, fun read.

[Cendaquenta]

I'm thinking of Persuasion for this prompt but I'm not sure if it would work. I'm really interested in Lyme Regis but not necessarily England as a whole. And then there's the issue of whether I can count England as a different country to my own, since I'm in Scotland.

[Juliana]

If you're open to fiction and non-fiction:

For Japan:
A Tale for the Time Being .
Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War
Pachinko (could also work for Korea- the Korean sections take place in the early 20th century, so it could work for either Korea)

For North Korea:
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story
A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power

Singapore:
Any of the Crazy Rich Asians books would work, though the second is set mostly in China.

I liked all of these, but for Pachinko, Nagasaki and Nothing to Envy are all incredible. The last two are somewhat similar in that they both follow 5-6 people who survived the events/escaped North Korea.

[Ellen]

I read All the Light We Cannot See and it was amazing! Not gonna lie, I read it and then tried to figure out where it could fit and this was sort of the only category that worked. But it's set in Germany and France and pretty much any country other than America (where I live) fascinates me, so it works!

[Ian]

I choose Call Me by Your Name here. It is set (mostly) in Italy. I thought it was good, but it read like a highly literary YA novel. Also, some of the moments of intimacy were kind of kinky, which I wasn't expecting.

This would also be a great fit in "LGBTQ+ protagonist."

[Fiona]

Stephanie wrote: "any ideas for fiction books set in Japan? I can only think of memoirs of a geisha but would prefer something set in the modern pop culture of japan"
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is goo.

[Fiona]

Anyone with any recommendations for Argentina?

[Sarah]

Fiona wrote: "Anyone with any recommendations for Argentina?"

In Patagonia is mostly set in Argentina (a little in Chile).

I haven't read it but I think The Motorcycle Diaries at least starts in Argentina.

[Soph ♡]

I’m currently reading Angela’s Ashes for this prompt, for my fascination with Ireland 🇮🇪

[Nichelle]

For this prompt, I read What Alice Forgot. Which takes place in Australia. A place I would like to visit one day. What would you do if you lost the memory of 10 years of your life? Quite interesting turn of events.

[SadieReadsAgain]

I read Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books for this. I really enjoyed it, it's a memoir of life in Iran, told in the context of Western literature. I'll admit, I did get lost in the vast cast of characters and the political situation, not to mention the in-depth literary discussions. But it was fascinating to learn more about life under the veil for Iranian women at the end of the last century. And some of the prose was just beautiful, it touched me deeply.

[Sneha]

Going with either Pachinko or Americanah for this one

[Crumb]

Tytti wrote: "Crumb wrote: "Stephanie.. have you ever considered doing Shanghai Girls by Lisa See? Her books are supposed to be excellent!"

But I would assume most of her books are set in China, like that one i..."

I thought that Sunflower and the Secret Fan was set in Japan.. but I could be wrong..

[Tytti]

Crumb wrote: "I thought that Sunflower and the Secret Fan was set in Japan.. but I could be wrong.."

Well, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is set in Hunan, China, so...

[Crumb]

Like I said.. I could be wrong ;-) Thanks for the clarification.

[Kim]

Any ideas on books that take place in a Netherlands specially Amsterdam?

[Crumb]

I know The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton takes place in Amsterdam. It's supposed to be really good!

[Crumb]

Kim wrote: "Any ideas on books that take place in a Netherlands specially Amsterdam?"

Also.. if you are OK with something a bit controversial .. Love Life by Kluun ..set in Amsterdam

[Natalie]

Does anyone have any recommendations for Scotland? I know there's the Outlander series but I'm trying to put that off until all the books are out 8'D

[Emma]

I have the book Gobekli Tepe: Genesis of the Gods: The Temple of the Watchers and the Discovery of Eden which I have been wanting to read for a couple months, but can't think of a place it would fit. I am a bit of an archaeology nerd and while I am not necessarily "fascinated" with Turkey as a country I have been extremely interested in this site since I first learned about it years ago.

So do ya'll think I could use it for this prompt, since it is a "place" I am fascinated by?

[Jackie]

Crumb wrote: "I know The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton takes place in Amsterdam. It's supposed to be really good!"

I second the recommendation for The Miniaturist. It was great, and inspired me to add many more books about Amsterdam in that time period to my tbr. Having not read them yet though, I really don't know if any of the rest are any good.

[SadieReadsAgain]

Natalie wrote: "Does anyone have any recommendations for Scotland? I know there's the Outlander series but I'm trying to put that off until all the books are out 8'D"

I just read one set in Glasgow in the 1950's - Night Song of the Last Tram - A Glasgow Childhood. A nice nostalgia blast with a mother and son story which just broke me.

[Agnieszka]

I finished this week Totgeglaubte leben länger=Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs and scored in terms of the two countries I'm most fascinated with (Israel & Canada) unfortunatelly I didn't like the book at all.

[Shelley]

Emma wrote: "I have the book Gobekli Tepe: Genesis of the Gods: The Temple of the Watchers and the Discovery of Eden which I have been wanting to read for a couple months, but can't think of a p..."

Definitely since you are fascinated with that part of Turkey.

[Monica]

Australia is my pick and so I read

[Monica]

Natalie wrote: "Does anyone have any recommendations for Scotland? I know there's the Outlander series but I'm trying to put that off until all the books are out 8'D"

If you like Chick-lits you can read

[Agnieszka]

Natalie wrote: "Does anyone have any recommendations for Scotland? I know there's the Outlander series but I'm trying to put that off until all the books are out 8'D"

For such a task I usually start with listopia and see if there are any lists Listopia lists tagged Scotland and check them for books I wanted read anyway soon (only 6 pages, so it's possble to check out all of them - some are related to Scotland Yard/mysteries so it will be even less for you)
Here some examples:
Books Set in Scotland
Favorite Books About Scotland
Scotland

I found there three books I really loved/want read (and wasn't aware/forgot they're set in Scotland):
Knots and Crosses first book in a mystery series set in Edinburgh
Lingerie Wars a very fun and sexy chicklit set in a small town (1st in series as well) - usually I'm not a fan of chick-lit/pure romance but loved this one very much
Ivanhoe if you're in the mood for a classic/historical adventure

There are even lists for Glasgow and Edinburgh

[Crumb]

Aimee Dars wrote: "Crumb wrote: "I have some ideas for the middle east.. but I'd love some more options. Can anyone recommend me any that are really good?"
I liked The Confusion of Languages by Sioba..."

Hi Aimee.. Thanks for the recommendation! Does the whole book take place in Saudi Arabia?

[Frogli]

I read Searching for Sappho: The Lost Songs and World of the First Woman Poet over the weekend & while I don't know that I'd say 'fascinated by' I've always wanted to visit Greece so I'm counting it for this prompt.

[Deborah]

Miss Ex-Yugoslavia: A Memoir is an fascinating memmoir by a woman who emigrates from Serbia to Australia.

[Diane]

I just finished Wake in Winter. Russia has always fascinated me. I think this particular book lost something in the translation. I had a hard time following it until I was around 3/4 of the way done. It was one of the free Amazon monthly reads from way back in October of 2016 so I'm glad I finally read it and got it off my list but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Andrea]

For Japan, a book I read that I thought was really good was The Girl I Left Behind

Here are some links to best Japanese books that I found:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/8...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...

[The Reading Raccoon]

I used the Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille

[Nullifidian]

Tara wrote: "Any ideas for Israel and/or Palestine?

From the Palestinian side of the question, I strongly recommend Elias Khoury's Gate of the Sun , which is technically set in Lebanon in the Shatila refugee camp, but it's all about Palestine. It features Khalil as the narrator, who stands vigil by the bedside of his friend Yunes, a leader of the Palestinian resistance, who has now slipped into a coma. As Khalil sits, talking to Yunes in an attempt to revive him, he tells stories of the Nakba, one branching out from the others, like the structure of Ovid's Metamorphoses. I've thought about rereading it this month for a reading challenge about banned books, because all of Elias Khoury's books are banned in Israel, a blanket ban that Israel imposes on itself and on Palestine by barring any books printed in Lebanon and Syria, which happens to be where most of the Arabic-language books in the Mideast are printed, including all of Khoury's works.

Two other Palestinian authors I'd recommend are Sahar Khalifeh and particularly her book Wild Thorns , which is directly about life in the West Bank following the Six-Day War and Ghassan Kanafani's Men in the Sun and Other Stories . (One of the editions of Wild Thorns, which happens to be the one I own, would also work perfectly for the book with an ugly cover category.)

I was going to choose a book set in Greece for this prompt, because I've always been fascinated with Greece, but I'm headed to Israel / Palestine this May, ..."

If you'd still like to read about Greece anyway, an excellent novel set in the country is Z by Vassilis Vassilikos. It's a thinly fictionalized account of the assassination of the pacifist leftist Greek senator Grigoris Lambrakis and its aftermath.

Also, as an ex-Classics major, I really enjoyed Thomas Cahill's nonfiction Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter .

[Tara]

Nullifidian wrote: "Tara wrote: "Any ideas for Israel and/or Palestine?

From the Palestinian side of the question, I strongly recommend Elias Khoury's Gate of the Sun, which is technically set in Lebano..."

Thank you so much for the recommendations. I actually just got back from Israel Palestine a couple days ago (and am still dealing with some serious jet lag). For this prompt I ended up reading Ishmael's Oranges and thought it was okay but not great, so I'm excited to add your recommendations to my TBR. While in country, I spent about equal time in Israel and the West Bank, and got to visit Aida refugee camp, and I'm definitely interested in learning more, so thank you for taking the time to make these recommendations.

[Tara]

Nullifidian wrote: "Tara wrote: "Any ideas for Israel and/or Palestine?

From the Palestinian side of the question, I strongly recommend Elias Khoury's Gate of the Sun, which is technically set in Lebano..."

Oh - and also - I love your profile pic. I unfortunately missed seeing this one (I was with a pretty large tour group and so didn't get to make decisions about where we went) but did see the dove in military vest a few times.

[Jaime]

I spent some time on a missions trip in the South Pacific, mostly on Tahiti. Any suggestions for Tahiti and/or other parts of French Polynesia?

[Rachel]

This may have been discussed already, but do fictional countries count? I was leaning toward not counting them, but I have quite a few fantasy books that I'm trying to squeeze in, and some of them have very interesting settings!

[Anjana]

Melanie wrote: "Any suggestions for Hawaii, Philippines, and other south east Asian islands and countries?"

Do you read romance? This is by a Filipina and set in Manila https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Johanne]

Rachel wrote: "This may have been discussed already, but do fictional countries count? I was leaning toward not counting them, but I have quite a few fantasy books that I'm trying to squeeze in, and some of them ..."

Well, I hadn´t thought about it, I just thought "real" country. But what´s emphasised here is that it´s country that fascinates you. So if you´re fascinated by let´s say Middle Earth, go for it. It´s definitely more at the heart of the prompt than using a fantasy world for "set on another planet" if it´s not specified that it is on another planet. (Come to think of it: I used a fictional planet/ galaxy for "set on another planet", and that´s sort of the same as using a fictional country for the country prompt)