I Have Never Read A Novel From ______ ? (10/13/19)

[Marc]

Given language barriers and the sheer number of countries, there are probably many countries from which each of us has not read any books. What is one country from which you've never read a book (please choose a country from which you're actually interested in reading a book and not just a small or remote country)? Is there a particular book or author from this country that you would like to read?

[Sam]

You just reminded me I have been reading way too much translated literature because I had to think about this.
French Polynesia would be my choice since most of what I have read about the islands is westernized.

[Antonomasia]

Mongolia, and I don't even know of particular books.

Ah, they do historical epics, which I tend to like anyway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoli...
I had been a bit hazy about whether The Secret History of the Mongols was actually written by people in Mongolia, but it was.

[Antonomasia]

You can find a clickable map on this page without having to log in:
https://www.amcharts.com/visited_coun...

[David]

I didn't think I would have an answer for this at first, but I guess since I have never read an Icelandic book and I have two by Sjon on my TBR list, that would be my answer.

I have read a number of books by Chinese authors, but recently have revived my interest in trying to read a lot more. I have long been fascinated by the idea that the population of China is so large and the culture is so old that there is an entire universe of literature there, most of which is not accessible in English.

Your question has me wondering just how many different countries would be on my list of ones with authors I have read. I am tempted to place the over/under at 100, but that might be a bit optimistic. I am curious to try to make a list to see how many it is, although I fear that a result of doing that would be I will begin to feel the need to add to the list until I have tried at least one from all countries.

[Lark]

Ukraine seems to be on my mind.

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/ukr...

[Alan M]

Margaret Atwood. Thank fuck.

[Maggie]

I realize I've read a lot of mysteries and science fiction/fantasy from a lot of countries not on my non genre list.

[Stacia]

Paraguay.

(And a few other places in South America. I'm currently challenging myself to read a book from each South American country.)

[Bretnie]

This question is giving me pause because I don't know or can't remember if I've read authors from some specific countries. That means I haven't been reading intentionally that way.

If I could sort my read books by author's country of origin, I would be fascinated to review my list.

I'm not sure I've read anything by most Eastern European countries. Or most of the Central American countries.

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

I don't really think in terms of country when I'm picking out my reading. I'd be more likely to think of time periods or continents rather than countries. I would like to read some of the ancient classics from India, I suppose, but I'm a little unsure where would be a good place to start, though I have a few of them on my shelves (Ramayana is one). I need an Ancient Indian Literature for Dummies guide.

[Kristina]

I have not read a lot from Latin American countries, so that would be a region, I would like to read more from.

And to be more country specific, I would like to read something from Georgia. I travel there quite frequently for work and but so far, I have not yet acquainted myself with their literature.

[Hugh]

Indonesia has a pretty big population (4th biggest in the world), and I don't think I have read anything, worse still I am not sure I could even name an Indonesian novelist. I don't generally worry about countries of origin...

[Ella]

I've read loads of books from the African continent, but none from a few countries. I'd love to find a book that interests me from Burkina Faso, Niger, Reunion, Mayotte and a few places that are called - Island. I also have never read a book from Greenland that I'm aware of.

[Marc]

Like most of you, I don't consciously read by or seek out literature from certain countries, so it took me a bit to figure out whether I had read any books from potential countries I was considering.

Two countries that came to mind: Haiti and the Philippines. The former because I think they have a fascinating cultural blend of language and religion alongside poverty and corruption that has probably catalyzed some interesting writing (I have no particular book or author in mind, nor could I even name one if asked). The Philippines is just another country I thought would probably have an interesting mix of history and culture influencing its writing. Or maybe I'm just drawn to islands with histories of repression...

[Antonomasia]

For the Philippines, have a look at Insurrecto by Gina Apostol if you haven't already

[Lark]

I also just recently became interested in making sure I was getting more granular about which countries' authors I'd read. Charco Books has been useful in allowing me to get a little more insightful about literary cultures of South American and Central American cultures which are very different from one another.

When you get to Indonesia, Hugh, I recommend Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan, or his very different novel Beauty Is a Wound.

[Tamara]

Lark wrote: "When you get to Indonesia, Hugh, I recommend Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan, or his very different novel Beauty Is a Wound..."

Great suggestion, Lark! I've read and loved both--especially Beauty Is a Wound, which I thought was incredible.

[Stacia]

Seconding the suggestion for Insurrecto for the Philippines. I would also highly recommend Ilustrado (which won the 2008 Man Asian Lit Prize).

[Marc]

Thanks for the recs, Antonomasia and Stacia!

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

A book that was recommended to me by my father was The Beast of the Haitian Hills by Philippe Thoby-Marcelin, which I ran across this year at some thrift shop which totally blew my mind.

I can't recommend it, but it's on my sooner-rather-than-later TBR pile, and if you are looking for some thing from Haiti...well, there you go.

[Marc]

Wow, that sounds like quite the find after having it recommended by your father--that's wonderful! Looks like an interesting read. Thanks!

[Laurie]

Marc, for Haiti, I would recommend Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat which I gave four stars. I've only read two of her books but I have heard that most anything by her is well worth reading.

[Ella]

Danticat also has a new book of short stories out this year, and it is one of the few books of collected short stories that I felt were all very good. (usually I find these collections a bit like a roller coaster.) But I would agree that everything I've read by her has only been a good experience.