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Books set in a particular country
madrano wrote: "I've been reading recently about art forgeries, so think the Martin Suter novel would be a good one to read. Thanks. In return i'll share the only Swiss title i recall (even thoug..."
Heidi is THE Swiss classic, but I didn't bring it into the conversation here as it has little to do with modern Switzerland. I think you'd appreciate the art-centered novel.
Where to begin with India? I'll start with a couple of authors, as well as a recent title I found outstanding:William Dalrymple, a longtime expat has a couple of terrific books of observations, City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi and The Age of Kali: Indian Travels & Encounters.
Novelist Rohinton Mistry has a few solid titles, but am throwing out Family Matters and Swimming Lessons and Other Stories from Firozsha Baag.
Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast impressed me greatly, and I confess to being a bit jaded (shall we say) regarding my favorite genre of travel lit/essay/writing.
The last, by Samanth Subramanian sounds like the diverse sort of writing i enjoy. Yes, it's about fish along India but it covers much more. Thanks, John.
I enjoyed The Great Hedge of India: The Search for the Living Barrier that Divided a People when I read it. It's an interesting search for a hedge the British put in place across the country.....and why they thought it was needed.
Gosh, Petra, that does sound interesting. The British and their hedges!
It was an interesting story, Deb. I read it about 20+ years ago. I tried getting a copy a few years back to re-read it but it never arrived (I got my $ back). I remember thinking the first chapter was a bit on the conceited side while the author went on about his abilities, credentials, etc. However, once he goes to India, the story was fascinating.
I like stories about books which call to us years later. Sorry you didn't get the book but i'll hold out hope that you'll randomly run across it again.
My favorite time period is Renaissance and the book set in Italy that stood out the most to me is Signora Da Vinci
Set in 15th century mostly Florence, this is a story of Leonardo da Vinci’s mother. There is very little known about her and what is known is based on assumptions.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Annette wrote: "My favorite time period is Renaissance and the book set in Italy that stood out the most to me is Signora Da Vinci
Set in 15th century mostly F..."
Nice review, Annette. I have a book on the Medici's that I've yet to tackle.
Thank you Alias Reader (I don’t have reply option on my phone). Thank you for all the notes. The book about Medici, is it fiction or nonfiction?
Annette wrote: "Thank you Alias Reader (I don’t have reply option on my phone). Thank you for all the notes. The book about Medici, is it fiction or nonfiction?"It's nonfiction. I have hundreds of books so I can't locate it right now. I do try to keep a list of the books I have. Unfortunately it is by author and I don't know who the author is. :(
I'll try to look though some of my shelves and see if I can locate it.
Trying to think of another country, and a title from Hungary that I read a while ago came to me: The Door!
John wrote: "Trying to think of another country, and a title from Hungary that I read a while ago came to me: The Door!"Thanks for the title and new to me author, John.
My library also has her other book, which also sound good. Katalin Street
From the author of The Door, selected as one of the New York Times "10 Best Books of 2015," this is a heart wrenching tale about a group of friends and lovers torn apart by the German occupation of Budapest during World War II.
John wrote: "Trying to think of another country, and a title from Hungary that I read a while ago came to me: The Door!"Good book!
Alias Reader wrote: "Thanks for the title and new to me author, John. My library also has her other book, which also sound good. Katalin Street..."
She has a bunch of books, but I'm not sure how many are in english yet. I also read Iza's Ballad, but liked The Door better.
Annette, your review makes the book sound appealing. Usually i shy away from bios of basically unknown but related-to-fame people but this one sounds positively shining with the emotions. Thanks.I really liked Magda Szabó's The Door, too. It gave some insight into customs from there, as well as difficult relationships. It's the sole book i've read by her, however.
madrano wrote: "Annette, your review makes the book sound appealing. Usually i shy away from bios of basically unknown but related-to-fame people but this one sounds positively shining with the emotions. Thanks...."
Thank you Madrano and thank you for the recommendation. I will check it out. Now, I have to run :)
Vignettes of Taiwan: Short Stories, Essays & Random Meditations about TaiwanBought the Kindle edition of this essay collection (each is only a few pages) as something I could pick up and put down at random times when I needed something convenient for my phone; books with a continuous storyline don't work well for me that way.
I've read about 30 of the 35 pieces, finding only a couple of them failed to hold my interest. Overall, I've found them quite interesting. Taiwan strikes me as more culturally similar to Japan than mainland China. Looking forward to the "sequel" of this one Formosa Moon (which I purchased recently as part of a Kindle promotion).
It seems to me a collection of short essays would be a great idea to familiarize oneself with a nation. Usually i think of fiction, oddly, for that material. For some reason the title "Formosa Moon" sounds wonderful.
madrano wrote: "It seems to me a collection of short essays would be a great idea to familiarize oneself with a nation. Usually i think of fiction, oddly, for that material. For some reason the title "Formosa Moon..."Formosa Moon's cover pic I find unusually fascinating. Earlier in the thread I mentioned Michael Pronko's essay collections on Tokyo similarly effective in giving a sense of place.
I see what you mean, John. Too often we don't think of a city's lights as part of their essence.
I'm going to mention Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon for those who may be interested in trying a Brazilian novel. Required reading for us in a Latin American History course at university (during the Reagan Administration). Don't recall any specifics of the story, but I do clearly remember that I was not at all forcing myself to return to it at any time. Those with a fondness for historical fiction as a genre ought to seriously consider this one set in the 1920's.
John wrote: "I'm going to mention Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon for those who may be interested in trying a Brazilian novel. Required reading for us in a Latin American History course at universi..."Thanks for sharing the title with us, John.
Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: "I'm going to mention Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon for those who may be interested in trying a Brazilian novel. Required reading for us in a Latin American History cours..."No problem!
Finland ...
I'm going to recommend the (police procedural) mysteries of Kati Hiekkapelto, especially as her cop arrived as a teen as a Balkan refugee, so the pov is a bit of an" outsider" take on Finnish life.
Sounds good, John. I see that the title of the first (or is it the second?) is Hummingbird but i cannot find the book on the GR links, at least not by that name. Am i missing something?Your recommendation reminded me of one i could make from Denmark. It's an oldie but i felt a real sense of the land and the Greenlanders who live in Copenhagen. Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg really called to me. I also liked the film upon which it was based, although it wasn't as good by half as the book.
madrano wrote: "Sounds good, John. I see that the title of the first (or is it the second?) is Hummingbird but i cannot find the book on the GR links, at least not by that name. Am i missing something?Your recom..."
The Hummingbird - here you go!
Thanks, John. This sounds like a good mystery. I appreciate that.
I felt this memoir by a woman, who lived most of her adult life in the country, was worth noting here: Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda.
John wrote: "I felt this memoir by a woman, who lived most of her adult life in the country, was worth noting here: Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda."I loved that book. I recently lent it out to a few friends at my gym.
Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: "I felt this memoir by a woman, who lived most of her adult life in the country, was worth noting here: Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda."I loved that book. I..."
Whenever I think of this book though, I'm always haunted by those two young guys who died in the Congo.
Speaking of a haunting book, I liked this one set in post-war Vienna, for lack of a more modern Austrian title: The Crooked Maid.
John wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "John wrote: "I felt this memoir by a woman, who lived most of her adult life in the country, was worth noting here: Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda."..."
John, your post also reminded me that I lent this book out this past summer and have not gotten it back. Time to drop an email on my friend. :)
The Rwanda memoir sounds very good. Thanks for the title and comments, John & Alias.
I'm certain you'd appreciate it, madrano.
Bumping this thread to add Singaporean author Ovidia Yu. I preferred her historical fiction, starting with The Frangipani Tree Mystery to her modern-day one: Aunty Lee's Delights.Also, for Israel I can recommend The Extra.
Here are a few more miscellaneous titles... Poland: Swimming in the Dark
Italy: My House in Umbria
Wales: A Shadow On The Lens
Spain: All This I Will Give to You
Israel: Five Seasons
Would love recommendations for books set in South America, thanks!
Gosh, Chuma, your post had me searching my Books Read list. From what i can tell, i have read no fiction set in SA. Although that will soon change, as i have Incas: The Puma's Shadow on my Determination List for this year. It is the first in a series of books from Antoine B. Daniel about the Incas. For nonfiction, i suspect nothing will top Charles C. Mann's groundbreaking 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. It's a history book which covers North, Central and South American tribes just prior to Columbus's entry into the New World. I was surprised by how organized and efficient tribes were prior to their decimation by illnesses from Europe.
Piers Paul Read's book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors was set in SA but i don't recall much beyond the story of survival, so i barely considered it when i read your post. Worth considering, though.
Here are some South American authors whose books should be available in English...Mario Vargas Llosa
Gabriel García Márquez
Isabel Allende
madrano wrote: "Gosh, Chuma, your post had me searching my Books Read list. From what i can tell, i have read no fiction set in SA. Although that will soon change, as i have Incas: The Puma's Shadow..."This is great, thank you! I'll be checking these out.
John wrote: "Here are some South American authors whose books should be available in English...Mario Vargas Llosa
Gabriel García Márquez
Isabel Allende"
Excitingly, I just bought A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende - looking forward to reading that soon. Will check out the other authors, thank you!
Italy: I'm Not Scared and Me and You, by Niccolo AmanittiFrance: The Jules Maigret police procedurals by Georges Simenon
Austria: The Max Lieberman series, by Frank Tallis
Phillipines: Smaller and Smaller Circles, by F. H. Batacan
India: The Far Pavilions, by MM Kaye
Denmark: Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg
Soviet Russia (historical): We the Living, by Ayn Rand
Soviet Russia (contemporary): Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith
Japan: Shogun, James Clavell
You've spanned the planet, Barbara. I read & truly enjoyed Peter Høeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow. I have memories of the places in that book, as though i'd been where the book took readers.I like that you included historical & contemporary looks at Russia. That's a good idea for any country's books. I'm glad you shared these titles.
I’m glad you added this book to this thread, John. The cover still pleases me.
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Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ma Thanegi (other topics)Peter Høeg (other topics)
Gabriel García Márquez (other topics)
Mario Vargas Llosa (other topics)
Isabel Allende (other topics)
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In return i'll share the only Swiss title i recall (even though part is spent in Germany)--Heidi by Johanna Spyri. It evoked what i thought Switzerland must be, although i don't know whether it is or is not. I've only spent one night there & we were surrounded by cows, not goats or sheep. And a cat jumped into our window during the night--no screens there!