abecedarian Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Here's what I done so far: 1. Broken April-Ismail Kadare(Albania)* 2. The Fish Can Sing-Halldor Laxness(Iceland)* 3. Reef-Ramesh Guneskera (Sri Lanka) 4. Things Fall Apart-Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)-excellent 5. a.Suffer the Children-Mary Rafftery(Ireland) b. Ireland: A Novel-Frank Delaney (Ireland) c. The Committments, The Snapper, The Van-Roddy Doyle(Ireland)* 6. Whale Rider-Whiti Ihimera (New Zealand) 7. The Butcher's Wife-Li Ang (Taiwan) 8. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter- Mario Varga Llosa (Peru) 9. The Rice Mother-Rani Manecka (Malaysia)* Excellent 10. The Women at the Pump-Knut Hamsun(Norway) 11. The Fat Man from La Paz-ed. Rosario Santos (Bolivia)-didn't like at all 12. The Wandering Unicorn-Manuel M. Lainez (Argentina) 13. Voices Made Night- Mia Cuoto (Mozambique) 14. Breath, Eyes, Memory-Edgwige Danticat(Haiti) 15. Shalimar the Clown-Salman Rushdie(India) 16. Broken Verses-Kamilla Shamsie (Pakhistan)* Excellent 17.a. Never Let Me Go-Kazuo Ishiguro (England) b. Anansi Boys-Neil Gaiman (England)-excellent c. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrelle-Susanna Clarke d. Transgressions-Sarah Dunant 18. Dirt Music-Tim Winton (Australia) * 19. The Pearl-John Steinbeck (USA) * 20. Reading Lolita in Tehran-Azir Nafisi (Iran) * 21. Barabbas-Par Lagerkvist (Sweden) 22. A Bed of Red Flowers-Nelofer Pazira (Afghanistan) 23. Tears of the Giraffe-Alexander McCall Smith (Botswana) 24.Troll-Johanna Sinisalo (Finland) 25. The Shadow of the Wind-Carlos Ruiz Zafon(Spain)* 26. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea-Yukio Mishima(Japan)* Excellent-don't miss this one! 27. Korea Unmasked-Won-bok RHIE(Korea) 28. The Reader-Berhard Schlink (Germany) 29. Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Childhood-Fatima Mernissi (Morocco) 30. Cry the Beloved Country-Alan Paton (South Africa) Wonderful 31. In the Time of the Butterflies-Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic)* Excellent 32. Lolita-Vladimir Nabakov* Excellent 33. Sunset Song-Lewis Grassic Gibbon (Scotland) * Excellent 34. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana-Umberto Eco (Italy) *Excellent 35. Where We Once Belonged-Sia Figiel(Samoa) 36. The Night Of White Chickens-Francisco Goldman(Guatamala) 37. Love and Garbage-Ivan Klima (Czech Republic) * Excellent 38. A Sister of Scheherazade- Assia Djeber (Alegeria) good 39. Daughter of Fortune-Isabel Allebde * Excellent * Want to read more by this writer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted June 22, 2006 Author Share Posted June 22, 2006 Excellent. Loads of people I've never heard of although with The Pearl I'm already one up. So, anyone else going to join in this thing? Kell said yes. Oh, and are they difficult reads? And which would be a good starter? I really think this is a great idea and it will mean i'm not as ignorant as I probably am about the world. Here's to learning, I'll drink to that. Um, define difficult! Some are easier than others, but one or two require a dictionary close at hand..Lolita for one. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana required a lot of concentration since Eco is a detail freak. I didn't care for Voices of the Night, but someone who likes morbid tales might love it. The stories are extremely well written, reminding me of a book of stories by American William Gay..can't think of the title at the moment..but every story was about death.. I'll pretend these yellow crittersa are drinking bottles water and return your toast: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 What a good and interesting list. Broken April is a woinderful book by one of my favourite authors. It's so dark and nasty and unredeemed, though, and some people I know have had problems with it. If you want to read more I'd most recommend The File On H, followed by the spectacularly dark General Of The Dead Army. A few of Kadare's books end up as being rather simple, and might frustrate. The second most recent - Spring Flowers, Spring Frost, for example, is nothing like as good as some of the earlier stuff. - A quick big up to Dirt Music by Tim Winton, too, which I loved. The only other of his I read "The Riders" is very weird and disturbing, but nothing like as enjoyable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted July 11, 2006 Author Share Posted July 11, 2006 What a good and interesting list. Broken April is a woinderful book by one of my favourite authors. It's so dark and nasty and unredeemed, though, and some people I know have had problems with it. If you want to read more I'd most recommend The File On H, followed by the spectacularly dark General Of The Dead Army. A few of Kadare's books end up as being rather simple, and might frustrate. The second most recent - Spring Flowers, Spring Frost, for example, is nothing like as good as some of the earlier stuff. - My dh and I both had problems with Broken April. But after I reread a couple of passages and thought about the book some more, I started thinking differently about the whole thing. I could easily see how Kadare might have had difficulties with the Albanian government and establishment. Nothing light and airy about this book; Kadare deals with the harsh realities of life and death and speaks out against the 'system.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonkeyCatcher Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I've noticed that you have read quite a few obscure books for this challenge - how did you manage to get books that weren't available from the library? (I can see that I'm going to have a bit of trouble with that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted July 11, 2006 Author Share Posted July 11, 2006 I think obscure is a really loose term MC..its only obscure if it ain't in Kansas :angel: I've been pleasantly suprised at the international liiterature available here. Just yesterday while googling for Caribbean authors, I found a terrific site that had a link to a library collection..turns out its one of the larger libraries in Kansas..and they had a very long list of Caribbean titles to choose from. But they're the ones who usually have everything else too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted May 14, 2007 Author Share Posted May 14, 2007 I thought I'd better update my Olympic Challenge list since it has been a long time since I last did so. As of today, here's the lineup: 1.Canada: Tigana-Guy Gavriel Kay Lines on the Water-David Adams Richards Widdershins-Charles deLint Country of Unrequited Dreams-Wayne Johnston 2.Algeria: Broken April-Ismael Kadare 3.Chinese Taipai: The Butcher's Wife- Li Ang 4.Iceland: The Fish Can Sing-Halldor Luxness 5.New Zealand: Whale Rider-Witi Ihimaera 6.Nigeria: Things Fall Apart-Chinua Achebe No Longer At Ease-Chinua Achebe 7.Sri Lanka: Reef- Ramesh Gunesekera 8.Peru: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter-Mario Vargas Llosa 9.Malaysia: The Rice Mother-Rani Manicka (highly recommended) 10.Norway: The Women at the Pump- Knut Hamsun The Half Brother- Lars Christensen 11.Bolivia:The Fat Man From La Paz-ed. Rosario Santos 12.Argentina: The Wandering Unicorn-Manuel Mujica Lainez 13.Mozambique-Voices Made Night-Mia Cuoto (not reccomended) 14.USA-Dan Eldon: The Art of Life-Jennifer New Travels With Charley-John Steinbeck The Pearl-J. Steinbeck 15.Haiti-Breath,Eyes, Memory-Edwidge Danticat 16.India-Shalimar the Clown- Salman Rushdie A Fine Balance-Rohinton Mistry (excellent) 17.Pakhistan- Broken Verses- Kamila Shamsie 18.England- Never Let Me Go- Kazio Ishiguro Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell-Susanna Clark Trangsressions-Sarah Dunant ; Anansi Boys-Neil Gaiman Heavy Water and Other Stories-Martin Amis 19.Australia-Dirt Music-Tim Winton, The Book Thief-Marek Zusak 20.Iran: Reading Lolita in Tehran- Azar Nafisi 21.Sweden: Barabbas- Par Lagerkvist 22.Ireland: The Committments; The Snapper; The Van(the Barrytown Trilogy) by Roddy Doyle Suffer the Children- Mary Rafftery Ireland: A Novel-Frank Delaney Angela's Ashes-Frank McCourt 'Tis- Frank McCourt 23.Afghanistan: A Bed Of Red Flowers-Nelofer Pazira 24.Botswanna: Tears of the Giraffe- Alexander McCall Smith 25.Spain: The Shadow of the Wind- Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Club Dumas- Arturo Perez Reverte 26.Finland: Troll-Johanna Sinisalo 27.Japan: The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea-Yukio Mishima Silence-Shusako Endo; A Grain of Wheat-Toyohiko Kagawa 28.Korea: Korea Unmasked- Won-bok RHIE 29.Germany: The Reader- Bernhart Schlink Perfume-Patrick Suskind 30.Morocco: Dreams of Trespass- Fatima Mernissi 31.South Africa: Cry, the Beloved Country-Alan Paton 32.Dominican Republic: In the Time of Butterflies-Julia Alvarez 33.Russia: Lolita- Vladamir Nabakov; First Circle; One Day in the Life Of Ivan Denisovich- Alexsander Solzhenitsen Soul-Andrei Platonov A Dream of Polar Fog-Yuri Rytkheu Anna Karenina-Leo Tolstoy 34.Scotland: Sunset Song-Lewis Grassic Gibbons 35.Italy: The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana,Foucault's Pendulum- Umberto Eco If On a Winter's Night a Traveller-Italo Calvino 36.Samoa: Where We Once Belonged- Sia Figiel 37.Guatemala: The Long Night of White Chickens-Francisco Goldman 38.Czech Republic: Love and Garbage- Ivan Klima Metamorphosis and Other Stories-Franz Kafka 39.Algeria: A Sister of Scherazade-Assia Djibar 40.Chile: Daughter of Fortune-Isabel Allende 41.Angola-Return of the Water Spirit-Perpetula 42.Cape Verde: The Last Will and Testament of Senhor de LaSilva Araunjo- Germano Almedia 43.Mexico: Like Water For Chocolate- Laura Esquivel 44.Serbia: Time Gifts- Zoran Zivkovic 45.Estonia: The Compromise- Sergei Dovlatov 46.Vietnam: The Stars, The Earth, The River-Le Minh Khue 47.Trinidad: Stories from Blue Latitudes-ed. Elizabeth Nunez 48.Uruguay: The Decapitated Chicken and Other Stories- Horacio Quiroa 49.China: Bound Feet and Western Dress-Pan Mei Natasha Chang 50.Somalia: From a Crooked Rib-Nuruddin Farah 51.Andorra-Views from the Bridge of Europe 52.Latvia: Views from the Bridge of Europe 53.Luxembourg: Views from the Bridge of Europe 54.Antigua-Annie John-Jamaica Kincaid 55..Tajikstan: Hurramabad- Andrei Volos 56.Bangledesh: Janini-Sharkat Osman 57.Egypt: Miramar- Naguib Mahfouz 58.Bahamas: The 99 Cent Breakfast-Patricia Glinton Meicholas 59.Cook Islands: The Book of Puka-Puka- Robert Dean Frisbie 60.Bosnia: Zlata's Diary- Zlata Filipovic 61.Kiribiti: Sex Lives of Cannibals- J. Maarten Troost 62.Georgia: The Winter Queen-Boris Akunin (readily available in English and very good!) 63.Lebanon: The Stone of Laughter- Hoda Barakat 64.Bulgaria: Natural Novel- Georgi Gospodinov 65.Sudan: The Wedding of Zeine- Tayeb Salih 66.Singapore: The Bondmaid- Catherine Lim 67.Belgium: Marcel- Erwin Mortier (Dutch)In the Shadow of the Ark-Anne Provoost 68.Philipines: Comfort Woman-Maria Rosa Henson 69.Laos: Mother's Beloved-Outhine Bounyavong 70.Portugal: The Relic-Eca De Quieroz 71.Tunisia: Behind Closed Doors-Monia Hejaie 72.Slovakia: Incipient Feminists-Norma Rudinsky 73.Solomon Islands: Two Hill Diggers-Geralda Kauhuroasiva 74.Barbados: In the Country Of My Skin- George Lamming 75.Cameroon: Houseboy-Fernando Oyono 76.Kazakstan: Night Watch-Sergei Lukyanenko 77.Palestine: Arab Women: Between Defiance and Restraint-ed. Suha Sabbagh 78.Swaziland: Nest in A Cage-Fohik Ogunleye 79. Jordan: Pillars of Salt-Fadia Faqir 80.Uzbekestan: The Railway-Hamid Ismailov 81.Cote d'Ivoire: As the Crow Flies-Veronique Tadjo 82.Armenia: Efronia: An Armenian Love Story-Stina Katchadorian 83.Ecuador: Bruna and Her Sisters in the Sleeping City- 84.St. Kitts: Crossing the River-Caryl Phillips 85.Bahrain: QuixotiQ- Ali Al Saeed 86.Israel: Israel, Palestine and Peace-Amos Oz 87.Djibouti-Fools, Thieves and other Dreamers-Abdourham Ali Waberi 88.Benin: Fools, Thieves and other Dreamers-Florent Couoa-Zotti 89.Senegal:Fools, Thieves and Other Dreamers-Seydi Sow 90.Kenya: Land Without Thunder:Short Stories-Grace Ogot 91.Burma/Mynamar: Freedom From Fear-Aung San Suukyi 92.Thailand: Sightseeing- Rattawut Lapcharoensap 93.Hungary: Fateless-Imre Kertesz 94.Brazil-Esau and Jacob-Joachim Machado 95.Central African Rep.-African Tales: Folklore of the CAR 96. American Samoa-The Birth and Death of the Miracle Man-Albert Wendt 97. Zimbabwe-House of Hunger-Damb udzo Marechera 98. Cambodia-First They Killed My Father-Loung Ung 99.Croatia-Night-Verdana Rudan 100.Guyana-The Ventriloquist's Tale-Pauline Melville 101.Libya-In the Country of Men-Hisham Matar 102. Ethioia- From the Hyena's Belly-Nega Mezlekia 103. Cuba-Dreaming in Cuban-Christina Garcia 104. Honduras-The Big Banana-Robert Quesada 105. Guinea-The Dark Child- Camara Laye 106. Costa Rica-Years Life Brief Days-Fabian Dobles 107. Uganda-The Abyssinian Chronicles-Moses Isegawa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 WOW! You've been doing a lot of reading! I might have to check some of those out myself for my own OC... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abecedarian Posted May 14, 2007 Author Share Posted May 14, 2007 WOW! You've been doing a lot of reading! I might have to check some of those out myself for my own OC... Addictive, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 I haven't read nearly as many as you have, but I'm trying to read at least one foreign author each month, just to keep myself on track. I'm reading a Philippa Gregory novel at the moment, but I confess I've already read several of hers for my Kenyan entry - I just like her so much I had to read a few more! Some i've been going over old ground a little bit, but I have more waiting on my shelves for other countries. I've promised myself that my next foreign one will be from a country I haven't yet covered... It's definitely making me more aware of where authors come from because each time I hear of a new author, I'm checking up on where they were born to see if they'll qualify for my OC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 I'm reading a Philippa Gregory novel at the moment, but I confess I've already read several of hers for my Kenyan entry - I just like her so much I had to read a few more! I really like Phillippa Gregory as well, I think she writes very well and I have a couple of her books on my TBR pile! - Didn't know she was from Kenya though - talk about learn something new every day!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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