willoyd Report post Posted January 11 (edited) As June said in the first post of her trip round the world's nations, I've been thinking about this for some time. Given that I've only just reached the half-way point of my Tour of the USA, it's probably a bit precipitate to start a new challenge, but I think I can handle too, and having seen June complete her journey recently, I'm inspired to get going on mine, so two challenges it is! In terms of places I've decided to start with: + the 195 countries recognised by the United Nations (including 2 non-members: Palestine and the Vatican City); +.including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Kosovo + allocating 2 slots to Russia, one for its presence in Europe (Russia) and the other in Asia (Siberia) + one for Antarctica, as the only continent not otherwise included which takes me to 200, a good starting point, although that may well change as things progress. As for criteria in choosing each book, I'm going for aims rather than rules, simply because I suspect, from reading others' challenges, it would be nigh on impossible to find books which I can read (eg most will need to be available in translation) that satisfy similar conditions to those I used in my Tour of the USA. So, my main aim is to read an example of adult literature set in the country with an author born in or a citizen of that country (or resident as next best) - books regarded as 'classics' (modern or older) preferred. I will generally go for fiction,but, again unlike my Tour of the USA, non-fiction is allowed. Last resort would be a book about the country written by someone who is neither from nor a resident (eg, a history of...). As well, whichever 'criteria' are satisfied, it will have to be a book I haven't read before.- this is about expanding my literary experience after all! To keep posts manageable, I'm splitting countries up by continents in the checklists below: Europe; Africa; Asia; North America; South America and Oceania/Antarctica. Books in blue are those that have been read. Books in black are suggestions. Read to date: 0 / 200 Edited 11 hours ago by willoyd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willoyd Report post Posted January 11 (edited) Europe (0/46) Albania: Broken April / Chronicle in Stone - Ismail Kadare (1978/1971) Andorra: The Teacher of Cheops - Albert Salvado (2012) Austria: The Exiles' Return - Elizabeth de Waal (2013); The Tobacconist - Robert Seethaler (2012); Peter Handke, Beware of Pity - Stefan Zweig Belarus: King Stakh's Wild Hunt - Uladzimir Karatkevich (1964), Svetlana Alexievich (NF) Belgium: The Sorrow of Belgium - Hugo Claus (1983) Bosnia and Hezorgovina: The Bridge on the Drina - Ivo Andric (1945) Bulgaria: Under The Yoke - Ivan Vazov (1893), Bai Ganyo - Aleko Konstantinov (1895), East of the West - Miroslav Penkov (2011, shorts), Elias Canetti Croatia: Our Man in Iraq - Robert Perisic (2011), The Ministry of Pain/Baba Yaga Laid An Egg - Dubravka Ugresic (2004/2007) Cyprus: Margarita's Husband - Andriana Ierodiaconou (2007?), Ledra Street - Nora Nadjarian (2006 shorts) Czech Republic: Closely Watched Trains - Bohumil Hrabel (1965) Denmark A History of Danish Dreams - Peter Hoeg (1988); We The Drowned - Carsten Jensen (2006), The Angelic Avengers - Isak Dinesen (1946) Estonia: The Autumn Ball - Mati Unt (1979), Border State - Tonu Onepalu (1993), Treading Air - Jaan Kross Finland: The True Deceiver - Tove Jansson (1982) France: Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (1862); La Curee - Emile Zola (1872); Life, A User's Manual - Georges Perec (1978) Germany: The Tin Drum - Gunter Grass (1959); Buddenbrooks - Thomas Mann (1901) Greece: The Murderess - Alexandros Papadiamantis, The Scapegoat - Sophia Nikolaidou, Why I Killed My Best Friend - Amanda Michalopoulou, Zorba the Greek/Report to Greco - Nikos Kazantzakis Hungary: The Door - Magda Szabo (1987) Iceland: Independent People - Halldor Laxness (1934) Ireland: Dubliners - James Joyce (1914) Italy: The Leopard - Giuseppe di Lampedusa (1958); The Garden of the Finzi-Continis - Giorgio Bassani (1962) Kosovo: How To Be A Kosovo Bride - Naomi Hamill (2017) Latvia: The Book of Riga - various (shorts), Flesh-Coloured Dominoes - Zigmunds Skujins (2014) Liechtenstein: Die letzte Reise der Hindenburg - Armin Ohri (2016); Stamping Grounds - Charlie Connolly (2002 - nonfiction). Lithuania: White Shroud - Antanas Skema, Tula - Jurgis Kuncinas, Vilnius Poker - Ricardas Gavelis, The Last Book Smuggler - Birute Putrius Luxembourg: The Pleasure of Drowning - Jean Burlesk (2019) Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands: The Dark Room of Domocles - Willem Hermans, The Assault / The Discovery of Heaven - Harry Mulisch, The Evenings - Gerard Reve North Macedonia Norway: The Ice Palace - Tarjei Vesaas (1963) Poland: Flights - Olga Tokarczuk (2017) Portugal: All The Names / The Stone Raft / The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by Jose Saramago (1980s) Romania: Nostalgia - Mircea Cartarescu (1989) Russia: Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1866); Life and Fate - Vasily Grossman (1980) San Marino: The Republic of San Marino - Giuseppe Rossi (c1990) Serbia: The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht Slovakia Slovenia: Alamut - Vladimir Bartol Spain: Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes; Nada - Carmen Laforet (1944) Sweden: The Red Room / The People of Hemso - August Strindberg (1879/1887); To Cook A Bear - Mikael Niemi (2017); The Saga of Gosta Berling - Selma Lagerlof (1891) Switzerland: I Am Not Stiller - Max Frisch. The Assistant - Robert Walser Ukraine: The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov United Kingdom: The Expedition of Humphry Clinker - Tobias Smollett (1771); The Good Companions - JB Priestley (1929) Vatican City: When In Rome: A Journal of Life in Vatican City - Robert Hutchinson (1998, memoir) Edited 11 hours ago by willoyd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willoyd Report post Posted January 11 (edited) Africa (0/54) Algeria: What the Day Owes the Night - Yasmina Khadra (2008); Fantasia - Assia Djebar (1985) Angola: Transparent City - Ondjaki (2021), The Book of Chameleons - Jose Eduardo Agualusa (2004) Benin Botswana: A Question of Power - Bessie Head (1973) Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde: The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo - Germano Almeida (1988) Central African Republic Chad Cormoros Congo, DR: Before the Birth of the Moon - Valentin Y Mudimbe (1976) Congo, Rep: Broken Glass - Alain Mabanckou (2005) Cote d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt: Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy v1) - Naguib Mahfouz (1956) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana: Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi (2016); The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born - Ayi Kwei Armah; Search Sweet Country - Kojo Laing (1986) Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya: A Grain of Wheat / The River Between - Ngugi wa Thiongo'o (1967/65) Lesotho: Traveller To The East - Thomas Mofolo (1906) Liberia Libya: The Bleeding of the Stone - Ibrahim al-Koni (2002); In the Country of Men - Hisham Matar (2006) Madagascar Malawi Mali: The Fortunes of Wangrin - Amadou Hampate Ba Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria: Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe (1958) Rwanda Sao Tome and Principe: Equator - Miguel Sousa Tavares (2009) Senegal: So Long A Letter - Mariama Ba (1979) Seychelles Sierra Leone: The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar - Syl Cheney-Choker Somalia: Crossbones / From A Cracked Rib - Nuruddin Farah (2011/1970) South Africa: The Promise - Damon Galgut (2021) South Sudan Sudan: Season of Migration to the North - Tayeb Salih (1966) Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda: Kintu - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (2014) Zambia: The Old Drift - Namwali Serpell (2019) Zimbabwe: The House of Hunger - Dambudzo Marechera (1978) Edited 11 hours ago by willoyd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willoyd Report post Posted January 11 (edited) Asia (0/50) Afghanistan: The Patience Stone / Earth and Ashes - Atiq Rahimi (2008/2002); The Wasted Vigil - Nadeem Aslam (2008) Armenia Azerbaijan: Ali and Nino - Kurban Said (1937) Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China: The Garlic Ballads - Mo Yan (1988) Georgia Hong Kong India: A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry; The God of Small Things - Rohinton Mistry Indonesia: The Earth of Mankind - Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1980) Iran: Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi (NF) Iraq Israel Japan: Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata (1937); Kobo Abe, Shusaka Endo Jordan Kazakhstan Korea, North: The Accusation - Bandi (2014) Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon: The Prophet - Khali Gibran Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan: Basti - Intizar Husain (1979), The Wandering Falcon - Jamil Ahmad (2011) Palestine Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Siberia: Dreams of My Russian Summer / The Archipelago of Another Life - Andrei Makine (1995/2016) Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Taiwan Thailand Timor-Leste: Eyewitness - Seno Ajidarma (1994) Turkey: Orhan Pamuk Turkmenistan UAE Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen Edited 11 hours ago by willoyd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willoyd Report post Posted January 11 (edited) North America (0/23) Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados: In the Castle of My Skin - George Lamming Belize Canada: Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood; short story collection by Alice Munro Costa Rica Cuba Dominica: Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys Dominican Republic: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz El Salvador Grenada Guatemala: The President - Miguel Angel Asturias Haiti: The Dew Breaker - Edwidge Danticat Honduras Jamaica: Augustown - Kai Miller (2016) Mexico: Down the Rabbit Hole / Quesadillas - Juan Pablo Villalobos; The Death of Artemio Cruz - Carlos Fuentes Nicaragua Panama St Kittsand Nevis St Lucia St Vincent and Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago: A House for Mr Biswas - VS Naipaul; The White Woman on the Green Bicycle - Monique Roffey United States: The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck; Beloved - Toni Morrison Edited 11 hours ago by willoyd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willoyd Report post Posted January 11 (edited) South America (0/12) Argentina: The Tango Singer - Tomas Eloy Martinez Bolivia Brazil: The Violent Land - Jorge Amado Chile: The House of Spirits - Isabel Allende Colombia: One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru: Red April - Santiago Roncagliolo; book by Maria Vargas Llosa Suriname Uruguay: Who Among Us / The Truce - Mario Benedetti Venezuala Oceania and Antarctica (0/15) Antarctica: Antarctic Navigation -Elizabeth Arthur Australia: Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey; Cloudstreet - Tim Winton; Voss - Patrick White Fiji Kiribati Marshall Is Micronesia Nauru New Zealand: Owls Do Cry - Janet Frame; Potiki - Patricia Grace (Maori) Palau Papua NG Samoa Solomon Is Tonga: Tales of the Tikongs - Epeli Hau'ofa Tuvalu Vanuatu Edited 11 hours ago by willoyd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willoyd Report post Posted January 11 (edited) Spare Edited January 11 by willoyd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
