Is anything else by Kundera worth reading?Quote:
Originally Posted by BitofEndearment
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Is anything else by Kundera worth reading?Quote:
Originally Posted by BitofEndearment
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose SaramagoQuote:
1. Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
11. Germany - Faust by GoetheQuote:
1. Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
This is a cool idea! I wish I could try it myself but where I would get eighty books from foreign lands is beyond me... (My local library's pretty Eurocentric.)
I know Cavafy wrote in Greek, but he was born, lived and wrote in Alexandria in Egypt. When he was born it was part of the Ottoman Empire. When he died it was independent.Quote:
Originally Posted by mortalterror
I haven't read him, but I understand Nikos Kazantzakis is an important Greek author, author of Zorba the Greek and Christ Recrucified.
Anyone mentioned Ireland? Ulysses must be the Great Irish Novel if anything. The Real Charlotte by Sommerville and Ross is a good, although describing the protestant ascendency rather than the catholic majority, although highly critically.
I will probably be reading Ulysses for Ireland unless something else unexepcted comes up.Quote:
Originally Posted by ruggerlad
12. Spain - The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-ReverteQuote:
1. Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
11. Germany - Faust by Goethe
If you want to get a less popular and deeper look on Israeli literature, I would recommend reading "Past Perfect" by Yaakov Shabtai. Etgar Keret and Amos Oz are nice, but the 'Israeliness' of their books isn't intrinsic, and therefore far less interesting for someone like you (or so I think). Another interesting, not so well known book is "The Brummstein" by the Danish author Peter Adolphsen.
Good luck!
18. Afghanistan - The Patience Stone by Atiq RahimiQuote:
Originally Posted by thelastmelon
19. Turkey - The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
20. Ireland - Chamber Music by James Joyce
I see Belgium is still missing. I recommend Dimitri Verhulst- The Misfortunates if you're planning on reading a great and yet recent novel or else our greatest classic of all time: Hugo Claus- The Sorrow of Belgium
I am brazilian and I've got to tell you that we have some amazing literary works. If you're interested, you could try Machado de Assis - Dom Casmurro. It was an wonderful experience reading this one. Also, I think you could check out José Saramago from Portugal and Mia Couto from Mozambique :)
13. Mexico - Rasero by Francisco RebolledoQuote:
Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
11. Germany - Faust by Goethe
12. Spain - The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
For Hungary, might I suggest "The Melancholy of Resistance" by Laszlo Krasznahorkai? His prose is dark and hypnotic. His sentences seem endless. His characters vacillate between hope and despair but rarely make the leap to either extreme. It's a work of half-apocalypse and incomprehensible revelation that even his characters often fail to grasp. It's a hyper-reality placed beside the surreal; it's madness next to reason... It's brilliant.
Or Péter Nádas' "Parallel Stories." I just finished it. I haven't had the chance to let it sink fully in quite yet. But it might just be one of the best books I've read.
Where I've been so far...
Ireland
1. The Butcher Boy (Patrick McCabe)
2. The Book of Evidence (John Banville)
3. The Trusting and the Maimed and Other Stories (James Plunkett)
4. Mercier et Camier (Samuel Beckett)
Scotland
5. The Ballad of Peckham Rye (Muriel Spark)
6. The Wasp Factory (Iain Banks)
7. How Late It Was, How Late (James Kelman)
England
8. In the Springtime of the Year (Susan Hill)
9. Where Angels Fear to Tread (E. M. Forster)
10. The Accidental Woman (Jonathan Coe)
11. David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
12. Murder Must Advertise (Dorothy L. Sayers)
13. Regeneration (Pat Barker)
14. Black Dogs (Ian McEwan)
15. The Third Man and The Fallen Idol (Graham Greene)
France
16. Journal d'un corps (Daniel Pennac)
Germany
17. Perfume (Patrick Süskind)
18. The Emigrants (W. G. Sebald)
Italy
19. The Leopard (Giusseppe di Lampedusa)
Albania
20. Spring Flowers, Spring Frost (Ismail Kadare)
Turkey
21. My Name is Red (Orhan Pamuk)
India
22. The Home and the World (Rabindranath Tagore)
Australia
23. Oscar and Lucinda (Peter Carey)
New Zealand
24. Bliss and Other Stories (Katherine Mansfield)
Argentina
25. L'Année ou le Lion s'est échappé (Carlos Sampayo)
Peru
26. The Green House (Mario Vargas Llosa)
USA
27. Cannery Row (John Steinbeck)
28. Farewell, My Lovely (Raymond Chandler)
29. Lullaby (Chuck Palahniuk)
30. Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
31. Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut)
32. Franny and Zooey (J. D. Salinger)
33. The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Canada
34. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
35. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
South Africa
36. Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton)
37. Selected Stories (Nadine Gordimer)
Zimbabwe
38. Nervous Conditions (Tsitsi Dangarembga)
Portugal
39. All the Names (Jose Saramago)
Spain
40. Un Coeur si Blanc (Javier Marias)
_______________
Currently reading: LA PLACE DE L'ETOILE (Patrick Modiano)
bouquin: One book per country for this challenge though, so that'd make 19 countries for you so far. (:
So is the reading challenge around the world in 80 countries or around the world in 80 books (as indicated in the thread title)?
_______________
Currently reading: If This is a Man (Primo Levi)
My original intention was to challenge myself to read one book per country, so it would be 80 books from 80 different countries.Quote:
Originally Posted by bouquin
Quote:
Originally Posted by thelastmelon
In my case, I prefer a different travel plan - more in keeping with Phileas Fogg's who went around the world in 80 days but did not actually journey to 80 countries.
14. New Zeland - The Bone People by Keri HulmeQuote:
Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
11. Germany - Faust by Goethe
12. Spain - The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
13. Mexico - Rasero by Francisco Rebolledo
15. Iran - My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj PezeshkzadQuote:
1.Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
11. Germany - Faust by Goethe
12. Spain - The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
13. Mexico - Rasero by Francisco Rebolledo
14. New Zeland - The Bone People by Keri Hulme
Not to discourage you or anything, Dark Muse (in fact I cheer you on enthusiastically for undertaking this), but the two books on this list, which just so happen to be the only two books I have read (Dostoevsky's Demons and Johann Goethe's Faust) are intricate behemoths to tackle. Chipping away at Demons alone will take 2 months for a seasoned Classical reader, which I am certain you are. It took me more than 7 months. Faust is a completely different kind of monster but equally daunting. Oddly, it took me longer to read Faust than Don Quixote, and yet the latter is nearly twice the size. I wish you the best in your pursuit, though! :) I'm sure Fogg wouldn't give up ;)
Edittt: Oh crap, I just re-read the topic title and I realized you don't want time limits. That's a relief! You have my full support either way and I would be happy to undergo doing the challenge with you. It would be so much fun to discuss a book while reading it with a fellow LitNetter!
Hehe thank you, and in fact those are the books I have already read, so I have them well under my belt already.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adolescent09
Wow!! Very impressive, Dark Muse; Kudos to you! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Dark Muse
When it comes to Poland I recommend Wisława Szymborska, Czesław Miłosz, Stanisław Lem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Muse
Question, Dark Muse -
What translation of Faust did you use, and what did you think of it? I'm getting to Faust on my own reading list as well, and it sounds like a work which is very difficult to translate. If you could recommend or disqualify a specific translation for me it would be helpful. Thanks!
I read a Project Gutenberg version, but Part II is really hard to find online, on a fluke the day I looked I happened to find a completed copy, but it appears the addition I had read is no longer avialable online. I am a afraid I cannot recall the translators name off the top of my head.
I hear that Walter Kaufmann is supposed to be a good transtation.
A lot of people also really like David Luke.
Herold Bloom recommended Stuart Atkins.
Hello Muse,
What if an author was a citizen of the U.S.S.R. when a novel was written but the republic in which they were born is now an independent country? For example, does Mikhail Bulgakov's The White Guard, whose action takes place entirely in and around Kiev and whose point of view is that of Kiev dwellers, count as Ukrainian?
That is a very interesting question. Mikhail Bulgakov is generally speaking considered to be a Russian author, but considering the changing landscape, and the fact that the book itself is centered on Kiev, I would say one could go either way with that one. It could be counted for Ukrainian.Quote:
Originally Posted by WyattGwyon
Excuse me, important news: Maya Angelou publishes her new book: Mom & I & Mom. Can't miss it.
The other day I find a copy by Stuart Atkins in my bookshelf that I have not read yet after 20 years ... it was a version published by Princeton with Part One and Two together.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Muse
16. Scotland - Rob Roy by Sir Walter ScottQuote:
1.Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
11. Germany - Faust by Goethe
12. Spain - The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
13. Mexico - Rasero by Francisco Rebolledo
14. New Zeland - The Bone People by Keri Hulme
15. Iran - My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad
17. Iceland - Iceland's Bell by Halldor LaxnessQuote:
1.Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
11. Germany - Faust by Goethe
12. Spain - The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
13. Mexico - Rasero by Francisco Rebolledo
14. New Zeland - The Bone People by Keri Hulme
15. Iran - My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad
16. Scotland - Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
Some more recommendations, of books that I've read and like:
Sri Lanka - "What the Buddha Taught" by Rahula.
Wales - Dylan Thomas - some short collection of his best poems! Note that Martin Amis was born in Wales, when his dad was working at Swansea university, so he's another option (London Fields maybe?)
Southern Ireland - Joyce, Dubliners
Northern Ireland - Seamus Heaney - Beowulf, or whatever takes your fancy if a translation isn't allowed.
Czech Republic (born in Prague) - Kafka - Metamorphosis and other stories
Argentina - Ficciones, Borges
Trinidad - A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipul
Austria - Frijof Capra - The Tao of Physics (...were all famous "Austrian" literary figures born in Prague :))
Italy - "Inferno" is obvious choice, but try Primo Levi - the Periodic Table for something modern.
Botswana - "The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency", if you are allowed to use the "set in" criteria rather than "place of birth". "Set in" would be useful, "Burmese Days" by Orwell, and many others, would then be allowed.
Corfu - My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell. Corfu is part of Greece, so are you going to allow distinct regions of countries? This is another "set in" rather than "born in" example: Durrell, although English, was born in India. Difficult man to classify! Is D.H.Lawrence's "Kangaroo" an Australian or English novel? Wouldn't recommend reading Lawrence, anyway - but the question is moot... And what about Lawrence of Arabia?
On the Polish question - Isaac Bashevis Singer was born in Poland. Can't you count him? It might be worth checking the birth places of other famous American authors to blag a few more European countries!
3. USA - Sewer, Gas & Electric. The Public Works Trilogy by Matt RuffQuote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
4. Ireland - Dracula by Bram Stoker
5. Mexico - The Strain by Guillermo De Toro and Chuck Hogan
Hmm. How about around the world in 80 books by ladies? From this year's reading:
1. UK - A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland
2. China - 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo
3. USA - Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
4. India - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
5. France - Beside the Sea by Veronique Olmi
6. Italy - The Days of Abandonment by Elena FerranteQuote:
Originally Posted by TheFifthElement
*Updated*
1.Japan - Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Russia - Demons by Dostoevsky
3. France - The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Dumas
4. England - Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
5. India - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
6. Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. Canada - World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
8. Turkey - My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
9. Norway - The Wife by Sigrid Undset
10. Portugal - Blindness by Jose Saramago
11. Germany - Faust by Goethe
12. Spain - The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
13. Mexico - Rasero by Francisco Rebolledo
14. New Zeland - The Bone People by Keri Hulme
15. Iran - My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad
16. Scotland - Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
17. Iceland - Iceland's Bell by Halldor Laxness
18. Australia - Jacke Maggs by Peter Carey
If no one has mentioned it before now, the "american" selection wouldn't really be culturally complete without something from our native people. I'd recommend "I will Fight No More Forever" or "Black Elk Speaks". Both autobiographical stories of powerful first nation people.
Update
7. Hungary - The Proof by Agota KristofQuote:
Originally Posted by TheFifthElement
1.Japan ~ Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Dominica ~ Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
3. England ~ Master and Commander by O'Brien
4. India ~ A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
5. Canada ~ MaddAddam by Atwood
6. Turkey ~ My Name Is Red by Orhand Pamuk
7. Portugal ~ Blindness by Jose Saramago
8. USA ~ Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
9. Colombia ~ 100 Years of Solitude by Marquez
10. Afghanistan ~ The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
11. Czech Republic ~ The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
12. Germany ~ Perfume by Patrick Suskind
13. Sweden ~ The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell
14. Italy ~ The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
15. Ireland ~ Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt