Around the World in 80 Books

[lichtrausch]

I think it's unwise to categorize literature by the nationality or heritage of a writer. Otherwise you end up with absurdities like Never Let Me Go being classified as Japanese literature. Categorizing by language isn't ideal either, but at least the original language of a work says something about the work. Even in the case of South Asian literature written in English, you know that the work necessarily borrows from the traditions of English-language literature, because South Asian writers haven't reinvented the English literary language, only adapted it somewhat.

[Marbles]

Even in the case of South Asian literature written in English, you know that the work necessarily borrows from the traditions of English-language literature, because South Asian writers haven't reinvented the English literary language, only adapted it somewhat.

It is my observation that in the case of South Asian literature in English there's a big gulf between novels written directly in English and those produced in national/local languages. In this case the choice of language determines to a great extent one's point of view, moral standpoints and cultural and intellectual references that writers make use of in their works. A sort of de facto liberal understanding of the world pervades in literature written in English, somewhat contrived and forced, and often writers set to write about the 'home society' from an outsider's point of view, not really getting under the skin of things, not really writing from inside the cultural milieu they claim to represent. Far more compelling works in translation do not get noticed but novels authored originally in English are often praised to the skies. In the case of Pakistan, for instance, how many readers of international and/or South Asian fiction know the stellar works produced by Intizar Hussain and Abdullah Hussain (both write in Urdu and have been partially translated) compared to English novelists like Mohsin Hamid, Kamila Shamsie and Nadeem Aslam (the last one a long-term migrant to the UK). I'm not familiar with Indian literature in local languages but there too as elsewhere literature produced directly in English gets a lot of more attention. So in this case it is the language which is (unfairly) determining the reach of literature produced in South Asian countries. On the contrary best literature produced in local languages in for example Japan, China, Turkey, Latin America etc is available in English in abundance.

[lichtrausch]

It is my observation that in the case of South Asian literature in English there's a big gulf between novels written directly in English and those produced in national/local languages. In this case the choice of language determines to a great extent one's point of view, moral standpoints and cultural and intellectual references that writers make use of in their works. A sort of de facto liberal understanding of the world pervades in literature written in English, somewhat contrived and forced, and often writers set to write about the 'home society' from an outsider's point of view, not really getting under the skin of things, not really writing from inside the cultural milieu they claim to represent.

I believe it. I'm really looking forward to delving into literature written in the local languages of South Asia. I plan to learn Hindi at some point down the road.

[Lady19thC]

If you want to do Denmark, how about anything by Isak Dinesen? Out of Africa, or some of her short stories?

[papayahed]

1. England - Rubicon, The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland
2. Russia - We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
3. USA - Sewer, Gas & Electric. The Public Works Trilogy by Matt Ruff
4. Ireland - Dracula by Bram Stoker
5. Mexico - The Strain by Guillermo De Toro and Chuck Hogan
6. Peru- Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter: A Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa
7. Australia - Only in Spain by Nellie Bennett
8. Canada - Star Wars: Darth Bane Trilogy Book 1 by Drew Karpyshyn
9. Sweden- The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg

[Marcus1]

1. China - Diary of a Madman and other stories by Lu Xun
2. Japan - Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
3. India - The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore
4. Russia - Collected Short Stories by Anton Chekhov
5. Poland - Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz
6. Hungary - A Book of Memories by Peter Nadas
7. Czech Republic - Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal
8. Germany - The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
9. Austria - The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
10. France - Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
11. Italy - If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino
12. Finland - The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
13. Norway - The Birds by Tarjei Vesaas
14. Belgium - Memories of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
15. Denmark - The Sickness Unto Death by Søren Kierkegaard
16. Spain - Nada by Carmen Laforet
17. Portugal - The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa
18. Greece - Antigone by Sophocles
19. Kenya - A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
20. South Africa - Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
21. Cameroon - Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono
22. Senegal - So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba
23. Zimbabwe - Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga + Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter by J. Nozipo Maraire
24. Nigeria - The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola + The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta
25. Sudan - Seasons of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
26. Egypt - Children of Gebelawi by Naguib Mahfouz
27. Afghanistan - A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
28. Mexico - Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo
29. Colombia - 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
30. Cuba - The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier
31. Brazil - The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector
32. Argentina - On Heroes and Tombs by Ernesto Sabato
33. Chile - The Poetry of Pablo Neruda by Pablo Neruda
34. Peru - Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa
35. Guatemala - Mulata - Miguel Ángel Asturias

[Anymodal]

From Mexico: Juan Rulfo's Pedro Páramo
From my country Argentina: Borges' Ficciones

[Marcus1]

I don't think anyone has managed to read 80 countries? Somebody prove me wrong!

[hofenho]

I went through my bookshelves/stacks to see just how many countries I already have covered, and I have to say it is more than I would have thought. Though it is still a far cry from 80 it will keep me busy reading for a while before I have to venture out.

So presently I own books by authors from these countries:

Greece
France
Italy
Russia
Spain
Japan
Turkey
Ireland
Nigeria
Norway
China
India
Poland
Australia
Serbia
Portugal
Hungary
Germany
New Zealand
Iceland
Zambia
Canada

WOW! You have good information. You better learn

[Dark Muse]

*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

19. Finland - Purge by Sofi Oksanen

20. Greece - Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

21. Hungary - Casanova in Bolzano by Sandor Marai

[Dark Muse]

*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

19. Finland - Purge by Sofi Oksanen

20. Greece - Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

21. Hungary - Casanova in Bolzano by Sandor Marai

22. Nigeria - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

23. Ireland - City of Bohane by Kevin Barry

[TheFifthElement]

*Update*
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 Ferrante
7. Hungary - The Proof by Agota Kristof
8. Iceland - The Creator by Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir
9. Finland - Travelling Light by Tove Jansson
10. Australia - All The Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
11. Palestine - Touch by Adania Shibli
12. Nigeria - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
13. Haiti - Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat
14. Chippewa - The Round House by Louise Erdrich
15. South Korea – The Vegetarian by Han Kang
16. Germany – The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald
17. Ireland – Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy
18. Canada – Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
19. Austria – A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter
20. Japan – Masks by Fumiko Enchi
21. Norway – Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrøm
22. Albania - Sworn Virgin by Elvira Dones

[Pike Bishop]

My taste is much more Anglo-American, but here goes:

1. Canada--Anil's Ghost by Micheal Ondaatje
2. USA--Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
3. Argentina--Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges
4. Germany--Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
5. England--Ghostwritten by David Mitchell
6. Ireland--Ulysses by James Joyce
7. France--Remembrances of Things Past by Marcel Proust
8. Belgium--Collected Essays by Paul De Man
9. Denmark--The Sickness Unto Death by Soren Kierkegaard
10. Norway--Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
11. Sweden--A Dream Play by August Strindberg
12. Russia--The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
13. Italy--The Divine Comedy by Dante
14. Japan--Stained Glass Elegies by Shusaku Endo
15. Australia--The Great World by David Malouf

[ennison]

I think I'll start Antipodean and head homewards slowly. I'll begin with Sargeson's "I Saw in my Dream". I"ll head for Australia next.

[Dark Muse]

*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

19. Finland - Purge by Sofi Oksanen

20. Greece - Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

21. Hungary - Casanova in Bolzano by Sandor Marai

22. Nigeria - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

23. Ireland - City of Bohane by Kevin Barry

24. Italy - The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lamedusa