Read a book from each country in Europe.

[sonjadog]

I was just reading an article about someone who had a goal to read one book from each country in the world and it has inspired me to start my own project to read a book from each country in Europe.

I want to read a novel or a biography or something along those lines and it must be set on the country with an author from the country.

So, do you have a favourite author from your country? Do you have a book recommendation?

I'm thankful for all suggestions, even if you aren't from the country the book is from.

Great idea!

Here is one for Estonia.

The Purge, by Sofi Oksanen. An Estonian-Finnish writer. The book takes place in Estonia. It's quite atmospheric, dark, mysterious and a page turner.

Probably not as much traffic in Adult Fiction, but some knowledgeable people over there. You've certainly captured my imagination and I'll be writing down some suggestions.

Ooh, I have some more exotic ones, thanks to my friends from these countries who lent me books at Uni!

Bosnia

Sarajevo Marboro by Milenko Jergovic. Short stories about the Bosnian war.

Albania

Broken April, by Ismail Kadare, about Albanian blood feuds.
Chronicle in Stone, by Ismail Kadare. About growing up in wartime Albania - evocative and hilarious.

Turkey (depends on your interpretation of Europe I suppose!)

Anything by Orhan Pamuk, especially Museum of Innocence.

Hungary

Embers by Sandor Marai

Spain

A heart so white by Javier Marias

Stanislaw Lem is a brilliant writer for Poland, although the town where he was born is now in the Ukraine.
For whoever suggested Borges for Spain, I'm afraid he's Argentinian.

Re Homer, the Iliad is very unrewarding for the casual reader but the Odyssey is much easier. Seamus Heaney's reworking would get you two for the price of one.

Good luck with Andorra, Lichtenstein and Monaco (maybe a formula 1 driver's autobiography?). One of the great encyclicals for the Vatican.

And yes, you should move it to Adult Fiction for archive purposes, we don't want it to go poof in 30 days.

Great suggestions! I will compile a list of books and countries tomorrow. I forgot to print out the list when I was at work today, so it'll have to wait.

I have started book 1.

It's from Poland, called "A Treatise on Shelling Beans" by Wieslaw Mysliwski, translated by Bill Johnston (a friend who is a translator says I have to mention the translator too each time). A Polish friend of mine who teaches literature in Krakow recommended it.

I hadn't thought about writing about the books as I read them, but that's a good idea. I will keep a book diary.

Iamathrill, thank you for pointing that, I was the one who said Borges for Spain! Doh! You are, of course, right, he is Argentinian. I read most of his stuff in Spanish and bought most of in in Spain too, hence the confusion. You are right, sorry.

Germany - Defying Hitler, Sebastian Haffner, part memoir, part historical critique of the rise of Hitler but written pre-war so it's speculative rather than retrospective which makes it a. bloody heart breaking and b. not seem like a history book.

Holland - An Interrupted Life, Etty Hillesum, war diaries of a young woman in Amsterdam during the 2nd World War, she such a vibrant, modern women, it's a real punch to the gut when you learn her fate

The penguin website may be helpful when looking for authors www.penguin.co.uk/shop/all-categories/

According to wikipedia, Juli Minoves Triquell and Josep Carles Laínez are both authors from Andorra. Finding their work in English might be some challenge, though. Also, Laínez is actually Spanish, I think, just lives in Andorra.

I don't know any Spanish, but there is an Andorran writer who has a book published in German that I might have a go at:

www.amazon.de/Das-Lächeln-Erde-Ramón-Villeró/dp/3499242923

From Iceland you might like "The Greenhouse" by A A Olafsdottir, which I enjoyed a lot, also I see it is in the Kindle May promotion for just £1.

I can heartily recommend the following;
Spain - The Carpenters Pencil by Manuel Rivas. He is amazing.
Germany - Austerlitz by W.G Sebald.
Russia - Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin

What a great idea!

For Denmark/Greenland, how about Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow by Peter Hoeg (can't do the slash through the 'o'). Lots about the relationship between Denmark and Greenland; very interesting.

Sadly, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is set in Peterborough. But amusing for all that

I'll ask to get the thread moved to Adult Fiction now.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (Russia)
The Heart of a Dog
The White Guard or anything else by Bulgakov

A biography: Pushkin's button by Serena Vitale

Poetry: Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva

as for the Italian literature, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani is most beautiful.

And Norway: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Unset, a real masterpiece

I forgot two

Ukraine -

Pengin Lost by Andrey Kurkov. Satire about life in post-Soviet Ukraine and so, so hilarious. The follow up, Death and the Penguin is a lot darker.

Serbia

In the Hold, by Vladimir Arsenijevic, about life of disaffected youth in Serbia after the war.

Cees Nooteboom has been mentioned and I second that, he's Dutch.
Harry Mulish is also Dutch and not Belgian.
Dmitri Verhulst is Belgian, and has been translated.

Try Italo Calvino's 'If on a winter's night a traveller' - a bit like Cloud Atlas in structure, unusual and engaging. Calvino was born in Cuba but lived in Italy all his life. For a topical WW1 theme All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque is very poignant, told from the German point of view of a young man at the front. France: Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan is a short but great easy read.

My DH, who loves a good literary challenge, points out that although Heinrich Harrer was Austrian, he was living in Liechtenstein when he wrote Seven Years In Tibet.

I recommend Where the Devil Can't Go By Anya Lipska ( Polish )

I have enjoyed several novels by Jose Saramago - Blindness was mentioned upthread, but The Double is also good (Portugal).

Can I recommend books by Fred Vargas - a French author. They are very good.
Etty Hillesum annoyed me.
Suite Francaise is a favourite of mine.It was heartbreaking to know that when her husband was writing letters to find out where she was, she had already been killed.

For a light and fun read from Italy, any of the Montalbano detective books by Andrea Camilleri would fit the bill. Very different from the Scandinavian detectives, these are filled with food, sea and siestas.