Book Around the World

Himalayas

2011-11-11T22:05:00.000-05:00

Jane, who doesn't have a blog (yet), recommends Himalayan Dhaba as a good book about the Himalayas.

Himalayan Dhaba by Craig Joseph Danner is set in the Indian Himalayas. After a hair-raising journey, Dr. Mary Davis arrives in a remote Himalayan village with just a backpack and a box of medicines. Expecting to work with a talented Indian surgeon, she finds instead that he is missing and she is now the only doctor within a hundred miles. When an injured tourist stumbles into her overcrowded clinic, he triggers a series of events that connects an unusual mix of characters: Phillip, the spoiled son of a British diplomat; Antone, an aging addict who attempts to kidnap him; Meena, a local village girl who embarks on an improbable rescue; and Amod, the lonely waiter in the local dhaba, who secretly looks after Mary.

Nigeria and England

2011-01-10T09:41:00.000-05:00

Helen said, "Here's a link to my review of Little Bee, which would fit under England and Nigeria."

Little Bee by Chris Cleave is "a haunting novel about the tenuous friendship that blooms between two disparate strangers—one an illegal Nigerian refugee, the other a recent widow from suburban London." The back cover says:

"This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again -- the story starts there. Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your frienmds about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds."

Bonnie says, "Much of the book takes place in England, but some really important events take place in Nigeria. I also recommend this book for both countries."

Uruguay

2010-05-04T14:24:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "I've found a good book for Uruguay. The Invisible Mountain is a novel by Carolina de Robertis. Read my review of the book by clicking here."

On the first day of the year 1900, a small town deep in the Uruguayan countryside gathers to witness a miracle — the mysterious reappearance of a lost infant, Pajarita — and unravel its portents for the century. Later, as a young woman in the capital city — Montevideo, brimming with growth and promise — Pajarita begins a lineage of fiercely independent women with her enamored husband, Ignazio, a young immigrant from Italy and the inheritor of both a talent for boat making and a latent, more sinister family trait. Their daughter, Eva, a fragile yet ferociously stubborn beauty intent on becoming a poet, overcomes an early, shattering betrayal to embark on a most unconventional path toward personal and artistic fulfillment. And Eva’s daughter, Salomé, awakening to both her sensuality and political convictions amid the violent turmoil of the late 1960s, finds herself dangerously attracted to a cadre of urban guerrilla rebels, despite the terrible consequences of such principled fearlessness.

Wales

2009-10-22T23:17:00.002-04:00

Bonnie says, "I've been to Wales, via book. After completing A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond, I spent the next couple of hours googling images of mid-Wales and Borth, the book's setting. That's how good it was. Read my review of the book on my blog."

Fifteen-year-old Jen had stayed home in America when her father, brother, and sister moved to Wales for a year, after the unexpected death of their mother. When she joins them in December for a holiday visit, Jen discovers a distracted father, a sullen brother, and a young sister who misses her terribly. Peter, the middle child, finds an ancient harp key that somehow tunes in to scenes from the life of the legendary sixth-century Welch bard, Taliesin. Strangely, Peter isn't the only one to experience that earlier century; people around him -- including neighbors -- see lights and hear fighting, too.

Australia

2009-09-08T06:12:00.004-04:00

Amy said, "Hi Bonnie, Don't know if you are still running this challenge, but I just read a new book for Australia: The Voices by Susan Elderkin. Here is the link to my review."

In the remote, blood red dust of the Australian bush, thirteen-year-old Billy Saint turns to the stark landscape and mesmerizing spirits of the native Aborigines for the companionship he lacks at home. When he is befriended by Maisie, an enigmatic Aboriginal girl who has "sung him up," he slowly comes to realize that he is meddling with powers far beyond his control. Ten years later, Billy lies in a hospital bed, recovering from gruesome wounds of mysterious origin. Shifting between his hospital stay and the childhood that led him there, The Voices unfolds into a haunting exploration of the relationship between a white man, the land he loves, and the native spirits of the country struggling to be heard before they are lost forever.
__________

Thanks, Amy. Yes, I hope to continue this challenge a bit longer. Maybe this will explain my long absence from this blog. To everyone, please re-submit any book suggestions you've made that I failed to get posted.
Thanks,
~~~ Bonnie

Finland

2008-10-03T14:08:00.003-04:00

Wendy said, "An excellent (and quick) read for Finland is Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name, by Vendela Vida. The book introduces readers to the Sami culture and the haunting and desolate landscape of Lapland. Here is my review."

On the day of her father's funeral, twenty-eight-year-old Clarissa Iverton discovers that he wasn't her biological father after all. Her mother disappeared fourteen years earlier, and her fiancé has just revealed a life-changing secret to her. Alone and adrift, Clarissa travels to mystical Lapland, where she believes she'll meet her real father. There, at a hotel made of ice, Clarissa is confronted with the truth about her mother's history, and must make a decision about how—and where—to live the rest of her life.

Italy

2008-09-29T12:26:00.004-04:00

Amy said, "Here is another one for Italy for you: I'm Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti. The link to my review is here."

“Stop all this talk about monsters, Michele. Monsters don’t exist. It’s men you should be afraid of, not monsters.” A sweltering heat wave hits a tiny village in Southern Italy, sending the adults to seek shelter, while their children bicycle freely throughout the countryside, playing games and getting into trouble. On a dare, nine-year-old Michele Amitrano enters an old, abandoned farmhouse, where he stumbles upon a secret so terrible that he can’t tell anybody. As the truth emerges, Michele learns that the horror in the creepy old house is closer to home than he ever imagined. A widely acclaimed international bestseller, I’m Not Scared is a spine-tingling novel that combines a coming of age narrative with a satisfying, enthralling story of suspense.

Korea

2008-09-10T05:45:00.002-04:00

Amy said, "I have a new book for you and I noticed you don't have this country yet: Korea. Here is the link to my review."

One Thousand Chestnut Trees by Mira Stout is subtitled "A Novel of Korea." Uncle Hong-do arrives in Vermont from Korea to see the sister he has never met, a concert violinist long settled in the West. His colorful visit turns his teenage niece's world upside down, disrupting Anna's cozy existence with his eccentric customs, forcing into it a fresh and intriguing tang of Korea. Then, too soon, he returns to Seoul. Years later, Anna, now an artist in Manhattan, finds herself in a state of Bohemian malaise -- unhappy, aimless, uninspired, and mired in routine. She seeks to fill the void with an expedition to Korea, retracing her mother's journey in an effort "to see my family undie." Her departure stirs up vivid, shocking memories for her mother, of her gilded childhood, and of her noble clan's fall from power. Long ago, her grandfather commanded his own private armies and owned vast estates across the country from north to south. In defiance of centuries of barbarous invasions -- by the Japanese, Manchus, and finally the Communists -- he built a temple high in the mountains and planted one thousand chestnut trees to shield it from view. Generations later, his trees call back his great-granddaughter Anna, who sets out with Uncle Hong-do to find the hidden temple and excavate from history the remains of her family's legacy.

Egypt

2008-09-10T04:49:00.004-04:00

Kailana said, "Another good Egypt book is Nefertiti by Michelle Moran." And Marg said, "Any of the Amelia Peabody historical mysteries [are good ones for Egypt] as well."

Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped that her strong personality will temper the young ruler’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods. From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people but fails to see that powerful priests are plotting against her husband’s rule. The only person brave enough to warn the queen is her younger sister, yet remaining loyal to Nefertiti will force Mutnodjmet into a dangerous political game; one that could cost her everything she holds dear. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran is told from the point of view of her younger sister, Mutnodjmet.

Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters, is the latest of the Amelia Peabody series. Convinced that the tomb of the little-known king Tutankhamon lies somewhere in the Valley of the Kings, Egyptologist Radcliffe Emerson and his wife, Amelia Peabody, seem to have hit a wall. Emerson has tried desperately to persuade Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter to relinquish their digging rights. But Emerson's trickery has backfired, and his insistent interest in the site has made his rivals all the more determined to keep the Emerson clan away. The family returns to Luxor and watches from the sidelines as Carter and Carnarvon "discover" King Tut's tomb. But before their own excavation can get underway, Emerson and his son, Ramses, find themselves lured into a trap by a strange group of villains demanding "Where is he?" The Emersons embark on a quest to uncover who "he" is and why "he" must be found, only to discover the answer is uncomfortably close to home. Now Amelia must find a way to protect her family -- and perhaps even her would-be nemesis -- from the forces that will stop at nothing to succeed in the nefarious plot that threatens the peace of the entire region.

Egypt

2008-09-06T19:24:00.001-04:00

Sharon suggests The Red Tent by Anita Diamat which is set partially in Egypt.

Her name is Dinah. In Chapter 34 of the Book of Genesis, Dinah's tale is a brief and violent detour in the familiar narrative about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. This novel, told in Dinah's voice, gives a new view of biblical women. It begins with the story of her mothers — Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah — the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land.

Brazil

2008-08-31T15:08:00.002-04:00

R-Lo said, "I've just read and reviewed Machado de Assis' great 1899 novel Dom Casmurro for my Book around the World selection for Brazil. My review is here for anyone interested."

Like other great nineteenth century novels -- The Scarlet Letter, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary -- Machado de Assis's Dom Casmurro explores the themes of marriage and adultery. But what distinguishes Machado's novel, and what makes it such a delightful discovery for English-speaking readers, is its eccentric and wildly unpredictable narrative style. As he recounts the events of his life from the vantage of a lonely old age, the narrator Bento continually interrupts his story to reflect on the writing of it. But the novel is more than a performance of stylistic acrobatics. It is an ironic critique of Catholicism, in which God appears as a kind of divine accountant whose ledgers may be balanced in devious as well as pious ways. It is also a story about love and its obstacles, about deception and self-deception, and about the failure of memory to make life's beginning fit neatly into its end.

List of countries

2008-08-18T14:25:00.003-04:00

I have no idea who decides -- or how anyone decides -- what makes a country. I have, however, found an interesting list of countries. Presumably, it's a list of all the countries in the world. It intrigues me to see that down at the very bottom are links to two that don't fit anywhere in the alphabetical listing, maybe because one isn't a country at all and the other because the compiler of this list (the CIA) doesn't recognize the other as an "official" country for political reasons.

We could ask ourselves: "When is a country NOT a country?" Which still leaves us with the basic question: "When IS a country a country?"

Now I wonder if there has been a book published about every country on this list. How many countries have you read about so far? Check in, everyone! Give us an update on your progress.

New Zealand

2008-08-16T14:16:00.002-04:00

Jill said, "Another excellent New Zealand book was The Colour by Rose Tremain (here is my review)."

Newlyweds Joseph and Harriet Blackstone emigrate from England to New Zealand, along with Joseph's mother Lilian, in search of new beginnings and prosperity. But the harsh land near Christchurch where they settle threatens to destroy them almost before they begin. When Joseph finds gold in a creek bed, he hides the discovery from both his wife and mother, and becomes obsessed with the riches awaiting him deep in the earth. Abandoning his farm and family, he sets off alone for the new goldfields over the Southern Alps, a moral wilderness where many others, under the seductive dreams of the "colour," rush to their destinies and doom.

Harriet bravely decides to pursue her own journey towards an uncertain future. But nothing has prepared her for what happens when she too arrives at the gold diggings. Amid squalor and confusion, burning heat and icy flood, Harriet Blackstone comes face to face with the true cost of desire.

Argentina

2008-08-05T17:12:00.002-04:00

R-Lo said, "I'd like to put in a good word for Tomás Eloy Martínez's The Tango Singer (Argentina) since I don't see any other selections for Argentina yet."

It is 2001, and inflation is spiraling out of control in Argentina as Bruno Cadogan, an American graduate student specializing in Borges, arrives in Buenos Aires. Cadogan is on the trail of Julio Martel, an elusive tango singer rumored to be even better than Carlos Gardel, the greatest singer of the 1920s and '30s. Martel has never recorded and his strange, powerful performances, at seemingly arbitrary sites around the city, are always unannounced. Cadogan finds lodging in a boarding house rumored to be the setting of the famous Borges story The Aleph, and soon finds himself drawn into the tangle of legends surrounding the singer's life. As the economic tension grows and the city hovers on the verge of riots, Bruno begins to believe that Martel's increasingly rare performances are in fact far from random—that they instead form a map of the darkest moments in the city's past.

Antarctica

2008-08-05T17:00:00.004-04:00

R-Lo recommends Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World (Antarctica).

Since Robert Falcon Scott's expedition to the South Pole in 1910-1912, controversy has raged about the correct interpretation of and explanation for the tragedy. Some writers have drawn a picture of Scott as a bumbling incompetent, whose lack of experience and preparation condemned his men to their deaths. Aspley Cherry-Garrard's account The Worst Journey in the World written ten years after his narrow escape from the fate of his companions tells another side of the story. Here he portrays Scott as a fearless and noble leader whose only thought upon his death was concern for his companions on the expedition and for his wife and child. Cherry-Garrard was also a member of the search party that ultimately discovered Scott's frozen body along with his last notebook entries.

Italy

2008-08-05T16:53:00.003-04:00

R-Lo recommends Giuseppe di Lampedusa's The Leopard for Italy.

Set in the 1860s, The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa tells the spellbinding story of a decadent, dying Sicilian aristocracy threatened by the approaching forces of democracy and revolution. The dramatic sweep and richness of observation, the seamless intertwining of public and private worlds, and the grasp of human frailty imbue The Leopard with its particular melancholy beauty and power, and place it among the greatest historical novels of our time.

Spain

2008-08-05T16:45:00.005-04:00

R-Lo recommends "the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes, an outstanding alternate choice for Spain."

This book, published anonymously in Spain in 1554, is considered by many to be the first picaresque novel. It provided a literary model for Cervantes' Don Quixote and describes the ingenious ruses employed by a boy from Salamanca to outwit a succession of disreputable masters.

India

2008-08-05T16:04:00.006-04:00

Jill said, "I am surprised to see that The Inheritance of Loss hasn't found its way to this blog yet. It's an excellent snapshot into Indian culture. Here is my review."

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai presents a tapestry of colorful characters: an embittered old judge; Sai, his sixteen-year-old orphaned granddaughter; a chatty cook; and the cook’s son, Biju, who is hopscotching from one miserable New York restaurant to another, trying to stay a step ahead of the INS. When a Nepalese insurgency in the mountains threatens Sai’s new-sprung romance with her handsome tutor, their lives descend into chaos. The cook witnesses India’s hierarchy being overturned and discarded. The judge revisits his past and his role in Sai and Biju’s intertwining lives.

Guernsey

2008-07-31T23:14:00.004-04:00

Wendy said, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is a delightful and completely satisfying novel set on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. My review is posted here."

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. He writes:

"I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers."

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends — and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society — born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island — boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
__________

For those of you who are wondering, I got information from Wikipedia: Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, among the collective grouping known as the Channel Islands.

Congo

2008-07-14T15:12:00.002-04:00

Wendy said, "The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is an amazing book set in the Congo. I loved this book...and highly recommend it. My review is here."

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it -- from garden seeds to Scripture -- is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

Wales

2008-06-29T10:54:00.003-04:00

Jill said, "I finished a fantastic book about Wales. Not sure if Wales is considered a country for this challenge, but if it is, then I suggest Resistance by Owen Sheers!" (Click the book's title for Jill's review.)

1944. After the fall of Russia and the failed D-Day landings, a German counterattack lands on British soil. Within a month, half of Britain is occupied. The seat of British government has fled to Worcester, Churchill to Canada. A network of British resistance cells is all that is left to defy the German army. Against this backdrop, Resistance opens with Sarah Lewis, a twenty-six-year-old farmer’s wife, waking to find her husband, Tom, has disappeared. She is not alone, as all the other women in the Welsh border valley of Olchon wake to find their husbands gone. With this sudden and unexplained absence, the women regroup as an isolated, all-female community and wait, hoping for news. Later, a German patrol arrives in the valley, the purpose of their mission a mystery. When a severe winter forces the two groups together, a fragile mutual dependency develops. Sarah begins a faltering acquaintance with the patrol’s commanding officer, Albrecht Wolfram, and it is to her that he reveals the purpose of the patrol. But as the pressure of the war beyond presses in on this isolated community, this fragile state of harmony is increasingly threatened. This novel is a hymn to the glorious landscape of the Welsh border territories and a portrait of a community under siege.

Bonnie said, "Sure, Jill, Wales is a country. Thanks for mentioning that the book is an alternate history, asking, what if the German army had invaded England during World War II? I love to explore alternate histories."

Iceland

2008-05-06T22:38:00.004-04:00

Wendy said, "Great book for Iceland is: Independent People, by Halldor Laxness. A multi-generational family saga set in a desolate yet beautiful country. My review can be found here."

Halldor Laxness got the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature for this novel, originally published in 1946 and out of print for decades. Bjartur of Summerhouses, who ekes out his humble living in a constant battle against nature, acquires his own smallholding. After eighteen years of servitude to a master he despised, all he wants is to raise his flocks unbeholden to anyone. Nothing, not inclement weather, not his wives, not his family will come between him and his goal of financial independence. He thinks the ultimate sign of self-sufficiency would be construction of a real house, but what happens when he finally gets that house built?

United States

2008-04-24T07:41:00.002-04:00

Amy said, "Hi Bonnie, I just blogged about Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and wanted to add it to the challenge, representing the USA, because I feel the novel, through its portrait of immigrants making their way in the new culture, assimilating but at the same time holding onto old traditions, tells us a lot about what is was like for so many millions of people who came to America. I am very interested in genealogy and how it must have been for them. The novel also gives us a view of a major American city, Detroit, and the way it changed over the years, through immigration, poverty and racial tensions. And finally what it was like to grow up in the 70's. But I noticed there is no USA category on your blog (yet)." Here's her review.

Spanning eight decades and one unusually awkward adolescence, Jeffrey Eugenides's novel is an utterly original story of crossed bloodlines and the intricacies of gender ... and it's also the winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The best account of the book I could find if the review by Book Magazine:

For the first fourteen years of life, Calliope Helen Stephanides, the narrator and main character of this second novel from the author of The Virgin Suicides, is a coltish schoolgirl, the bright, coddled daughter of a hard-working Greek family who own a chain of hotdog stands in Detroit. But for Calliope, the transformations of puberty do not consist of the usual ripening of womanly curves, but rather the solid musculature, husky voice and nascent mustache of shocking, unsuspected manhood. Named for the muse of epics—of which this wonderful comic novel is surely a modern version—Calliope is the rarest form of hermaphrodite. "Like Tiresias," she explains, "I was first one thing and then the other."

It is this dual viewpoint, as much as the oddity of her experiences, that prompts her to write. "I want to get it down for good: this roller coaster ride of a single gene through time. Sing now, O Muse, of the recessive mutation on my fifth chromosome!" Cal bravely declares, adding, "Sorry if I get a little Homeric at times. That's genetic too." It is in fact the first of many classical allusions. Homer called the sea "wine-dark." Landlocked Calliope, as befits her Motor City origins, mentions a "wine-dark Buick." Cal's mock-heroic announcement is the portal into so odd and yet so normal a chronicle of three generations of an American family that readers will find themselves gloating over the book's length and its consequent guarantee of extended pleasure.

The story begins in the tiny Greek village of Bithynios in 1922. Perilously near the Turkish border, it is a center of silkworm cultivation. Here, Lefty and Desdemona Stephanides, Calliope's grandparents, growup; and from here they flee to the port of Smyrna, where they precariously survive the sacking of the city by Ottoman troops. During their passage to the United States, the Stephanideses make a rash decision. Acting on an incestuous passion, they start their new life by declaring themselves not brother and sister but husband and wife.

In their commingled genes Calliope's fate is sealed. In the old country, this would be Greek tragedy. But in the America of Eugenides' novel—the land of optimism and self-transformation—consensual incest engenders only slightly more regret than it does in Tom Jones. At one point the author describes a lustful impulse by saying, "It was her body that did it, with the cunning and silence of bodies everywhere." In these pages, human frailty is excusable.

Human tyranny, however, is not. Thus Eugenides ridicules the paternalism of the Ford Corporation—which in its early years inspected workers' homes for signs of loose living, poor hygiene or similar transgressions against the American way of life—as Lefty attends compulsory training at the automobile plant. There he is forced to recite, "Do not spit on the floor of the home" and "The most advanced people are the cleanest." Similarly, the condescending doctor who torments Calliope with tests and seeks to exploit the rarity of her condition is as close as the novel comes to a villain.

In other literatures and cultures, a woman who permits incestuous relations would be an object of condemnation and horror. But a clue to how lightly we are expected to regard Desdemona comes when Eugenides describes the braids emblematic of her nature: "not delicate like a little girl's but heavy and womanly, possessing a natural power, like a beaver's tail." The sudden incongruity of the last two words raises the sentence from something one might find in run-of-the-mill magical realism to true, subversive comedy.

Such highly compressed, explosively sudden comparisons are Eugenides' forte. Some are charmingly written, as when Calliope's aunt Zoë sits so meekly in church that "the round gray hat she wore looked like the head of a screw fastening her to her pew." Others have the force of poetry, as when Calliope says of the freckled, red-haired schoolmate whom she secretly adores, "It was like autumn, looking at her. It was like driving up north to see the colors."

When Eugenides deals not in metaphor but in historical detail, he imbues facts with the same piquancy as his imagination. The 1967 Detroit riots that destroy Lefty's cozy, dumpy little restaurant, The Zebra Room, resonate with the Stephanideses' recollection of Smyrna in flames. And consider the antic boldness of making use of the Nation of Islam's Mosque Number One as the setting for the recently emigrated Desdemona's first job, teaching young black women how to make the silk for the congregants' robes.

Even a great-hearted novel such as this one has patches that are marginally less satisfying. Eugenides' home turf is adolescence. Perhaps for this reason, Cal's account of his own middle age in the present day seems dim and perfunctory, a mere episode before we return to the moment when Calliope, now Cal, presents her mother with her new identity.

Their wonderful brief exchange expands a singular genetic event into an inescapable human experience, one that takes place between every child impatient to embrace the future dictated by one's nature, and every parent who shrinks from the inevitable hardships that child must undergo.

Italy

2008-04-21T11:34:00.002-04:00

Teddy Rose said, "I would also like to suggest a book for Italy: The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland. Here's the link to my review."

After Artemisia Gentileschi, a promising young painter, is raped by her instructor, a papal court orders her torture and her father betrays her. Shamed but not vanquished, she asks her harsh parent to arrange her marriage to another painter and, thus vindicated in the eyes of society and the church, she begins a new life. But not a happy one. Artemisia's visceral passion to create art -- specifically, to depict on canvas the kind of strong heroine she herself has become -- threatens to overwhelm her roles as wife and daughter. Her struggle to reconcile her conflicting passions lies at the heart of Vreeland's The Passion of Artemisia.

England

2008-04-21T11:04:00.004-04:00

Teddy Rose said, "I read another good book for England I would like to suggest: The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue. Here's the link to my review."

The Sealed Letter is based on a divorce scandal that shook Great Britain in 1864. Miss Emily "Fido" Faithful, a unmarried businesswoman active in the feminist movement, runs into her friend, Helen Codrington. Fido used to live with Helen and her husband Harry and, so, gets caught up in the details of Helen’s failing marriage. When she tries to help Helen, there's mud slinging from both sides in court and the tabloids. What will happen to Fido's reputation? The Sealed Letter is Donoghue's third book exploring Victorian society and life as seen through the eyes of the poor (Slammerkin), the very rich (Life Mask), and the middle class (The Sealed Letter). This book won't be published until April 30, 2008, the middle of next week.

Hungary

2008-03-31T14:24:00.002-04:00

Wendy said, "I just finished reading Embers, by Sandor Marai - great book which would satisfy reading about Hungary as it is set there and is also written by a Hungarian author. My review is located here.

Sandor Marai's Embers is set in a castle at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. An old aristocrat waits to greet the friend he has not seen for forty-one years. In the course of this one night, from dinner until dawn, the two men will fight a duel of words and silences, of stories, of accusations and evasions, that will encompass their entire lives and that of a third person, missing from the candlelit dining hall - the now dead chatelaine of the castle. The last time the three of them sat together was in this room, after a stag hunt in the forest. The year was 1900. No game was shot that day, but the reverberations were cataclysmic. And the time of reckoning has finally arrived.

Ireland

2008-03-19T11:53:00.004-04:00

Amy said, "I read Anne Enright's novel The Gathering for Ireland in the challenge. Here is a link to my review." Bonnie added, "I want to read the book now, after reading Amy's review, which ends with a fascinating quote."

There are so few people given us to love...We each love someone, even though they will die. And we keep loving them, even when they are not there to love anymore. And there is no logic or use to any of this, that I can see.

Anne Enright is one of Ireland’s most singular voices. The Gathering is a moving, evocative portrait of a large Irish family. The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan are gathering in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother, Liam, drowned in the sea. His sister, Veronica, collects the body and keeps the dead man company, guarding the secret she shares with him — something that happened in their grandmother’s house in the winter of 1968. As Enright traces the line of betrayal and redemption through three generations, her distinctive intelligence twists the world a fraction and gives it back to us in a new and unforgettable light. The Gathering is a novel about love and disappointment, about how memories warp and secrets fester, and how fate is written in the body, not in the stars.
__________

Wendy also also thought this was a great book about Ireland. Here's her review.

Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

2008-03-16T12:13:00.003-04:00

Jill said, "I just finished People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. While this book had many settings, I chose this book for Yugoslavia because I feel that it's a wonderful testiment to the multi-cultural city of Sarajevo and hope that the war wounds will continue to heal for this beautiful city. Here is my review.

The setting for People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks is Europe, as the author takes us to places as far apart as Sarajevo and Seville, as close as Vienna and Venice. But Jill is right: most of it is set in Sarajevo, which is currently the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was formerly part of Yugoslavia, which no longer exists. (Wow, is that sentence convoluted enough, or what?) Here's the story:

In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding — an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair — she begins to unlock the book's mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book's journey from its salvation back to its creation.

In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city's rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah's extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna's investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics.
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This book is being discussed now, during March, on the Book Buddies blog.

France

2008-02-29T06:04:00.026-05:00

Bonnie: "During a recent Google search, I ran across a blog ... by me! ... where I had mentioned a book two years ago: The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson. It's a novel about France in the time of Louis XVI, the last king of France. Both he and his wife Marie Antoinette died on the guillotine during the French Revolution. Here's my review."

Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life — from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French Revolution. Carolly Erickson takes the reader deep into the psyche of France’s doomed queen: her love affair with handsome Swedish diplomat Count Axel Fersen, who risked his life to save her; her fears on the terrifying night the Parisian mob broke into her palace bedroom intent on murdering her and her family; her harrowing attempted flight from France in disguise; her recapture and the grim months of harsh captivity; her agony when her beloved husband was guillotined and her young son was torn from her arms, never to be seen again.
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Marg said about The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette, "This was one case where the diary format really didn't work for me! I did find that it worked in Sandra Gulland's trilogy about Josephine Bonaparte which would also be another excellent choice to read about France."

The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. ~ When Marie-Josephe-Rose Tascher was a girl in Martinique, a voodoo priestess predicted she would be unhappily married, would then be widowed, and would become queen, an unlikely prediction. An arranged marriage takes Rose to France, where she endures her husband's infidelity and abandonment before his execution leaves her a widow. Her marriage to Napoleon concludes the novel.

Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe ~ Beginning in Paris in 1796, the saga continues as Josephine awakens to her new life as Mrs. Napoleon Bonaparte. Through her intimate diary entries and Napoleon's impassioned love letters, a portrait of an incredible woman emerges. As Napoleon marches to power, we witness, through Josephine, the political intrigues and personal betrayals that result in death, ruin, and victory for those closest to her.

The Last Great Dance on Earth ~ Married now for four tumultuous years, Napoleon is Josephine's great love, and she his. They rise to power, ultimately being crowned emperor and empress. Pressured to produce an heir, Napoleon divorces Josephine and remarries. A son is born shortly before his unsuccessful invasion of Russia, his last campaign before abdication and exile. Josephine dies in 1814, thinking about Napoleon.

England

2008-02-26T20:04:00.004-05:00

Amy said, "The book I read for England was White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Here is the link to my review. It is a fascinating epic novel about life in North London from the early 70's to the millenium."

This novel gets high praise from all over, like this from Barnes & Noble: "Smith's debut novel is touted as a remarkable look at the immigrant's experience in a post colonial world." It's set in postwar London, featuring an unlikely friendship between Archie Jones, a simple working-class Brit, and Samad Iqbal, a Muslim Bengali waiter in an Indian restaurant. They had met in the English army in WW2. After the war, the two commiserate over their lives and those of their children; their dreams, disappointments and expectations unfolding with riotous humor as the characters in both generations struggle to carve out their own cultural identities. The book is filled with all the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of London and has themes of history, religion, faith, and science. Amy's description says it best: "The novel is a rollercoaster ride from one theme to another, from one character to another, touching on things like race, immigrants, religion, genetic engineering, sibling rivalry, parenting, fundamentalism, class and cultural differences, feminism, love, and history."

Belgium

2008-02-19T17:30:00.008-05:00

Amy said, "I noticed you did not have any book suggested for Belgium (where I live). I would like to recommend The Sorrow of Belgium by Hugo Claus, the most important book of one of our most famous 20th century writers (he has been suggested as a Nobel prize candidate for many years now.)"

The Sorrow of Belgium is a portrait of a wartime Belgium and one boy's coming of age -- emotionally, sexually, and politically. Louis struggles through the trials of adolescence in occupied Belgium between 1939 and 1947. His family is staunchly Flemish and willingly collaborates with the Germans. Through it all is the tension between the Flemish and French linguistic and cultural traditions of Belgium.

Amy came back to add: "Ironically enough, to celebrate the book's 25th anniversary, there was a reading marathon of it held in my town (Leuven) just last weekend."
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UPDATES: Amy said, "I have sad news: Hugo Claus died today. Here is the link to my post on this." You'll find Amy's review on her blog.

Samantha said, "If anyone's interested, here's my review for the book, the first one of my travel around the world." Bonnie added, "When I went to read her review, I discovered she has a list of books she plans to read for 31 countries of Western Europe. Thanks, Samantha, both the review and the list are helpful to the rest of us.

Sudan

2008-02-15T19:21:00.002-05:00

Jill said, "I have another 'Sudan' book to add to our list - and this one packs a powerful punch. It's called The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari (my review). This book will be released in the U.S. on March 18, 2008, and I highly recommend it.

"I am the translator who has taken journalists into dangerous Darfur. It is my intention now to take you there in this book, if you have the courage to come with me."

Daoud Hari – his friends call him David – is a living witness to the brutal genocide under way in Darfur. The Translator is a memoir of how one person has made a difference in the world, an on-the-ground account of one of the biggest stories of our time. Using his high school knowledge of languages as his weapon, Daoud Hari has helped inform the world about Darfur.

Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman, grew up in a village in the Darfur region of Sudan. As a child he saw colorful weddings, raced his camels across the desert, and played games in the moonlight after his work was done. In 2003, this traditional life was shattered when helicopter gunships appeared over Darfur’s villages, followed by Sudanese-government-backed militia groups attacking on horseback, raping and murdering citizens and burning villages. Ancient hatreds and greed for natural resources had collided, and the conflagration spread.

Though Hari’s village was attacked and destroyed, his family decimated and dispersed, he himself escaped. Roaming the battlefield deserts on camels, he and a group of his friends helped survivors find food, water, and the way to safety. When international aid groups and reporters arrived, Hari offered his services as a translator and guide. In doing so, he risked his life again and again, for the government of Sudan had outlawed journalists in the region, and death was the punishment for those who aided the "foreign spies." And then, inevitably, his luck ran out and he was captured.
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Wendy, who has also reviewed this book, says it could count for the country of Chad as well, though that country isn't mentioned in her review or Jill's either. Wendy, could you tell us more, please?

Uruguay

2008-02-11T10:45:00.000-05:00

Bonnie said, "When I go blog-hopping, I usually discover all sorts of books I've never seen before, and today I found out about The Shipyard by Juan Carlos Onetti, about Uruguay."

With all the enthusiasm of a man condemned to be hanged, Larsen takes up his new post. Like the other workers at the shipyard, he routinely goes through the motions. Every so often, his sense of reality is shaken by a tremor of self-deception, and then it is possible to believe that the yard's glory is not just a thing of the past.

Acknowledged as one of the great Latin American writers of the twentieth century, Onetti was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1909. His novels include The Well, No Man's Life, A Brief Life, and his best known work, The Shipyard. He was awarded Uruguay's national literature prize in 1963 and Spain's Cervantes Prize in 1980.

Pakistan

2008-01-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Jill said, "I just finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which is my 'Pakistan' read for our challenge. Here is my review."

At a café table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful meeting . . . Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite "valuation" firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his infatuation with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore. But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez’s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.

Bonnie said, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is a novel. I felt a need to say that because this synopsis and Jill's review make it seem so real!"

Wendy's review of The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Turkey

2008-01-12T21:10:00.000-05:00

Bonnie said, "I found a review of The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak on Myrthe's The Armenian Odar Reads. The book looks good, so I wanted to add it to our list."

In her second novel written in English, Elif Shafak confronts her country’s violent past in a vivid and colorful tale set in both Turkey and the United States. At its center is the "bastard" of the title, Asya, a nineteen-year-old woman who loves Johnny Cash and the French Existentialists, and the four sisters of the Kazanci family who all live together in an extended household in Istanbul: Zehila, the zestful, headstrong youngest sister who runs a tattoo parlor and is Asya’s mother; Banu, who has newly discovered herself as a clairvoyant; Cevriye, a widowed high school teacher; and Feride, a hypochondriac obsessed with impending disaster. Their one estranged brother lives in Arizona with his wife and her Armenian daughter, Armanoush. When Armanoush secretly flies to Istanbul in search of her identity, she finds the Kazanci sisters and becomes fast friends with Asya. A secret is uncovered that links the two families and ties them to the 1915 Armenian deportations and massacres.

Bangladesh

2008-01-11T04:45:00.000-05:00

Historia said, "I found a VERY good book from Bangladesh - one of the poorest countries on the world. I am still reading it, but I like it so much, I wrote up a post about it: Banker to the Poor."

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus is nonfiction. The simple idea of micro-loans is revolutionizing developing economies. Instead of lending large sums of money to often corrupt bureaucracies, economist Muhammad Yunus founded Grameen Bank to offer tiny sums, as little as $5, to individual craftspeople, tenant farmers, and subsistence entrepreneurs so they could keep themselves afloat between buying and selling. That was in 1983. Sixteen years later, with $2.5 billion being dispersed annually to more than two million families in rural Bangladesh and repayment rates close to 100 percent, Yunus is being hailed as the father of a new economic model that is bringing people out of poverty. In Banker to the Poor, Yunus explains why his program works.

World books ~ a list

2008-01-06T11:21:00.002-05:00

Debnance said: "Here are some highly recommended around the world reads that I've already read."

Africa:
Mango Elephants in the Sun ~ by Susana Herrera (Cameroon)
Angry Wind ~ by Jeffrey Tayler (Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Mali)
Dark Star Safari ~ by Paul Theroux (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa)
The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears ~ by Dinaw Mengestu (Ethiopia)
The Camel Bookmobile ~ by Masha Hamilton (Kenya)
Glory in a Camel's Eye ~ by Jeffrey Tayler (Morocco)
Half of a Yellow Sun ~ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families ~ by Philip Gourevich (Rwanda)
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin (Zimbabwe)

Antarctica:
Surviving Antarctica ~ by Andrea White (Antarctica)

Asia:
The Places in Between ~ by Rory Stewart (Afghanistan)
Oracle Bones ~ by Peter Hessler (China)
Family Matters ~ by Rohinton Mistry (India)
Eat, Pray, Love ~ by Elizabeth Gilbert (India, Italy, Indonesia)
The Septembers of Shiraz ~ by Dalia Sofer (Iran)
Ten Thousand Lovers ~ by Edeet Ravel (Israel)
Japanland ~ by Karin Muller (Japan)
Tasting the Sky ~ by Ibtisam Barakat (Palestine)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist ~ by Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan)
Three Cups of Tea ~ by Greg Mortenson (Pakistan, Afghanistan)
Madonnas of Leningrad ~ by Debra Dean (Russia)
Shadow of the Silk Road ~ by Colin Thubron (China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey)
Zaatar Days, Henna Nights ~ by Maliha Masood (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Turkey)

Australia/South Pacific:
Shooting the Boh ~ by Tracy Johnson (Borneo)
Getting Stoned with Savages ~ by J. Maarten Troost (Fuji, Vanuatu)
The Naked Tourist ~ by Lawrence Osborne (New Guinea)
An Evening Among Headhunters ~ by Lawrence Millman (Tonga)

Europe:
Andorra ~ by Peter Cameron (Andorra)
Small Island ~ by Andrea Levy (England)
Words in a French Life ~ by Kristin Espinasse (France)
The Keep ~ by Jennifer Egan (Germany)
My Family and Other Animals ~ by Gerald Durrell (Greece)
Independent People ~ by Halldor Laxness (Iceland)
The Ginger Man ~ by J. P. Donleavy (Ireland)
Dreamers ~ by Knut Hamsun (Norway)
The Trumpeter of Krakow ~ by Eric P. Kelly (Poland)
The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo ~ by Paula Huntley (Serbia)
Spanish Lessons ~ by Derek Lambert (Spain)
A Child's Christmas in Wales ~ by Dylan Thomas (Wales)

North America:
Madam Dread ~ by Kathie Klarreich (Haiti)
Place Where the Sea Remembers ~ by Sandra Benitez (Mexico)
My Name is Asher Lev ~ by Chaim Potok (United States)

South America:
Journey to the River Sea ~ by Eva Ibbotson (Brazil)
Portrait in Sepia ~ by Isabel Allende (Chile)
Secret of the Andes ~ by Ann Nolan Clark (Peru)

Egypt

2007-12-29T15:12:00.000-05:00

Jill said, "Hi, Bonnie! I just finished a book set in Egypt: Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. It won't be released until March 2008, but here is my review if you would like to post it."

A forty-year-old schoolteacher from Ohio still reeling from the tragedies of the Great War and the influenza epidemic, Agnes has come into a modest inheritance that allows her to take the trip of a lifetime to Egypt and the Holy Land. Arriving at the Semiramis Hotel just as the Peace Conference convenes, Agnes, with her plainspoken American opinions–and a small, noisy dachshund named Rosie–enters into the company of the historic luminaries who will, in the space of a few days at a hotel in Cairo, invent the nations of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.

Neither a pawn nor a participant at the conference, Agnes is ostensibly insignificant, and that makes her a welcome sounding board for Churchill, Lawrence, and Bell. It also makes her unexpectedly attractive to the charismatic German spy Karl Weilbacher. As Agnes observes the tumultuous inner workings of nation-building, she is drawn more and more deeply into geopolitical intrigue and toward a personal awakening.

African nations

2007-12-28T12:59:00.001-05:00

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah (memoir, Sierra Leone)
You Must Set Forth at Dawn, by Wole Soyinka (memoir, Nigeria)
A Krio Engagement and Other Stories, by Nana Grey-Johnson (short stories, The Gambia)
Jaime Bunda, Secret Agent, by Pepetela (mystery, Angola)
I Will Marry When I Want, by Thiong’o (play, Kenya)
States and Power in Africa, by Herbst (political analysis, continent-wide)

In The Country of Men, by Hisahm Matar
There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene
A Bend in the River, by V.S. Naipal
A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, by Gil Courtemanche
Graceland, by Chris Abani
Life and Times of Michael K, by J.M. Coetzee

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd
A Sport of Nature by Nadine Gordimer

Links - Nuruddin Farah (Somalia)
A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah (Sierra Leone)
The Cairo Trilogy - Naguib Mahfouz (3 books, Egypt)
The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears - Dinaw Megestu (Ethiopia)
Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
No Future Without Forgiveness - Desmond Tutu (non-fic)
Life and Times of Michael K - J.M. Coetzee
Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
Aman: The Story of a Somali Girl - Virginia Lee Barnes (biography)
A Bend in the River - V.S. Naipal
Season of Migration to the North - Salih El Tayyib

Dinesen's Out of Africa
http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/?s=%22out+of+africa%22

The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears

Half of a Yellow Sun
Flame Trees of Thika
Story of an African Farm
What is the What
Frankie and Stankie
The Darling
Brazzaville Beach
Cry, the Beloved Country
No Longer At Ease
July's People
A Sport of Nature
Before I Forget
So Long a Letter
The Camel Bookmobile
Ladysmith
West With the Night

We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
A Long Way Home: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmae Beah
Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
Listening for Lions by Julius Lester
The Old African by Julius Lester
African Princess by Joyce Hansen

Ladies No 1 Detective Agency
http://tukopamoja.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!8234535A7FECFC04!1166.entry
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NOTE: I got these lists from the Africa Reading Challenge and will divide them into separate posts as soon as I can.

Cuba

2007-11-25T13:10:00.000-05:00

Jill said, "I just finished The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, which is set in Cuba. Here is my review.

The last novel Ernest Hemingway saw published, The Old Man and the Sea has proved itself to be one of the enduring works of American fiction. It is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, Santiago, and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. The struggle isn't so much over one fish, but the act of living -- fully, actively, and robustly.

Sarah suggests lots of books ~ I'll separate the books soon

2007-11-18T00:30:00.000-05:00

Sarah has left a new comment on your post "Let's go around the WORLD":

This challenge looks fantastic! I have been compiling my list and had a few to add. Most of these I have read but many before I started reviewing on my blog. I've linked to the ones I've reviewed. Here we go!
SmallWorld

Australia
1 ~ Mutant Message from Down Under by Marlo Morgan

Botswana
2 ~ Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books.
(Reviewed here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/64415/Book+Review%3A+The+No.+1+Ladies%26%2339%3B+Detective+Agency.html

Cambodia
3 ~ The Stones Cry Out: A Cambodian Childhood by Molyda Szymusiak

Chile
By Isabelle Allende:
4 ~ Daughter of Fortune
5 ~ House of Spirits
6 ~ Portrait in Sepia. Reviewed here on my blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/200559/

China
7 ~ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Reviewed here on my blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/334350/

Congo
8 ~ Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

Egypt
9 ~ Mara, Daughter of the Nile

Germany and Poland
10 ~ The Nazi Officer's Wife. Review: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/357439/

India
11 ~ Great Hedge of India : The Search for the Living Barrier That Divided a Nation by Roy Moxham

Iran
12 ~ Veil of Roses (Laura Fitzgerald)

Russia and Poland
13 ~ The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig reviewed here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SmallWorld/327041/

Tibet/India
14 ~ Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin

Canada

2007-11-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

In a comment on the post about The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson, Sarah said, "Lawson's Crow Lake is also fantastic. My review is here." Thanks, Sarah.

Narrated by a fifteen-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, Crow Lake by Mary Lawson weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions. The story is set in the rural “badlands” of northern Ontario, where heartbreak and hardship are mirrored in the landscape. For the farming Pye family, life is a Greek tragedy where the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, and terrible events occur – offstage.

Centerstage are the Morrisons, whose tragedy looks more immediate if less brutal, but is, in reality, insidious and divisive. Orphaned young, Kate Morrison was her older brother Matt’s protegee, her fascination for pond life fed by his passionate interest in the natural world. Now a zoologist, she can identify organisms under a microscope but seems blind to the state of her own emotional life. And she thinks she’s outgrown her siblings – Luke, Matt, and Bo – who were once her entire world.
In this universal drama of family love and misunderstandings, of resentments harbored and driven underground, Lawson ratchets up the tension with heartbreaking humor and consummate control, continually overturning one’s expectations right to the very end.

Italy

2007-10-20T13:10:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "Hi, Bonnie: I hope you're doing well! I read a wonderful book set in Italy called A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (my review). It's the story of refugee and Italian Jews during the German occupation of Italy (at the end of World War II). It's a heart-breaking story but a wonderful tribute to Italian people who hid the Jews from German soldiers - and fought for the freedom of their country."

It is September 8, 1943, and 14-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian with a suitcase in her hand. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to be safe at last, now that the Italians have broken with Germany and made a separate peace with the Allies. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it becomes overnight an open battleground among the Nazis, the Allies, resistance fighters, Jews in hiding, and ordinary Italian civilians trying to survive. A Thread of Grace, Mary Doria Russell's first historical novel, traces the lives of a handful of fascinating characters. Through them, she tells the little-known but true story of the network of Italian citizens who saved the lives of forty-three thousand Jews during the war’s final phase.

England

2007-10-13T09:25:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "Hi, Bonnie: My England choice for this challenge is the very light-hearted The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. Here is my review. Kinsella transports you to the English countryside, which seems so peaceful, and the hub bub of England. Lots of fun!"

Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership. Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does … will she want it back?

Antarctica

2007-10-12T23:07:00.000-04:00

Historia said, "Talking about fiction in Antarctica, you might want to consider Decipher by Stel Pavlou. An 'end of the world' novel set in Antarctica because Atlantis was in Antarctica. Here's my post about the book. It's a big book (over 500 pages) but I really enjoyed it."

In Decipher by Stel Pavlou, the story is that mankind has had 12,000 years to decipher the message, with now only one week left. There is a signal emanating from deep within the ice of Antarctica. Atlantis has awoken. Ancient monuments all over the world from the Pyramids of Giza, to Mexico to the ancient sites of China are reacting ... to a brewing crisis not of this earth, but somewhere out in the solar system. Connecting to each other through the oceans. Using low frequency sound waves to create an ancient network. The earth is thrown into panic stations. For it seems that the signals emanating from Atlantis are a prelude to something much greater. Could it be that the entire city is in fact one giant ancient machine? And to what end? For what purpose?

It is the year 2012, the same year Mayan belief prophesised the end of the world. Two armies, American and Chinese, stand on the brink of war for the control of the most potent force ever known to man. The secrets of Atlantis. Secrets which are encoded in crystal shards retrieved from the sunken city. Secrets which mankind has had twelve thousand years to decipher ... but which will now destroy it within one week.
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NOTE: Historia, I apologize, but I saw this comment from 9-16-07 for the first time today, when I read another comment you posted today. I don't understand why I was not notified by the blog, which usually happens. I would have jumped on this book because several years ago I read a book about Atlantis being in Antarctica; it was fascinating. I'll have to look up that title and post it, too. And I do want to read Decipher by Stel Pavlou as well. Thanks for this recommendation.

Canada

2007-10-03T00:45:00.000-04:00

Booklogged said on her blog A Reader's Journey, "Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan ... is a masterpiece, worthy to be called a classic. Barometer is set in Halifax, Nova Scotia during WWI. The book encompasses only eight days during the first part of December in 1917. There was a wonderful sense of place, so much so that I could feel the damp coldness, picture the overcast grey sky and hear the boats churning in the bay. The pace of the story continues to build towards the real life catastrophic explosion that occurred in the bay and had such a devastating effect on Halifax."

Penelope Wain believes that her lover, Neil Macrae, has been killed while serving overseas under her father. That he died apparently in disgrace does not alter her love for him, even though her father is insistent on his guilt. What neither Penelope or her father knows is that Neil is not dead, but has returned to Halifax to clear his name. Hugh MacLennan’s first novel is a compelling romance set against the horrors of wartime and the catastrophic Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917.

Brazil

2007-09-30T10:50:00.000-04:00

C.B. James said, "I notice there's nothing from Brazil yet. I recommend Keeper by Mal Peet. This is a young adult novel set in a lumber town in the Brazilian rainforest. The hero meets a mysterious man in the jungle who may be a ghost who teaches him how to be a goal keeper. The hero then goes on to become a world cup winning goal keeper. The combination of soccer how to book, ghost story, coming of age story worked very well for me. I found the book hard to put down even though I know nothing about soccer."

When Paul Faustino of LA NACION flips on his tape recorder for an exclusive interview with El Gato — the phenomenal goalkeeper who single-handedly brought his team the World Cup — the seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no ordinary story. Instead, the legendary El Gato narrates a spellbinding tale that begins in the South American rainforest, where a ghostly but very real mentor, the Keeper, emerges to teach a poor, gawky boy the most thrilling secrets of the game. A seamless blend of magic realism and exhilarating soccer action, this evocative novel will haunt readers long after the story ends.

Afghanistan

2007-09-30T10:37:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "Hi, Bonnie: I finished Hosseini's latest book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, which is also set in Afghanistan. This was another powerful story, like The Kite Runner. My review is here."

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss, and by fate. As they endure the ever-escalating dangers around them, in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul, they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

How to join this challenge

2007-09-18T20:03:00.001-04:00

All you have to do to join the challenge is make yourself a list of what you want to read. You may change the list at any time, add to it, take away yucky choices, or add books one at a time as you read them. Post your questions on the blog, so the answers will help other bloggers. When you finish a good book, tell us about it. If you provide a link to your actual post about a book, I'll add the link so others may see what you thought about the book. Suggest titles of books you run across, especially ones that you think are good. Share your thoughts with us by clicking on COMMENTS below any of the posts you happen to be reading, and I'll be notified that I have a comment.

I'll probably never know how many people around the world are doing this challenge, but that's okay. I think we should help each other, but many are afraid to post their names online. It's okay to use an alias or screen name. It's okay to be anonymous. But it's also okay to say, "This is what I think about the book." Then tell us. Was it wonderful? awful? so-so? a keeper? What did you like about it? I have a set of book review questions on my other blog ... Bonnie's Books ... which I should probably post on ALL my bookish blogs. You'll find it in the links below my icon: Book review outline.

World travel

2007-09-17T02:44:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "I listened to the audio version of Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks (and Micah Sparks) while driving to and from work, 25 miles each way. It was wonderful traveling along with them to so many exciting places around the world, so I'm suggesting this book for all of us booking around the world."

As moving as his bestselling works of fiction (like The Notebook and Message in a Bottle), Nicholas Sparks's unique memoir, written with his brother, chronicles the life-affirming journey of two brothers bound by memories, both humorous and tragic. In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother Micah set off on a three-week trip around the world. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at 37 and 38 respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family. As Nicholas and Micah travel the globe, the intimate story of their family unfolds in the details of the untimely deaths of their parents and only sister. Against the backdrop of the wonders of the world, the Sparks brothers band together to heal, to remember, and to learn to live life to the fullest.

The book takes them (and us) to the almost mythical sites of Guatemala's Mayan ruins, Peru's Incan temples at Machu Picchu, Easter Island, the killing fields in Cambodia, the Taj Mahal, and Ethiopian rock cathedrals.

Antarctica

2007-09-15T22:58:00.000-04:00

C.B. James said, "There's not a lot of fiction about Antarctica. I recommend The Brief History of the Dead which has one plot line that does take place in the antarctic."

"Remember me when I'm gone" just took on a whole new meaning.

The City is inhabited by the recently departed, who reside there only as long as they remain in the memories of the living. Among the current residents of this afterlife are Luka Sims, who prints the only newspaper in the City, with news from the other side; Coleman Kinzler, a vagrant who speaks the cautionary words of God; and Marion and Phillip Byrd, who find themselves falling in love again after decades of marriage.

On Earth, Laura Byrd is trapped by extreme weather in an Antarctic research station. She's alone and unable to contact the outside world: her radio is down and the power is failing. She's running out of supplies as quickly as she's running out of time.

Kevin Brockmeier interweaves these two stories in a spellbinding tale of human connections across boundaries of all kinds. The Brief History of the Dead is the work of a remarkably gifted writer.

Antarctica

2007-09-15T09:45:00.000-04:00

Historia said, "For those who wanted me to find that book from Antarctica, well, Here it is. Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole, by Jerri Nielsen (2001)."

Ice Bound is Dr. Jerri Nielsen's account of her experience at the Pole, the sea change as she becomes "of the Ice," and her realization that she would rather be on Antarctica than anywhere else on earth. It is also a thrilling adventure of researchers and scientists embattled by a hostile environment; a penetrating exploration of the dynamics of an isolated, intensely connected community faced with adversity; and, at its core, a powerfully moving drama of love and loss, of one woman's voyage of self-discovery through an extraordinary struggle for survival. Jerri Nielsen was a forty-six-year-old doctor working in Ohio when she made the decision to take a year's sabbatical at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Antarctica, the most remote and perilous place on Earth. The "Polies," as the inhabitants are known, live in almost total darkness for six months of the year, in winter temperatures as low as 100 degrees below zero -- with no way in or out before the spring.

During the long winter of 1999, Dr. Nielsen, solely responsible for the mental and physical fitness of a team of researchers, construction workers, and support staff, discovered a lump in her breast. Consulting via E-mail with doctors in the United States, she performed a biopsy on herself, and in July began chemotherapy treatments to ensure her survival until conditions permitted her rescue in October. A daring rescue by the Air National Guard ensued, who landed, dropped off a replacement physician, and minutes later took off with Dr. Nielsen.
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10-12-07 UPDATE: Historia has now read this book. Read her review.

Antarctica

2007-09-15T08:33:00.000-04:00

Historia said, "I also found 2 more Antarctica books as well: Life on the Ice: No One Goes to Antarctica Alone by Roff Smith and No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women and Their Extraordinary Journey Across Antarctica by Liv Arnesen [and Ann Bancroft]."

In Life on the Ice, Roff Smith provides an account of several trips to Antarctica, where he visited the South Pole, the large American base at McMurdo, and the smaller bases that other countries maintain. He witnesses the final run of a geriatric sled dog team, the very last time dogs would be used in Antarctica and, in addition, he sailed through the Drake Passage and then around the coast in a yacht. (Note: There is also a book by this title for primary grades, but by a different author.)

No Horizon Is So Far narrates the story of two women making history. International educators and millions of students in 116 countries participated in an online curriculum as the two ex-schoolteachers began their grueling 2,300-mile journey in mid-November 2000. Liv Arnesen, 50, an Oslo resident, was the first woman to ski solo to the South Pole; her book about the journey was a bestseller in Norway. Ann Bancroft, 48, of Minnesota, was the first woman to cross the ice to both the North and South Poles; she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. In February 2001, Bancroft and Arnesen, who started as total strangers, became the first women to cross Antarctica on foot.

Canada

2007-09-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

Juliette said, "I have, in my opinion, an excellent choice for Canada and that is having read Blind Assassin as well! My choice so far would be The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson. Gorgeously written by a native of Canada who now lives in South London Mary Lawson thouroughly researched her setting. A fine story of the joys and sorrows of life, relationships and shocking events. Set in the author’s native Canada this book centres on the invented town of Struan. I use the word centres deliberately. The characters are fixed on their ‘place’ and the narrative reflects time and again the impact of life and the characters’ perceptions of life beyond their town. It is not only the characters who reflect, it was myself reading and taking in their point of view that made me ponder how differently the second world war must have seemed to those living lives so very far away, in such different circumstances. Much of Mary Lawson’s prose is almost understated yet at the same time tremendously powerful. She intertwines a sense of place with her characters’ sense of belonging and a way of life that may or may not continue. When Pete and Ian sit eye to eye with a myriad of dragonflies on a ledge formed of rock three billion years old, their communing with nature is almost palpable.

The whole story encourages the reader to question the values by which we live and the influences that are brought to bear upon us as we make what turn out to be life changing decisions. As Ian thought about Jake following his return ‘it was hard to imagine Struan or anything in it being a part of Jake. He didn’t look as if he had ever belonged’. Yet Ian envied him, was taken in by his outward countenance and thought that he was ‘someone who had all the answers’. This novel painted a real sense of place for me, place in time and the changing nature of place for us all wherever we are. Pete, who had a breadth of knowledge and understanding that Ian admired, chose to stay in that sacred place to make sure the tourists did not find all the best places to fish. This book raises questions of sustainability for caring for our ‘place’, wherever that may be and however each one of us interprets that sense of place. An excellent book that will reverberate within me for some time."

Here's what the publishers says:

The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson weaves together the stories of two families as they seek solace and redemption across two generations. Set against the backdrop of northern Ontario’s haunting landscapes, the book opens with an unforgettable image of Arthur and Jake Dunn, two brothers whose jealousies will take them beyond the edge of reason, to a deadly point of no return. The sons of a farmer, they come of age during the 1930s, when money is tight and a world war is looming. When a beautiful young woman named Laura moves into their community, she unwittingly propels their sibling rivalry to its breaking point. Years later, the local doctor’s son, Ian, takes a job at the Dunn farm. His mother has left the family, and he develops a troubling attachment to Laura. As he desperately searches for direction in his own life, he stumbles onto a secret that forever alters the course of Arthur’s. With vivid scenes and stunning twists, this is a novel rich with conversation topics.

Israel

2007-08-26T05:19:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "We Just Want to Live Here is by Amal Rifa'i and Odelia Ainbinder, both teenagers who live in Jerusalem, but one is Muslim and the other is Jewish. Reading their correspondence helped me understand how each side feels in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. My review of this book is HERE."

In We Just Want to Live Here: An Unlikely Teenage Friendship in the Two Jerusalems we meet Palestinian Amal Rifa'i and Israeli Odelia Ainbinder, two teenage girls who live in the same city, yet worlds apart. They met on a student exchange program to Switzerland. Weeks after they returned home, the latest, violent Intifada broke out in the fall of 2000. But two years later, Middle East correspondent Sylke Tempel encouraged Amal and Odelia to develop their friendship by facilitating an exchange of their deepest feelings through letters. In their letters, Amal and Odelia discuss the Intifada, their families, traditions, suicide bombers, and military service. They write frankly of their anger, frustrations, and fear, but also of their hopes and dreams for a brighter future. Together, Amal and Odelia give us a renewed sense of hope for peace in the Middle East.

Canada

2007-08-26T04:47:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather takes us to Quebec, Canada. Reading this novel made me want to see the rock of Quebec. You can read my review of this book HERE."

Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather is set at the end of the 17th century in Quebec. This novel describes the quiet, isolated life of Cecile Auclair and her father, the town apothecary.

Scotland

2007-08-22T16:26:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "My Heart's in the Lowlands: Ten Days in Bonny Scotland by Liz Curtis Higgs was a lot of fun to read. The author wrote the book in such a way that I felt I was actually riding along with her in Scotland, visiting one place and then another, eating here and there, feeling the rain. This book is different from any I have ever read before, and I can hardily recommend it to you. Take that trip with her and spend ten days in Scotland ... as I did. Read my review of the book."

“Let’s go, shall we? Just the two of us? I consider Galloway the country’s best kept secret: a place where time holds its breath, where ancient ruins dot the countryside in moss-covered splendor, where the natives are friendly and tourists are few, only because they don’t know what they’re missing. So, ten days in bonny Scotland. You’ll join me, aye?” -- from the book.

Best-selling novelist Liz Curtis Higgs invites you to take an entertaining journey through the South West of Scotland, known as Dumfries and Galloway. Without crossing the pond, changing time zones, or driving on the left side of the road, you’ll explore quaint villages and crumbling castles, old bookshops and charming tearooms in the delightful company of a guide whose love for this quiet nook of Scotland illuminates every page. Warm, personal, and deeply evocative, My Heart’s in the Lowlands transports you to an unforgettable corner of Scotland that will lay claim to your heart forever.

Egypt

2007-08-21T17:54:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich came out earlier this year, and is a very good choice for Egypt. Here's my review. It's historical in that it's about Napoleon invading Egypt, but it's also very much FICTION and not something that happened. The fun part is imagining what if it HAD happened this way."

What mystical secrets lie beneath the Great Pyramids? Traveling with Napoleon's ambitious expedition, American adventurer Ethan Gage solves a five-thousand-year-old riddle with the help of a mysterious medallion. Ethan Gage, assistant to Ben Franklin and expatriate American in post-revolutionary France, wins an ancient—and possibly cursed—medallion in a card game one night. It turns out that the medallion, covered in seemingly indecipherable symbols, may be linked to a Masonic mystery. That same night, however, Ethan is framed for a prostitute's murder and barely escapes France with his life.

Faced with either prison or death, Gage is offered a third choice: to accompany the new emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, as France sails to conquer Egypt — with Lord Nelson's fleet following close behind. Once Gage arrives, he encounters incredible surprises: one in the form of a beautiful Macedonian slave and another in the dawning knowledge that the medallion may solve one of the greatest riddles of history — who built the Great Pyramids, and why. What is revealed to Gage is more shocking than anyone could ever have imagined.

William Dietrich's books have been hailed for their vivid imagery, evocative atmospheres, impeccable historical accuracy, and ambitious plots. Now, in the breakout novel of his career, he delivers an enthralling story of intrigue, greed, and danger. Moving from the lascivious salons of post-revolutionary Paris to the Mediterranean's high seas to the treacherous sands of Egypt, Napoleon's Pyramids is a riveting, action-packed thriller that will captivate readers and introduce them to this supremely talented author.

Bolivia

2007-08-20T20:54:00.000-04:00

Sally said, "G'day, I have a suggestion for Bolivia. It is a young adult book called: Diego! Run by Deborah Ellis. It is a new release here in Australia - not sure about the rest of the world - but won't be too far away - and can be purchased online." Bonnie said, "Thanks, Sally. It turns out that we Americans have the same book, but with a different title. I Am a Taxi sounds like the same book, doesn't it?"

For twelve-year-old Diego and his family, home is the San Sebastian Women's Prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His parents farmed coca, a traditional Bolivian medicinal plant, until they got caught in the middle of the government's war on drugs. Diego's adjusted to his new life. His parents are locked up, but he can come and go: to school, to the market to sell his mother's hand-knitted goods, and to work as a "taxi", running errands for other prisoners. But then his little sister runs away, earning his mother a heavy fine. The debt and dawning realization of his hopeless situation make him vulnerable to his friend Mando's plan to make big money, fast. Soon, Diego is deep in the jungle, working as a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation. As his situation becomes more and more dangerous, he knows he must take a terrible risk if he ever wants to see his family again.
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UPDATE: Sally has read the book and written a review.

Hong Kong

2007-08-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "I recommend The Language of Threads by Gail Tsukiyama, which takes the reader to Hong Kong when it was a part of the British Empire. Wikipedia says, 'Hong Kong was a dependent territory of the United Kingdom from 1842 until the transfer of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997.' Here's my review."

Readers of Women of the Silk never forgot the moving, powerful story of Pei, brought to work in the silk house as a girl, grown into a quiet but determined young woman whose life is subject to cruel twists of fate, including the loss of her closest friend, Lin. Now we finally learn what happened to Pei, as she leaves the silk house for Hong Kong in the 1930s, arriving with a young orphan, Ji Shen, in her care. Her first job, in the home of a wealthy family, ends in disgrace, but soon Pei and Ji Shen find a new life in the home of Mrs. Finch, a British ex-patriate who welcomes them as the daughters she never had. Their idyllic life is interrupted, however, by war, and the Japanese occupation. Pei is once again forced to make her own way, struggling to survive and to keep her extended family alive as well. In this story of hardship and survival, Tsukiyama paints a portrait of women fighting the forces of war and time to make a life for themselves.

Ireland

2007-08-20T09:21:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "A good book for Ireland is The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín. I posted a review of the book last week."

It is Ireland in the early 1990s. Helen, her mother, Lily, and her grandmother, Dora have come together to tend to Helen's brother, Declan, who is dying of AIDS. With Declan's two friends, the six of them are forced to plumb the shoals of their own histories and to come to terms with each other. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín is a deeply resonant story about three generations of an estranged family reuniting to mourn an untimely death. In spare, luminous prose, Colm Tóibín explores the nature of love and the complex emotions inside a family at war with itself.

France

2007-08-18T19:35:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "Hi, Bonnie: I finished my 'France' read for this challenge: Chocolat by Joanne Harris. My review is posted on my blog. It's a wonderful tale of internal struggles in a small French village when a young woman and her daughter settle there and open up a chocolate shop - right before Lent. A wonderful read and highly recommended!"

Chocolat is a timeless novel of a straitlaced village's awakening to joy and sensuality. In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful newcomer Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrive and instantly begin to play havoc with Lenten vows. Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne's uncanny perception of its buyer's private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch? Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation, happiness, and a dramatic face-off between Easter solemnity and the pagan gaiety of a chocolate festival. Chocolat's every page offers a description of chocolate to melt in the mouths of chocoholics, francophiles, armchair gourmets, cookbook readers, and lovers of passion everywhere.

India

2007-08-18T11:42:00.002-04:00

Bonnie said, "Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors is a good choice for India. It's about the building of the Taj Mahal, one of the NEW seven wonders of the world. I have already read the book and written a review of it."

Journey to dazzling seventeenth-century Hindustan, where the reigning emperor, consumed with grief over the tragic death of his beloved wife, commissions the building of the Taj Mahal as a testament to the marvel of their love. Princess Jahanara, their courageous daughter, recounts their mesmerizing tale, while sharing her own parallel tale of forbidden love with the celebrated architect of the Taj Mahal. This impressive novel sweeps readers away to a historical Hindustan brimming with action and intrigue in an era when, alongside the brutalities of war and oppression, architecture and the art of love and passion reached a pinnacle of perfection.

Rwanda

2007-08-17T13:58:00.000-04:00

C.B. James said, "If you're interested in Dian Fossey I'd like to recommend Woman in the Mists by Canadian author Farley Mowat. It's an account of Dian Fossey life that includes a long section on her work with the gorillas and on attempts to solve her murder."

Woman in the Mists by Farley Mowat is the first full-length portrait of Dian Fossey, the world-famous scientist whose lonely crusade to save the mountain gorillas of Africa ended in her murder.

Rwanda

2007-08-16T23:50:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "I discovered Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey as I was reading about the two books about Rwanda suggested by Amy. Dian's story touches these three countries: Zaire (now the Congo, Brazzaville), Uganda (briefly), and Rwanda (where she was murdered)."

One of the most important books ever written about our connection to the natural world, Gorillas in the Mist is the riveting account of Dian Fossey's thirteen years in a remote African rain forest with the greatest of the great apes. Fossey's extraordinary efforts to ensure the future of the rain forest and its remaining mountain gorillas are captured in her own words and in candid photographs of this fascinating endangered species. As only she could, Fossey combined her personal adventure story with groundbreaking scientific reporting in an unforgettable portrait of one of our closest primate relatives. Although Fossey's work ended tragically in her murder, Gorillas in the Mist remains an invaluable testament to one of the longest-running field studies of primates and reveals her undying passion for her subject.

Rwanda

2007-08-16T22:39:00.002-04:00

Amy said, "I have two books for Rwanda. One which I have read is called Left to Tell by Imaculee Ilibigiza. I really enjoyed it. I have another on my TBR list called We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch. It is highly rated on Amazon."

Immaculee Ilibagiza shares her story in Left to Tell: One Woman's Story of Surviving the Rwandan Holocaust. She grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee's family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them. It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love — a love so strong she was able to seek out and forgive her family's killers. The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman's journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch is nonfiction. In April 1994, the Rwandan government called upon everyone in the Hutu majority to kill each member of the Tutsi minority, and over the next three months 800,000 Tutsis perished in the most unambiguous case of genocide since Hitler's war against the Jews. Philip Gourevitch's haunting work is an anatomy of the war in Rwanda, a vivid history of the tragedy's background, and an unforgettable account of its aftermath. One of the most acclaimed books of the year, this account will endure as a chilling document of our time.
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A review of We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families can be found at SmallWorld Reads.

Ireland

2007-08-14T19:45:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "I just finished my 'Ireland' book for this challenge. It's called Tipperary by Frank Delaney, and I received it as an early reviewer for Random House through www.librarything.com. I did not enjoy this book at all, but people who really, really want to learn about Irish history and have the patience of a saint (perhaps even St. Patrick) may like this book. Personally, I am glad to get it over with. My review is posted here.

Tipperary by Frank Delaney won't be published until November. Here's what Publishers Weekly says about the book:

Seventy-five years after the death of Charles O'Brien, an Anglo-Irish itinerant healer and occasional journalist born in 1860, his memoir is discovered in a trunk. The result is this touching novel from Ireland author Delaney, in which the manuscript's putative discoverer adds his own unreliable commentary to the fictive Charles's probably embellished perceptions, making for a glowing composite of a volatile Ireland. Charles claims to treat Oscar Wilde on his deathbed; advise a young James Joyce ("When you write... be sure to make it complicated. It will retain people's attention"); tell an appreciative Yeats the story of Finn MacCool; and inadvertently bring down Charles Stewart Parnell. He also meets the founders and leaders of Sinn Fein and the IRA, and will, as will Ireland itself, entwine his fate with theirs. And at 40, never-married Charles meets the love of his life, 18-year-old April Burke, an Englishwoman who repeatedly spurns him and exploits him, but who has a large role to play in his life. The narrator claims that his interest in Charles and April is academic, but he eventually confesses that he suspects their stories have some personal relationship to his own. Delaney's confident storytelling and quirky characterizations enrich a fascinating and complex period of Irish history.

Canada

2007-08-14T17:04:00.000-04:00

cbjames said, "I would like to suggest Carol Shields for Canada. The Stone Diaries is terrific."

The Stone Diaries is Carol Shields's most celebrated work and one of the most critically acclaimed and successful novels of the past two decades. A fictional autobiography of an ordinary woman, this multi-award-winning book (Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Governor-General's Award) serves as a record of the last century. Daisy Goodwill is on a journey of self-discovery. From her last days in a Florida nursing home she looks back in an attempt to make sense of her life story. Her birth in a turn of the century farmhouse is a shock, born to a woman so obese she doesn't even realize she is pregnant. Widowed on her honeymoon after her husband takes his own life, there is another marriage, children and a beloved hobby that becomes a career, of sorts. It is a life like any other, filled with the richness of human relations and the sting of disappointments both big and small. The beauty of this work lies in the details, the tiny brushstrokes of character and setting, at which Carol Shields is the undisputed master.

Cuba

2007-08-13T01:24:00.000-04:00

3M said, "I plan on reading Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene for Cuba. I haven't read it yet, though, so I can't vouch for it." Bonnie's response, "I just looked it up and discovered a couple of GOOD things about the book: (1) it's a comedy, and (2) it's just been released in a new paperback edition on July 31, 2007. Thanks for the suggestion, 3M, because I plan to read this book."

This is from an Amazon reviewer who gave the book FIVE STARS:

This 1958 novel was a complete surprise to me. I'd read three books by this author before and found them dark and introspective. But Our Man in Havana is a satirical spoof and I found myself giggling throughout. It deals with a theme that Greene has revisited on many occasions - that of a spy in a foreign country. But this time, it's all in fun, although between the 220 pages of this slim volume, he manages to say a few important things about social class, the Catholic Church, and the absurdity of international relations.

The hero of the story is Jim Wormold, a divorced vacuum cleaner salesman from England in pre-Castro Cuba. His 17-year-old daughter is growing up fast and he finds he needs money. So when the British Secret Service recruits him, he invents a whole world of secret agents and intrigues just to keep the money flowing. He is even sent a secretary, which introduces a bit of romance to the outrageous plot. All of a sudden, the lies he has invented seem to be coming true and the plot thickens, moving along at a breakneck pace. I was totally involved, and found myself laughing out loud at times. What a delightful read! Highly recommended.

Cuba

2007-08-12T23:22:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "Adios Hemingway is a book suggestion for Cuba, until we find a better one. Here's my review of the book. Since I was not overly impressed with the book, I'll quote a review by someone who liked it."

Library Journal's review, edited slightly: "When asked by his former partner to help solve the mystery of a dead FBI agent found in Hemingway's Cuban home, Finca Vigia, Conde cannot resist the opportunity to investigate the murder and cross swords with the literary lion who helped him define what it meant to be a writer. As he interviews those still living who knew Papa or worked for him and follows various clues, including a pair of Ava Gardner's knickers, Conde ruminates on Hemingway's legend, his failing health, and his relationship with Cuba. Fuentes provides a detailed and credible portrait of Hemingway's last days in Cuba in this entertaining literary whodunit. Perfect for readers of detective fiction who happen to be Hemingway aficionados."

Japan

2007-08-06T12:02:00.001-04:00

Bonnie said, "Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama is a novel that has stayed with me since I read it over a decade ago. It's the gardens I remember, one that is made up entirely of stones (literally, a rock garden) and one with colorful flowers. Which one do you think is the samurai's garden?"

On the eve of the Second World War, a 20-year-old Chinese man is sent to his family's summer home in Japan to recover from tuberculosis. He will rest, swim in the salubrious sea, and paint in the brilliant shoreside light. It will be quiet and solitary. But he meets four local residents: a lovely Japanese girl his own age and three older people. Young Stephen has his own adventure, but it is the unfolding story of Matsu, Sachi, and Kenzo that seizes your attention and will stay with you forever.

Iran

2007-07-30T01:36:00.002-04:00

Iranian riches, rags, and carpets
Two debut novels set 300 years apart feature the plight of fatherless families in patriarchal Iran
from the July 17, 2007 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0717/p13s01-bogn.html
By Yvonne Zipp

What do you do if your dad disappears? That question takes on even greater significance in a patriarchal society and it's the one confronted by two Iranian girls living 300 years apart. In The Septembers of Shiraz set in 1981 Iran, Shirin Amin's father is grabbed at work by the Revolutionary Guards for the double crime of having lived well under the shah and for being Jewish. The unnamed heroine of The Blood of Flowers loses her father to a farming accident, but the results cause just as much upheaval – if less emotional devastation.

Both The Septembers of Shiraz and The Blood of Flowers are first novels by talented Iranian-born writers now living in the United States, and both seem primed to enjoy the success among book clubs that helped turn The Kite Runner into a runaway bestseller. But The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer is the more gripping work, perhaps because it is tied to real-life events that continue to echo in world politics today. Sofer fled Iran in 1982 at age 10, and the level of detail with which she crafts her story about a family under duress makes it seem likely that some of the events have been drawn from life.

While Isaac Amin, the jailed father, tries to persuade his interrogator that he is just a gemologist and not a Zionist spy, his wife, Farnaz, struggles to navigate her new world. As the days pass, the beautiful former journalist can hardly get out of bed. Their daughter, Shirin, deep in her own depression, is reminded of a lesson her father once shared with her on ghazals, an Arabic poetic form. " 'There is no end.... That's the first thing you should learn about ghazals. There is no resolution. Imagine the speaker simply throwing his hands in the air.' Maybe in life, as in a ghazal, there is no resolution. She finds relief in the idea of throwing her arms in the air. Maybe there are no solutions, nothing to be done." Farnaz's inertia is no doubt realistic, but it can make for frustrating reading, as can her son Parviz's self-pity, as the architecture student tries to define himself without access to his father's money.

Isaac is the real heart of the novel. The man who made shadow puppets by candlelight so his daughter wouldn't be frightened by the Iraqi bombs falling overhead, uses memories of his family and a life of reading poetry to sustain him as he and his fellow prisoners are tortured and executed. Shirin, meanwhile, finds secret surveillance files in a friend's basement, and steals several, hoping it means the Revolutionary Guards will lose the scent of a few people.

Sofer paints a complicated picture of postrevolutionary Iran: The Amins (and especially their relatives) aren't entirely innocent, having shut their eyes to brutality and corruption under the shah, but Sofer recoils from the idea of justice by "collective retribution" voiced by Farnaz's formerly docile housekeeper. While the dialogue can feel overly formal at times, the impression the reader is left with at the end is that of a powerful story honestly told.

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani, with its interwoven fairy tales, feminist-ready plotline, and rich cultural detail, is, in many ways, an easier sell. After her father dies, the girl and her mother travel to Isfahan to live with her dad's half-brother, a rug designer favored by the shah. After surveying the riches in her uncle's house, the girl measures true wealth by the courtyard. "It had a pool of water shaded by two poplars. I thought of the single tree in my village, a large cypress. For one family to have its own shade and greenery seemed to me the greatest of luxuries."

While her aunt never misses a chance to treat them like servants, her uncle is kind to the girl and teaches her the finer points of design and color. His kindness, however, doesn't extend to providing her with a dowry. Unable to marry, she is persuaded to become the legal mistress of a wealthy horse trader. Under the contract, called a sigheh, which is renewable, the two are considered married for three months at a time – a nice bit of sophistry that still exists today.

Unhappy with her tenuous existence, the girl makes plans to use her artistic talents to build a real life for herself and her mother. While the writing sometimes takes on an unmistakably purple tint, that's offset by the evocation of life in 17th-century Isfahan.

Amirrezvani includes traditional folk tales that the mother tells her daughter to take their minds off their troubles and engrossing descriptions about the art of rugmaking and those works' centrality to Iranian culture. Her uncle likes to lecture the narrator about integrity of design and the importance of beauty amid cruelty and injustice, but the woman who runs the public baths sums it up best: " 'Often we must live with imperfection,' she said. 'And when people worry about a stain on their floor, what do they do?' 'They throw a carpet over it,' I replied. 'From Shiraz to Tabriz, from Baghdad to Heart, that is what Iranians do.' "

• Yvonne Zipp regularly reviews fiction for the Monitor.
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Jill said, "Just want to second the nod toward The Blood of Flowers. It was an excellent look into 16th Century Persia. Here's my review."

Canada

2007-07-29T19:59:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "I also enjoyed Atwood's The Blind Assassin, which is also set in Canada. You can find my review here."

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister Laura's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist.

Canada

2007-07-29T12:31:00.001-04:00

Wendy said, "Margaret Atwood is a renowned Canadian author. Her book Alias Grace is a fabulous read that fictionalizes a true life crime case in Canada. You can find my review for this book here."

Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.

Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Is Grace a female fiend? A bloodthirsty femme fatale? Or is she the victim of circumstances?
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Jill said, "I just finished Alias Grace and enjoyed it. Here is my review."

Morocco

2007-07-29T12:19:00.000-04:00

Wendy said, "Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir fits the bill for a compelling Moroccan read. It is a memoir ... my review can be found here.

Stolen Lives is a gripping memoir that reads like a political thriller -- the story of Malika Oufkir's turbulent and remarkable life. Born in 1953, Malika Oufkir was the eldest daughter of General Oufkir, the King of Morocco's closest aide. Adopted by the king at the age of five, Malika spent most of her childhood and adolescence in the seclusion of the court harem, one of the most eligible heiresses in the kingdom, surrounded by luxury and extraordinary privilege.

On August 15th, 1972, she was probably the most privileged teenager in all Morocco, having been raised in the opulent seclusion of the monarch's harem. But within 24 hours, her father would be tried and summarily executed for treason, and she and her entire family would be arrested and imprisoned in a remote desert penal colony. For the next 20 years, her accommodations would only grow worse. Malika Oufkir's memories of her 20-year incarceration, most of it in vermin-infested solitary confinement, rivets your attention and educates your senses.

France

2007-07-29T12:09:00.000-04:00

Wendy said, "Set in France during the Nazi invasion, Suite Francaise was left unfinished by its famous author Irene Nemirovsky. When the manuscript was discovered, it was published along with Nemirovsky's detailed notes for the novel which was to be an epic of more than 1000 pages. A touching and important part of history, it is a good read for France. My review is here.

Suite Francaise is an extraordinary novel of life under Nazi occupation -- recently discovered and published 64 years after the author's death in Auschwitz. In the early 1940s, Irène Némirovsky was a successful writer living in Paris. But she was also Jewish, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz. Her two small daughters, aged 5 and 13, escaped, carrying with them, in a small suitcase, the manuscript -- one of the great first-hand fictional accounts of a way of life unraveling.

Part One, "A Storm in June," is set in the chaos of the tumultuous exodus from Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion. As the German army approaches, Parisians seize what belongings they can and flee the city, the wealthy and the poor alike searching for means to escape. Thrown together under circumstances beyond their control, a group of families and individuals with nothing in common but the harsh demands of survival find themselves facing the annihilation of their world, and human nature is revealed for what it is -- sometimes tender, sometimes terrifying.

Part Two, "Dolce," is set in a German-occupied village near Paris, where, riven by jealousy and resentment, resistance and collaboration, the lives of the townspeople reveal nothing less than the essence of the French identity. The delicate, secret love affair between a German soldier and the French woman in whose house he has been billeted plays out dangerously against the background of Occupation.

Russia

2007-07-29T11:46:00.000-04:00

Wendy said, "Debra Dean's debut novel The Madonnas of Leningrad is a moving story of an elderly woman caught in the debilitating disease of Alzheimers. As she sinks further into her illness, she begins to remember her years working at the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, including the Nazi siege of Leningrad. A wonderful book for Russia...here is my review."

Bit by bit, the ravages of age are eroding Marina's grip on the everyday. An elderly Russian woman now living in America, she cannot hold on to fresh memories—the details of her grown children's lives, the approaching wedding of her grandchild—yet her distant past is miraculously preserved in her mind's eye.

Vivid images of her youth in war-torn Leningrad arise unbidden, carrying her back to the terrible fall of 1941, when she was a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum and the German army's approach signaled the beginning of what would be a long, torturous siege on the city. As the people braved starvation, bitter cold, and a relentless German onslaught, Marina joined other staff members in removing the museum's priceless masterpieces for safekeeping, leaving the frames hanging empty on the walls to symbolize the artworks' eventual return. As the Luftwaffe's bombs pounded the proud, stricken city, Marina built a personal Hermitage in her mind—a refuge that would stay buried deep within her, until she needed it once more.

I also thought the book was excellent. Click here to read Bonnie's review of the book.

England

2007-07-29T11:44:00.001-04:00

Wendy said, "My last one for today (promise!). Black Swan Green captures one year in the life of a British 13 year old boy. Mitchell's prose is brilliant. I can highly recommend this one for a Great Britain read. Here is my review."

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell re-creates the parallel universe inhabited by a 13-year-old English boy in 1982. It's a world of superstition, misinformation, obsession with social status, the mystery of girls, popular songs, school, his family's increasing dysfunction, and dimly understood political upheaval. Mostly though, Jason Taylor struggles with his stammer, and bullies.

Turkey

2007-07-28T22:56:00.000-04:00

Wendy said, "I just finished Birds Without Wings, by Louis De Bernieres. It is a good read for Turkey. You can read my review here. I am planning a project to READ THE WORLD. You can find all my posts for this personal challenge here."

Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres traces the fortunes of one small community in southwest Turkey (Anatolia) in the early part of the last century -- a quirky community in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have co-existed peacefully over the centuries and where friendship, even love, has transcended religious differences.

But with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the onset of the Great War, the sweep of history has a cataclysmic effect on this peaceful place: the great love of Philothei, a Christian girl of legendary beauty, and Ibrahim, a Muslim shepherd who courts her from near infancy, culminates in tragedy and madness; two inseparable childhood friends who grow up playing in the hills above the town suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the bloody struggle; and Rustem Bey, a wealthy landlord, has an enchanting mistress who is not what she seems.

Far away from these small lives, a man of destiny who will come to be known as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is emerging to create a country from the ruins of an empire. Victory at Gallipoli fails to save the Ottomans from ultimate defeat and, as a new conflict arises, Muslims and Christians struggle to survive, let alone understand, their part in the great tragedy that will reshape the whole region forever.

Thanks, Wendy, this looks good! I hope you will continue to share ideas with us "over here" as you read the world in your personal challenge. Maybe we'll even have an idea or two that you can use.

Scotland

2007-07-27T15:06:00.000-04:00

Sammar, a Sudanese widow who has left her child in the care of her aunt and moved to Scotland to become an Arabic translator, narrates The Translator by Leila Aboulela, a poetic novel of love and faith. Wendy said, "The Translator transports the reader to another culture, offering glimpses into what it means to have faith and how difficult it is to abide by one's beliefs. It is not a complicated novel; but it left me contemplating the larger issues of life." Click to read Wendy's review of the book.

Nigeria

2007-07-26T14:30:00.000-04:00

Sally906 said, "I have posted this link on my personal 'Around the World in 80 books challenge.' You have so many great suggestions :) Can I suggest: Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria). Also Purple Hibiscus by the same author.

Fifteen-year-old Kambili's world is circumscribed by the high walls and frangipani trees of her family compound. Her wealthy Catholic father, under whose shadow Kambili lives, while generous and politically active in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home. When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili's father sends her and her brother away to stay with their aunt, a University professor, whose house is noisy and full of laughter. There, Kambili and her brother discover a life and love beyond the confines of their father's authority. The visit will lift the silence from their world and, in time, give rise to devotion and defiance that reveal themselves in profound and unexpected ways.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a book about the promise of freedom and about the blurred lines between childhood and adulthood, between love and hatred, between the old gods and the new. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has already been suggested. I'm glad to know you like it, too.

Russia

2007-07-25T20:29:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "Me again! I just finished The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland - a new book that follows a Soviet archivist who tries to protect works of literature from permanent destruction during the time of Stalin's Great Purge. A review is posted on my blog, if you're interested. I am not a Russian scholar, so I have no idea if this is a great representative of the literature of Russia or the former Soviet Union. However, for my personal list, I am counting it for Russia for this challenge."

Moscow, 1939. In the recesses of the infamous Lubyanka prison, a young archivist is sent to authenticate an unsigned story confiscated from one of the many political prisoners there. The writer is Isaac Babel. The great author of Red Cavalry is spending his last days forbidden to write, his final manuscripts consigned to the archivist, Pavel Dubrov, who will ultimately be charged with destroying them. The emotional jolt of meeting Babel face-to-face leads to a reckless decision: he will save the last stories of the author he reveres, whatever the cost.

From the margins of history, Travis Holland has woven a tale of the greatest power. Pavel’s private act of courage in the face of a vast bureaucracy of evil invigorates a life that had lost its meaning, even as it guarantees his almost certain undoing. A story of suspense, courage, and unexpected avenues of grace, The Archivist’s Story is ultimately an enduring tribute to the written word.

India

2007-07-25T18:25:00.000-04:00

Juliette said, "For India, Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts is a powerful, dynamic and fast moving work of fiction based upon a true life experience. Like many of the books we will come up with it reflects the country in a variety of lights."

A young Australian man bearing a false New Zealand passport gives his name as "Lindsay" and flies to Bombay some time in the early '80s. On his first day there, Lindsay meets the two people who will largely influence his fate in the city. One is a young tour guide, Prabaker, whose gifts include a large smile and an unstoppably joyful heart. Through Prabaker, Lindsay gets to know village India and settles, for a time, in a vast shantytown, operating an illicit free clinic. The second person he meets is Karla, a beautiful Swiss-American woman with sea-green eyes and a circle of expatriate friends. Lin's love for Karla — and her mysterious inability to love in return — gives the book its central tension.

But 944 pages!? Wow, this is a REAL chunkster!

Australia

2007-07-25T17:15:00.000-04:00

Historia said, "Banjo Patterson - poems from Australia. His long poem 'Man from Snowy River' is considered the BEST, and it surely does represent the Australian Outback. Could also be read for books to movies as well. Alice Springs by Nevil Shute is another good book."

Banjo Paterson (Complete Poems) is one of Australia's best-loved poets and his verse is among Australia's enduring traditions. This complete collection of verse shows the bush balladeer at his very best with favorites such as "A Bush Christening," "The Man from Ironbark," "Clancy of the Overflow," and the immortal "The Man from Snowy River." A. B. (Banjo) Paterson was born in Australia in 1864 and wrote poetry and fiction from 1900 until his death in 1941.

A Town Like Alice tells of a young woman who miraculously survived a Japanese "death march" in World War II, and of an Australian soldier, also a prisoner of war, who offered to help her — even at the cost of his life. When an old Scottish man dies, his sole heir is a young woman named Jean Paget, who is soon off to Malaya to repay the village where she stayed during WWII by digging a well. The story, based on real life, is about how she and other women were held prisoner by the Japanese, but eventually found refuge in a small village. They had encountered Joe Harmon, a young Australian, who was crucified for stealing food for them. When Paget returns to Malaya, she learns that Harmon had survived and returned to Australia, where eventually meet up. Jean, determined to make her home in Harmon's area, sets out to make the godforsaken town into "A Town Like Alice" (Alice Springs).

Canada

2007-07-25T00:21:00.000-04:00

Bonnie said, "I really enjoyed reading Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark, a book about the eastern seaboard of Canada. Here's my review of the book, if you want to read it."

In the year 1912, a baby girl is found adrift on an ice floe in the North Atlantic. She is rescued by a fisherman and brought up on the austere Newfoundland coast. Aurora is an unusual little girl who grows up, marries a lighthouse keeper, and has two children: Nancy, who is headstrong and wants to be everything her mother isn't, and Stanley, who becomes an expert on icebergs. Nancy's daughter, Sheila, is the one who wants to find out about her grandmother Aurora's mysterious past and why she was on the ice in 1912 ... shortly after the sinking of the Titanic.

Afghanistan

2007-07-24T02:16:00.000-04:00

Juliette said, "I too am really tempted, partly because I am reading Bookseller of Kabul and have others lined up that would fit in! Seriously, I think this is an excellent idea to encourage broader world wide reading."

With The Bookseller of Kabul, award-winning journalist Asne Seierstad has given readers a first-hand look at Afghani life as few outsiders have seen it. Invited to live with Sultan Khan, a bookseller in Kabul, and his family for months, this account of her experience allows the Khans to speak for themselves, giving us a genuinely gripping and moving portrait of a family, and of a country of great cultural riches and extreme contradictions.

For more than 20 years, Sultan Khan has defied the authorities—whether Communist or Taliban—to supply books to the people of Kabul. He has been arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned, and has watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. Yet he had persisted in his passion for books, shedding light in one of the world's darkest places.

This is the intimate portrait of a man of principle and of his family—two wives, five children, and many relatives sharing a small four-room house in this war ravaged city. But more than that, it is a rare look at contemporary life under Islam, where even after the Taliban's collapse, the women must submit to arranged marriages, polygamous husbands, and crippling limitations on their ability to travel, learn and communicate with others.

Japan

2007-07-24T01:47:00.000-04:00

Gracie said, "I've spent about a third of my life (20 years) outside the US. I'd like to recommend some books from the places I had the great good fortune to live ... JAPAN: Momotaro, the Peach Pit Boy (possibly my first book)."

Unfortunately, I can't find a book about this, but here's the short story as I found it online:

Momotaro, the Peach Boy is the story of an old man and an old woman who never have been able to have a child. They are lonely. While she washes her clothes, the woman is very surprised by the appearance of a huge peach floating down the stream. She brings the peach home and opens it, only to find a small boy nestled inside. "I'm hungry!" he says, and eats up first one half of the peach and then the other half.

He grows up to be a fine young man and one day takes his flute to the Ogre's island. He teams up with a monkey, a dog, and a pheasant, and together they put the Ogre in his place. With a song played by Momotaro on the flute, the Ogre is tamed, and Momotaro, the monkey, the dog, and the pheasant are able to convince the Ogre to come back to the village and return all the treasures he has stolen.

England

2007-07-24T01:23:00.000-04:00

Gracie said, "ENGLAND: Waterland, by Graham Swift (about the Fens)."

Graham Swift's Waterland relates Tom Crick's attempt to reclaim his life, or, in his words, "to make things not seem meaningless" (p. 241). Tom, a history teacher, believes that "History begins only at the point where things go wrong" (p. 106). The novel begins when Tom is fired and his life falls apart. Not only is he being fired, but his entire department is being cut. The novel tackles the question, Why study history if it is all coming to an end? History is necessary because of our curiosity and the need to know. Our desire to know means that we must look at history, and all of its mistakes, and take heed.

Set in the bleak Fen Country of East Anglia, and spanning some 240 years in the lives of its haunted narrator and his ancestors, Waterland is a book that takes in eels and incest, ale-making and madness, the heartless sweep of history and a family romance as tormented as any in Greek tragedy.

Germany

2007-07-24T01:11:00.000-04:00

Gracie said, "GERMANY: Ursula Hegi's Stones from the River."

Stones from the River is a daring, dramatic and complex novel of life in Germany. It is set in Burgdorf, a small fictional German town, between 1915 and 1951. The protagonist is Trudi Montag, a Zwerg -- the German word for dwarf woman. As a dwarf she is set apart, the outsider whose physical "otherness" has a corollary in her refusal to be a part of Burgdorf's silent complicity during and after World War II. Trudi establishes her status and power, not through beauty, marriage, or motherhood, but rather as the town's librarian and relentless collector of stories.

Through Trudi's unblinking eyes, we witness the growing impact of Nazism on the ordinary townsfolk of Burgdorf as they are thrust on to a larger moral stage and forced to make choices that will forever mark their lives. Stones from the River is a story of secrets, parceled out masterfully by Trudi -- and by Ursula Hegi -- as they reveal the truth about living through unspeakable times.

Turkey

2007-07-23T23:38:00.000-04:00

Gracie said, "TURKEY: The Tales of Khodja (you'll find it spelled in many ways - but the Hodja is a wonderful character from Turkish lore) AND Rise the Euphrates by Carol Edgarian (a wonderful book about a terrible, terrible time)."

Tales of Nasreddin Khoja: 181 Mulla Nasreddin Stories was translated from the Turkish by Henry D. Barnham. Here is a collection of 181 of the funniest and best-known Mulla Nasreddin stories. Mulla Nasreddin, as he is known in the Persian-speaking world, is a humorous witty character that goes by different names in different cultures. Iranians, Arabs, and Turks still bicker about who he was and where he was from. What can be said is that Mulla is a universal character on which are framed various humorous, philosophical, moral, or pedagogic anecdotes. A Mulla Nasreddin anecdote is often used to emphasize a point. Most read a funny story. However, in the same tale, a Sufi may see multiple strands of mystic meaning and a revolutionary will see the idea of resistance to authority. Depending on the reader and the time, Nasreddin may be more of a wise man, a jester, a rebel, or a philosopher.

Rise the Euphrates vividly brings to life a historic tragedy - the world's first modern genocide - and illuminates the archetypal pattern in which the first generation denies, the second generation forgets and the third generation rediscovers the event. At the heart of the story is a moment of survival when a young girl narrowly escapes a holocaust - the 1915 Turkish massacre of over one million Armenian men, women and children. In the diaspora that follows, the girl comes to America bearing a legacy of trauma that her granddaughter Seta will be left to explain. Seta is the chosen one, the one upon whom the generations pin their hope and despair. Rise the Euphrates vividly brings to life a historic tragedy - the world's first modern genocide - and illuminates the archetypal pattern in which the first generation denies, the second generation forgets and the third generation rediscovers the event. You can read an excerpt here.

Turkey

2007-07-23T21:12:00.000-04:00

Raidergirl3 said, "Excellent idea. I've been doing this as well; some good books I've liked include ... Turkey: Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk (nonfiction/memoir)."

Orhan Pamuk, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, returns to his home city in Istanbul: Memories and the City, where he reflects on Istanbul's unique role as a gateway to both the East and the West. This portrait of one of the world's great cities by its foremost literary resident mixes urban and personal history, sociology, and legend to render a portrait of Istanbul that is full of cultural contradictions. Pamuk sees the slow collapse of the once powerful Ottoman Empire hanging like a pall over the city and its citizens. In the last pages, Pamuk turns from art and architecture to writing, making this also a book about vocation.

Portugal

2007-07-23T20:50:00.002-04:00

Raidergirl3 said, "Portugal: Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali."

Alentejo Blue is a stunning work of episodic fiction, vignettes in which Ali introduces us to a new culture. She gives us the claustrophobic little village of Mamarrosa in the rural Alentejo region of Portugal, which is inhabited by a small group of people whose lives are steeped in unshakable sadness and linked by the accident of place. There, cork prices are falling, the region is still healing after the brutal Salazar regime, and the locals don't quite care to cater to tourists. Ali's characters wait and hope for change but cannot bring themselves to exert any efforts on their own behalf. Instead, they pin their hopes on the return of Marco Afonso Rodrigues, who earned a fortune abroad and is coming back to Mamarrosa for his own mysterious purposes. Library Journal says: "Overall, the novel compares favorably with Carson McCullers's The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter as a study of collective despair and frustrated hopes."
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UPDATE: Wendy said, "I just finished this one today and really loved it. My review can be found here."

Sri Lanka

2007-07-23T20:16:00.000-04:00

Raidergirl3 said, "Sri Lanka: Reef by Rumesh Gunesekera."

Reef, Rumesh Gunesekera's first novel, is the story of Triton, a talented young chef so committed to pleasing his master's palate that he is oblivious to the political unrest threatening his Sri Lankan paradise. It is a personal story that parallels the larger movement of a country from a hopeful, young democracy to troubled island society. Reef explores the entwined lives of Mr. Salgado, an aristocratic marine biologist and student of sea movements and the disappearing reef, and his houseboy, Triton, who learns to polish silver until it shines like molten sun; to mix a love cake with ten eggs, creamed butter, and fresh cadju nuts; to marinade tiger prawns; and to steam parrot fish. Through these characters and the forty years of political disintegration their country endures, Gunesekera tells the tragic, sometimes comic, story of a lost paradise and a young man coming to terms with his destiny.

New Zealand

2007-07-23T19:50:00.002-04:00

Raidergirl3 said, "New Zealand: The Bone People by Keri Hulme. Here's the link to my lists, some completed, some future ideas http://raidergirl3.blogspot.com/

Integrating both Maori myth and New Zealand reality, The Bone People became the most successful novel in New Zealand publishing history when it appeared in 1984. Set on the South Island beaches of New Zealand, a harsh environment, the novel chronicles the complicated relationships between three emotional outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage. Kerewin Holmes is a painter and a loner, convinced that "to care for anything is to invite disaster." Her isolation is disrupted one day when a six-year-old mute boy, Simon, breaks into her house. The sole survivor of a mysterious shipwreck, Simon has been adopted by a widower Maori factory worker, Joe Gillayley, who is both tender and horribly brutal toward the boy. Through shifting points of view, the novel reveals each character's thoughts and feelings as they struggle with the desire to connect and the fear of attachment. The Bone People, winner of the 1985 Booker-McConnell prize for fiction, captures the soul of New Zealand.
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Amy has also read The Bone People. Click this link to read her review of the book.

Germany

2007-07-23T11:11:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "You are really tempting me now. =) I have some suggestions: (1) The Book Thief (Zusak) - Germany."

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist –- books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Afghanistan

2007-07-23T10:34:00.001-04:00

Jill said, "I have some suggestions ... (2) The Kite Runner (Hosseini)- Afghanistan."

Amir and Hassan are childhood friends in the alleys and orchards of Kabul in the sunny days before the invasion of the Soviet army and Afghanistan’s decent into fanaticism. Both motherless, they grow up as close as brothers, but their fates, they know, are to be different. Amir’s father is a wealthy merchant; Hassan’s father is his manservant. When the Soviets invade Afghanistan, Amir and his father flee to San Francisco, leaving Hassan and his father to a pitiless fate. Those are the bare bones of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, but the story hinges on one character's need for redemption.
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UPDATE (6-14-08): Wendy said, "I just finished reading The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. It is an impressive first novel which reveals the horror of what has happened, and continues to happen in Afganistan. My review can be found here."

Bonnie: "Continues to happen" is such an apt phrase, coming as it does one day after the violence in Afghanistan that occurred during an escape from Sarposa Prison in Kandahar province, the Taliban's former stronghold. An Associated Press article says:

... dozens of militants on motorbikes attacked the facility late Friday. Seven police and several prisoners died in the assault ... One suicide bomber detonated a tanker truck full of explosives at the prison gate while a second bomber blasted another escape route through a back wall. Rockets fired from inside the prison's courtyard collapsed an upper floor. The police chief of Kandahar province, Sayed Agha Saqib, said 390 Taliban prisoners were among the 870 inmates who escaped.

Australia

2007-07-23T10:16:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "I have some suggestions ... (3) I am the Messenger (Zusak) - Australia."

Meet Ed Kennedy — underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission? Winner of the 2003 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.

Spain

2007-07-23T09:52:00.000-04:00

Jill said, "I have some suggestions ... (4) The Shadow of the Wind (Zafon) - Spain. I'll probably think of more, but I feel these represent their counties - at best or worst."

Barcelona, 1945 — A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a 10-year-old boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax's other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that The Shadow of the Wind is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author's identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.

And now WE have The Shadow of the Wind, but this one is by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Thanks, Jill.

Nigeria

2007-07-23T00:09:00.001-04:00

Have you ever heard of Biafra? It was a country, though it didn't last long. Biafra was formerly part of Nigeria, and now it is again. That's why I label this post Nigeria. Nigeria itself hasn't been around very long, having gained its independence in 1960. Chimamanda Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun tells the story of Biafra, a tiny country whose flag showed half of a yellow sun, as you can see on the cover of the hardback edition. This book, which is extremely well written, is not an easy book to read ... because of the horrors of genocide. I highly recommend this book.

From the publisher:

Adichie weaves together the lives of five characters caught up in the extraordinary tumult of the decade. Fifteen-year-old Ugwu is houseboy to Odenigbo, a university professor who sends him to school, and in whose living room Ugwu hears voices full of revolutionary zeal. Odenigbo’s beautiful mistress, Olanna, a sociology teacher, is running away from her parents’ world of wealth and excess; Kainene, her urbane twin, is taking over their father’s business; and Kainene’s English lover, Richard, forms a bridge between their two worlds. As we follow these intertwined lives through a military coup, the Biafran secession and the subsequent war, Adichie brilliantly evokes the promise, and intimately, the devastating disappointments that marked this time and place.

Here's Jill's review of this book.

Let's go around the WORLD

2007-07-22T23:21:00.000-04:00

The world has many countries, some big and some small, and I want to find the best books about each country. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that country and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. Let's "book around the world" and find at least one excellent book for each country in the world.

At Book around the States we have a long list of books about states of the union, but we don't need EVERY book about a country, just the best ones. What have you read? What did you enjoy reading? Let's name some possibilities.

North America
Central America
Caribbean
South America
Europe
Africa
Middle East
Central Asia
Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia
Oceania
Anarctica

These are some of the areas of the world, so let's set out to find some books about the countries on the world's continents.