Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Top 10 Books Set in Another Country

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is "Books That Take Place in Another Country." I LOVE reading novels that are set in other countries, the farther away the better. It's my way of traveling when I can't afford an actual trip. So take a bookish journey from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe with my top 10 favorite faraway reads:



AFGHANISTAN:  
The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari

This book is so good it actually made me care about a cricket game!









MOROCCO:  
The Tattooed Map by Barbara Hodgson

What I love most about this story is all of the mixed-media collage-like illustrations on every page. It's like reading someone's personal travel journal!



PAKISTAN:
Kartography by Kamila Shamsie

This novel gives you a taste for what it's like to live and love in Karachi, as does Shamsie's other excellent novels, Broken Verse and Salt & Saffron. 








INDIA:
Partitions by Amit Majmudar

I loved this story that tells about the separation of India and Pakistan through the eyes of the characters caught in the middle.




CYPRUS: 
Death in Cyprus by M.M. Kaye

Kaye writes great romantic suspense novels. But if you're not intrigued by the Cyprus setting, you can always read Death in Kashmir or Death in Zanzibar instead. They're just as good.







RUSSIA:
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

This is still my favorite read of 2018. And it's all because of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, one of the most memorable characters I've ever met!




DENMARK:
The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg

This is an impossible story to sum up in one sentence. So check out my previous post on this remarkable book, and then check out this book! It's a 5-star read.







JAPAN:
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

This bookish gem is poignant and sweet and beautifully written. I loved everything about it!



SPAIN:
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte

This literary mystery has all the right ingredients:  an antiquarian bookdealer, a sinister secret society, a rare and arcane manuscript, intrigue and death. (The Flanders Panel and The Nautical Chart by Perez-Reverte are also favorites.)







ZIMBABWE:
The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu

Interesting and poignant read set in a country I'm not sure I'd want to visit in real life, but that I loved getting to know more about through the pages of this short but powerful novel.




Where should I travel next?
HAPPY READING!

28 comments:

  1. So many great titles and covers! I'm not sure I could ever truly appreciate cricket, but think I might love The Taliban Cricket Club. I'm also interested in The Club Dumas as I'm a fan of books that have literary mysteries.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Lark, great choices. I never got around to reading The Kite Runner and so I am thinking of trying out the Talaban Cricket Club. I too want to read more books set in different parts of the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really loved the characters in the Taliban Cricket Club. And it's written very well, too. It'd be a great one to try. :)

      Delete
  3. You have a ton of books I’ve never heard of! My book club will be reading A Gentleman in Moscow this up coming year. I’m excited!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great list of books and countries! Cyprus!

    I have been tempted before to try one of those "reading around" the world TBRs. I do keep stats and the vast majority of the books I read are US or UK authors and set in those countries. I probably should set myself some sort of easy percentage of books in translation to help break me out of my rut.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's fun to "read around the world". I've run into a lot of really good novels set in foreign lands and written by foreign authors, and I've learned a lot, too. :D

      Delete
  5. I love to travel but as some places I guess I probably won't see in this lifetime then thankfully we have books! really curious about the one set in Zimbabwe! I remember reading The Club Dumas for a reading group. We all loved it. Should check out more books by him! What a fun meme!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't resist doing this Top Ten Tuesday. I just love all those books set in all those faraway places, because you're right, traveling to see them all is just too expensive. :D

      Delete
  6. I love the variety here! I started brainstorming a list for this week's topic and didn't get very far -- most of the foreign setting books I read are England, Ireland, or Australia. I need to venture out more. I'll have to look into some of the books on your list. The Zimbabwe one looks especially interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read a ton of books set in England, too, but I tried to just list books set in more exotic locales. And The Hairdresser of Harare is a great read!

      Delete
  7. I love that you included the books by M.M. Kaye. I read all of those in past years and when they came out in e-book format, I acquired them again. Such interesting destinations.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this week's meme. So diverse and so many books of different countries explore. I like Yoko Ogawa's books and I enjoyed her book you listed, too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm totally addicted to cricket but I'm not likely to read fiction books about it though. I used to read a lot of books around the world but not so much now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You posted a great list of books from other places on your own blog! :D

      Delete
  10. A great list! I am taking a few tips away from this, especially the book set in India, I love Indian history. And yes, A gentleman in Moskow was a great book, I still love count Rostov.

    Kind regards,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's such a great character! I think that book is going to be hard to beat this year for my best read. :D

      Delete
  11. A Gentleman in Moscow is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't you love that book? So wonderful! :)

      Delete
  12. I love Ogawa and that is one of my favorites!! This list is awesome - so many new-to-me books to add to my TBR :) Lark, thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad! These are some of my favorite reads. :D

      Delete
  13. You are so well read. I haven't read any of those.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's just proof that I spend too much time reading. ;D

      Delete
  14. I found two books in your list that I want to read: A Gentleman in Moscow and The Taliban Cricket Club. I have read 5 books by Arturo Perez-Reverte and admire his writing.

    ReplyDelete