Hi friends! This is kind of a summer reading challenge (for adults!), although it doesn’t have to be for summer—any time is a great time to read around the world.
I got the idea for a global reading challenge when I was shelving fiction in our new place. I was noticing the books set in foreign countries, and thinking about how there were other awesome books to read in places that weren’t yet represented in our collection. It’s possible that after spending so much time at home due to the pandemic, I have a little bit of reading wanderlust.
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(This particular photo of my little dog Moxie and our partially filled bookshelves features mostly American novels. I just think it’s cute.)[spacer height=”20px”]
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The idea for this challenge is to read one book apiece by an author from each of these major regions of the world. (I’m counting India and China as regions unto themselves because they have such huge populations.)
I made a graphic for you to pin on Pinterest, if that makes it easier. Here you are![spacer height=”20px”]
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Naturally, I’ve also made a list of possible awesome books to read! I’ve only chosen novels from authors who are writing about their own countries or the countries of their own cultural heritage. All of these are English language editions (so of course, a lot of them are in translation.)
Everyone is going to feel differently about what are the most important books to read. And that’s okay! I enjoy many genres and many types of stories, and hopefully, this post will still lead to some fun discoveries.
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I didn’t include the United States here since the majority of my readers live in the U.S. and read a lot of novels set in the U.S. already. (Although…there are certainly U.S. places, communities, and experiences that I don’t know a lot about.) If you don’t live in the U.S. and I left off your country, I apologize. Let us know, and recommend a book in the comments section! I may update the post!
Okay, here’s the list! By the way, this post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means if you click on any of them and buy something, I get a small payment. I just wanted you to know![spacer height=”20px”]
North Africa
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami. Isn’t that a great title? This was the Moroccan author’s debut novel, and her subsequent novels have garnered all kinds of critical acclaim. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was an LA Times bestseller. She also writes essays and criticism for major media outlets…and she lives here in Los Angeles! Maybe I can interview her sometime.
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South or Central Africa
Black Moses, Alain Mabanckou. This novel takes place in the People’s Republic of Congo, and it’s described as riotous, wacky, and heartbreaking. Mabanckou teaches at UCLA. Maybe I could interview him, too!
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Eastern Europe
Chronicle In Stone, Ismail Kadare. This coming of age story set in war-torn Albania won the Man Booker International Prize.
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India
The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga. This is a Man Booker prize winner about a driver in Bangalore, and it sounds like, well, quite a ride.
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Australia or New Zealand
Wedding Bush Road, David Francis. “A young lawyer in Los Angeles is called back to his family’s farm in rural Australia and plunged into a complex struggle between past and present, town and country, and the secrets that haunt them all.” This sounds terrific! It comes with a heap of glowing reviews, too.
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China
The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu. I’ve been curious about this science fiction novel set during the Cultural Revolution ever since it won the Hugo Award a while back.
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South America
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South Asia (other than India)
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Southeast Asia
Saman, Ayu Utami. This feminist novel by an Indonesian journalist was something of a sensation.
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Northern or Western Europe
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East Asia (other than China)
Pachinko, Min Jin Lee. This book takes place in Korea and Japan, and I couldn’t resist including it because it was THE BOOK when it came out. I still haven’t read it! I bet some of my readers have. Tell me if you liked it!
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West Africa
The Girl with the Louding Voice, Abi Daré. A New York Times bestseller!
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West Asia
The Red-Haired Woman, Orhan Pamuk. I’m not sure, but I think this is about an older man and a younger man who fall for the same woman, and I don’t expect it to go well. This novel by a Nobel Prize-winning author takes place about thirty miles outside of Istanbul.
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East Africa
The Shadow King, Maaza Mengiste. The blurb reads: “A gripping novel set during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King takes us back to the first real conflict of World War II, casting light on the women soldiers who were left out of the historical record.” This sounds absolutely fascinating. The book was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize in Fiction.
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Northern or Central America
In the Castle of My Skin, George Lamming. This Penguin Modern Classic is a coming of age story set in 1930s Barbados.
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Southern Europe
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Do you have other recommendations for this global reading challenge? I’m lucky enough to get readers from all over the world, so I bet I’ll get more ideas for great books set in foreign countries (well, foreign to me here in the United States, at least)! Let us know in the comments to help us read around the world.
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Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy reading!
Thanks for this list. Looks great! (I’m too slow of a reader to complete a book from each region over the summer, but this list represents a great place to start.) I did read Pachinko a while back and loved it; fascinating characters throughout this multi-generational book. Another book (or set of books) that features compelling characters is Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet (beginning with My Brilliant Friend). Could be a good addition to the Southern Europe category. Postwar Naples is as much of a major character as the two female leads. Happy reading to you!
Hi Christina! Honestly, I always think I’m going to read faster than I do, so…we’ll see, haha. That’s great to hear about Pachinko. And I’ve wondered about Ferrante’s work, so I may need to check that out! The setting sounds fascinating. Thanks for the recs!
Awesome idea and great list! Like Water for Chocolate is also a great choice. The novel takes place in Mexico and is written by a Mexican author–Laura Esquivel.
I looove Like Water for Chocolate! I loved the movie, too.