Trifolia’s travelling the World

I intend to read a book from every country in the world.
My auto-generated map is here;

Here's my list of countries:
Afghanistan: The bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad
Albania: The Country Where No One Ever Dies by Ornela Vorpsi
Algeria: The Last Summer of Reason by Tahar Djaout
Andorra: Andorra by Peter Cameron
Angola: My Father's Wives by José Eduardo Agualusa
Antigua and Barbuda: My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid
Argentina: Regarding Roderer by Guillermo Martínez
Armenia: Skylark Farm by Antonia Arslan
Aruba: Zuidstraat by Denis Henriquez
Australia: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Austria: Schlafes Bruder by Robert Schneider
Azerbaijan: Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
Bahamas:
Bahrain: An Archaeological Guide to Bahrain by Timothy Insoll
Bangladesh: Het bijtende gevoel van verlies (A Golden Age) by Tahmima Anam
Barbados:
Belarus: De werkplaats van de duivel (Chilly Land) by Jáchym Topol
Belgium: Mevrouw Verona daalt de heuvel af by Dimitri Verhulst
Belize: The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw by Bruce Barcott
Benin: De bruid van Benin by Annette Bokpê
Bhutan: The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden
Bolivia: Affections by Rodrigo Hasbún
Bosnia: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone by Saša Stanišic
Botswana: Black Mulberries by Caitlin Davies
Brazil: Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso: Carrefour des veuves by Monique Ilboudo
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon: How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
Canada: No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Channel Islands: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Chile: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
China: Balzac en het Chinese naaistertje by Sijie Dai
Colombia: Te veel helden by Laura Restrepo
Comoros
Congo : The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia: On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleža
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech republic: No Saints or Angels by Ivan Klima
Denmark: Niels Lyhne by Jens Peter Jacobsen
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia: Purge by Sofi Oksanen
Eswatini (Swaziland)
Ethiopia: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Fiji
Finland: Missä kuljimme kerran by Kjell Westö
France: Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia: De eindeloze zee by Kéthévane Davrichewy
Germany: In Times of Fading Light by Eugen Ruge
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece: The Convent by Panos Karnezis
Greenland: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Høeg
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea-Bissau
Guinee
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary: De nacht voor de scheiding by Sándor Márai
Iceland: Salka Valka by Halldór Laxness
India: Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Indonesia
Iran: The House of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah
Iraq
Ireland: Felicia's Journey by William Trevor
Israel
Italy: Quiet Chaos by Sandro Veronesi
Jamaica
Japan: The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan: Jamilia by Tsjingiz Ajtmatov
Laos
Latvia: Barnsteen by Guido Van Heulendonk
Lebanon: An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein: Von der Unendlichkeit der Ränder: Liechtenstein by Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Lithuania: De schaduw van de slang by Saulius Tomas Kondrotas
Luxembourg: The Expats by Chris Pavone
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia: The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Moldova: The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov
Monaco: Plus belle sera la vie by Stéphane Bern
Mongolia
Montenegro: The Full Monte: A Fulbright Scholar's Humorous and Heart-Warming Experience in Montenegro by Paul Dishman
Morocco: Une année chez les Français by Fouad Laroui
Mozambique: Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands: Eline Vere by Louis Couperus
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand: Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria: Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo
North Korea
Norway: Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Oman
Pakistan: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Palau
Palestinian Authority
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru: The Distance Between Us by Renato Cisneros
Philippines
Poland: A Treatise on Shelling Beans by Wiesław Myśliwski
Portugal: The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Romania: Nadirs by Herta Müller
Russia: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia: The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia: HhhH by Laurent Binet
Slovenia: De nieuwkomers by Lojze Kovacic
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa: Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee / The Promise by Damon Galgut
South Korea
Spain: Solitude by Víctor Català
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden: The Magnetist's Fifth Winter by Per Olov Enquist
Switzerland: Melnitz by Charles Lewinsky
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor Este
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine: The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
United States: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Uruguay: The House of Paper by Carlos María Domínguez
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

The alphabetical angle makes me chuckle; while at university I decided to listen to all the music in the house I shared by a few other students in alphabetical order. I did not make it out of A--a roommate had an exhaustive collection of Air Supply, which following ABC and a Bryan Adams album, proved too much to endure.

I'm sure you'll last much longer than I did!

Well, I hope so anyway :-) Europe will bring me some relief as I travel this continent from country to country.

1. Afghanistan: The bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad.
. . .

The Norwegian journalist Seierstad lived with an Afghan family in Kabul for several months. We get to know the family, the national history, customs, traditions, etc of the Afghan people.
I like the book because you get to learn more about Afghanistan. I didn't like the fact that she is absent as an observer and that she tells the story as if she really knows what all these people are thinking. It may be that she has talked a lot to many people and that they have confided in her. It may be that her observations are right, but as a reader you get the impression the Afghan people really think this way, while it's actually an interpretation by a Western journalist who inevitably adds her own flavour and viewpoints to the story. If it had been written by an Afghan woman, it would have been a different story (just think of how foreigners describe your country and customs and compare them to what you experience as a native). However, this book is a splendid recording of life in Afghanistan as seen through the eyes of a Western woman and that's quite something. Recommended.

Next stop on my alphabetical tour of the world is The Last Summer of Reason, quite a disturbing book written by Tahar Djaout who was murdered by Algerian fundamentalists.

2. Algeria: The last Summer of Reason by Tahar Djaout.
. . .

About an (Algerian) book-seller who sees his world falling apart when the religious fanatic take over society. He sees how people give in to the threats and intimidation and become shadows of themselves. He witnesses how arts, science, books, music, colour, beauty,alcohol, joy and happines... all is banned and forbidden. He sees men growing a beard, wearing identical clothes and women hiding under a burka. It's a very sad story, but beautifully written. It explains how a little spark can light a fire. The author himself was murdered in 1993 by Algerian extremists. This manuscript was found between his papers. Highly recommended.

Next stop on my global tour is Angola. I'm doubting between Pepetela's The Glorious Family and José Eduardo Agualusa's My father’s wives... Can anyone help me out?

I finished A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle for my Ireland-book on my European tour. You can find more in my message 23 at The Europe Endless Challenge).

Next up is Angola with Pepetela's The Glorious Family. I've finally chosen this one because it's a historical book (fiction though) with a story about a Flemish merchant and the Dutch in the slave-trade. Although I'm Flemish, this is an aspect I know very little about. I'm also reading Salka Valka by Haldór Laxness for Iceland (again to be followed on my Europe Endless Challenge).

I finished Salka Valka by Halldór Kiljan Laxness for my Iceland-book on my European tour. You can find more in my message 25 at The Europe Endless Challenge).

I gave up on Pepetela's book on Angola. I couldn't get interested in the book as it was hard to really get into it without knowing both the history and geography of Angola beforehand. I switched to My Father's Wives by José Eduardo Agualusa, but I haven't finished it yet. I did finish my Europe Endless Challenge on Denmark: Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. I didn't particularly like that one.

>9 Trifolia:, Really? Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow is one of my favourite books ever!

Angola: My father's wives by José Eduardo Agualusa
. . .
I finished My father's wives by José Eduardo Agualusa as my book for Angola. I would not have read this book if it had not been one of the only two I found on Angola that were available. But I liked it, surprisingly. It was warm, refreshing and a good read.

I've also finished Berlin Poplars by Anne B. Ragde, a book that surprised me. Although it dealt with a lot of grief, sorrow and secrets, it was light-hearted and heart-warming. I read it's part of a trilogy and now I'm determined to read the second one as well (only to read the third if the second one convinces me too). It's about three brothers, their father and a daughter who come together when their mother dies. The interaction, the characterization, the descriptions are lovely. It even changed my thoughts on pigs... Maybe not the most intellectual literature, but highly recommended.

4. Argentina: Te veel helden / Demasiados Heroes (Too Many Heroes) by Laura Restrepo.
. . .
I guess this book isn't well-known (undeservedly), as I'm the first one to add the Dutch version on LT and only 7 have added the Spanish version.
But I enjoyed it very much. The story is about a (Columbian) mother who returns to Argentina with her 15 year old son to find his (Argentinian) father who left when the boy was 2 (well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but you should read the book if you want to know the fine details). Both the mother and the father were in the resistance at the time Argentina suffered under the dictatorship in the late 1970's and 1980's. Apart from the fact that you get a feel of what it must have been like to live under such regime, you also see the difficult relationship of a mother and her teenage-son, both undecided whether the man they are looking for is a hero or a nutcase. The mother and the son aren't flat characters either: you sometimes like them, understand them, but also sometimes get annoyed with, i.e. they're portrayed very human.
It's a very well-written, bitter-sweet testimony of an unusual expedition which I liked very much. Recommended.

Sweden: Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson
See message 35 at The Europe Endless Challenge

12 -
Demasiados Heroes is a very new book so that's the reason why it doesn't have that many copies yet. In fact, I was the first person on LT to read it! Glad to see you enjoyed it. I only ranked it 3.5 out of 5 stars but I think that was more because I wasn't really in the mood to read this although it was indeed well done.

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of your challenge progresses.

5. Armenia: Het huis met de leeuweriken / Skylark Farm by Antonia Arslan.
. . .
Without a doubt, this is one of the most gripping books I've read in a very long time. The author tells the story of what happened to her Armenian family just before and during the Armenian genocide of 1915. Genocide must be one of the worst things that can happen to anyone, but when it is described through the eyes of survivors and relatives like Antonia Arslan does, your heart goes out to a people you've never met. In this book, you get a privileged look into the rich culture of the Armenian people, their sense of kindness, humour, style, their ways and habits. But it's also about unconditional love and friendship, bravery, courage, compassion, perseverance and dignity. Some parts of the book are really very hard to read because they tell in detail what happened to these people, but I think, if you can stand it, it's our duty as human beings to try to understand what happened.

Finland: Waar we ooit liepen / (Where Once We Walked) by Kjell Westö
This is a beautiful book. The setting which is described is interesting enough: Helsinki during the first part of the 20th century, the first World War, the impact of the civil war between the Reds and the Whites, the gay twenties with the introduction of jazz, alcohol-prohibition, the introduction of modern age,...
Unlike many other books where characters are merely "results" of their time or upbringing who must "fit the story", Westö manages to create wonderful characters who not only have their own, complex personality, but he lets them grow up and evolve, influenced by the time they are living in, by interacting with the society they live in or oppose to, by confronting them with their friends and their family-background.
While you get a great insight in life in Helsinki, it's far more subtle and universal than a description of this society because the characters aren't placed there merely as metaphors, but they have their own psychological development as well: hope, fear, strenght, courage, weakness, despair, love, pride, ... it's all there. The beautiful and fluent writing-style of the author adds to the magic of this book.
With this book, Kjell Westö deservedly won the Finlandia Prize in 2006. It's a book you cannot help but fall in love with. It slightly reminded me of the atmosphere of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, but then a lot more intricate and subtle. Highly recommended and one of my best reads of 2010.

Estonia: Purge by Sofi Oksanen
This is the story of Aliide Truu, an Estonian old woman, who finds the young, desperate Zara at her doorstep. Reluctantly, she takes her in but it soon becomes clear that both have their own deep, dark secrets and both are afraid of what the other might be or might do.
Slowly, the history of both Aliide and Zara unravels: Aliide isn't simply the sweet, pitiful old lady who cares for her fruit and herbs. After the war, she did nothing to prevent her sister Ingel and niece from being deported because of Ingel's husband Paul who went into hiding after having sympathized with the Germans. Aliide, while being married to Martin, a communist, kept Paul in hiding, hoping he would fall in love with her. Now, she's a widow and alone.
When Zara shows up, she's very afraid the truth about her past may come out.

Zara has her own problems. She's the grand-daughter of Ingel and has fallen into the hands of sex-trafficking men. While visiting Estonia, she manages to flee to her great-aunt's house.

The story is told very psychologically. A lot happens but it's all seen and told through the eyes of Aliide who's very reticent and Zara who's traumatized by the brutal sex-abuse. In between, there are diary-fragments from Paul.

Although this story has a lot to offer, I think the story of Zara was one too many and not really necessary to add to Aliide's story. Sometimes it felt a bit overdone with too many explicit scenes of sex-abuse and violence. I also think that the end, however brilliant in itself, was presented too fast and a bit over the top, especially if you take into consideration the pace in which the first two thirds of the book were presented. Also, the book would have benefited from creeping into the head of Ingel herself instead of her grand-daughter who was too ignorant to really add to Aliide's story.

So, all in all, this book has some flaws but it's still brilliant enough to make this one of my better reads of 2010 and recommend it to anyone who's willing to make the effort of reading every single word of this book very carefully, as every word is important.

6. Aruba: Zuidstraat by Denis Henriquez

This book is a collection of stories about the people living on Zuidstraat in Oranjestad on Aruba in the 1940-1950's. The author has a very fluent, witty, swift style. There isn't a real plot or storyline. Each chapter tells a different story, which gives an insight in what life must have been like then and there. We get to know more about the two schoolboys having a crush on a nanny, about the Portuguese man who falls in love with an Aruban woman, about the laidback Dutchman Johannes who marries Catharina but who cannot live up to the expectations of his father-in-law who is a businessman, about the uncle who's been all over the world and now is back in Aruba, etc. It's a heart-warming book with splashes of joie-de-vivre, sadness, togetherness, love, friendship, homesickness,... Recommended, but regretfully only for those who can read Dutch.

Latvia: Barnsteen by Guido Van Heulendonk
Flemish writers seem to have a tendency to choose depressed, frustrated young males for their main characters. This book is no exception. Dorian, the Flemish 30-something son of a right-wing politician and a left-wing poetress, tries to come to terms with the suicide of his mother. We find out he's at sick-leave because of an apparent depression when he decides to go to Latvia to find out about his mother's lover. In Latvia, he gets to know a student-guide Ineta, much like "Natalie" in Gilbert Becaud's song. She tells him about Latvia and its history. They end up in the hotel, the former Lieven family estate Mežotne, where his mother is supposed to have had her affair and where he tries to resist to fall in love himself. He then goes back to Belgium but returns later that year to Latvia to execute his plans.
The book is laden with cryptic information of Belgian politics (which probably should give it a feeling of topicality), Latvian history (but too little to really be worthwhile), Dorothea Lieven (who's supposed to have had an important role in creating Belgium, although I'd never heard of her, but again, too cryptic and little to be interesting). The story itself is flimsy, misty and a bit dreary although there's nog doubt the author knows how to write. He does a wonderful job, but unfortunately it feels as if his story let him down. There is far too much information that doesn't stick together, too many details that do not lead to anything, promising threads that aren't worked out properly, although it may ofcourse have been the author's intention as a way of emphasizing the confusion of Dorian. Maybe the merit of this book to me is that it has enticed me to read more about this Dorothea Lieven and Latvia in general and to pursue other books by this author because I do like his writing-style.
Probably only available in Dutch, I'm afraid.

Lithuania: De schaduw van de slang by Saulius T. Kondrotas
What a strange book. It had flashes of brilliance but also pages which were so boring and confusing, I just wondered if this book had been assembled correctly. It's the story of a family in Lithuania in the 19th and early 20th century. The best parts reminded me of Garcia Marquez, but all in all, after a blizzard-start, it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Whch is just as well, because I just started wondering if I was getting less critical, having read all these great books lately.

Australia: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
. . .
This book is about two Australian families, having their own problems and peculiarities, living in the same house in Cloud Street, Australia. The story spans some 20 years of their lives. I'm undecided about this book. The first 100 or so pages, I really liked. The author introduced a bunch of characters and situations that were very promising. It sometimes reminded me of Garcia Marquez and John Irving (magic and all included), but after a while I sometimes felt something was missing. The families had their own problems and solved them or tried to adapt and survive, which is what happens in real life too, but in a book you expect some change, some evolution, apart from time going by and people ageing. Also, sometimes characters just changed without an explanation. E.g. Rose is anorexic as a teenager, but then, all of a sudden, she starts eating again. Some characters are depressed one day and then, without a real reason, they are very happy. But on the other hand, the characters are so warm and lively that you simply have to at least like the book. The compassion, the love, the togetherness of families that are obliged to live together, for good and for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer,... is worth the while.
So, OK, this book may not be perfect, but I liked it.

Austria: Wie liefheeft slaapt niet / Schlafes Bruder by Robert Schneider
. . .
I felt like reading a contemporary book by an Austrian author and this one seemed just right. I must admit I was drawn to the fact that the author was said to live on a lonely mountain-top in Austria and - having travelled to the Austrian mountains myself numerous times - I wondered what effect this might have on someone's writing: if it was mentioned in his biography at the back of the book, it must be relevant. After reading the book, I think it did affect his writing. The story is about a boy, born in a small, Austrian village in the 19th century. He turns out to be an extremely gifted musician although his talent is never nurtured and formed in a proper way, because he is born in a simple farmer's family, never leaves his village and is hardly educated. When he falls in love with a girl from the village and his love is not reciprocated, this has an immense impact on his life. I don't want to give away too much about this book, but the author wonders about the fact that so much talent is never discovered and withers without ever being appreciated. There might have been born someone bigger than da Vinci and Mozart, but maybe we missed out on this because he wasn't born in the right place and the right time. In a bigger context, the book also deals with the effects of living in a closely-knit community where everyone knows everything. It is a strange but dazzling book, written in a very expressive yet subtle and intimate style which gives the reader plenty of things to think about. I recommend this one to anyone who likes psychological literature but I'm afraid this one might not have been translated to English yet (what a shame...).

The books from Trinidad & Tobago I would recommend are:

The Dragon Can't Dance by Earl Lovelace
A Brighter Sun by Sam Selvon
A House for Mr. Biswas V.S. Naipaul
The Jumbie Bird by Ismith Khan
Crick, Crack Monkey by Merle Hodge

Any of those books would be a great read.

Poland Over het doppen van bonen (A Treatise on Shelling Beans) by Wieslaw Mysliwski
This must be one of the strangest books I've read this year. It is one brilliant monologue of an older man in which he tells an anonimous visitor his random thoughts, memories, insights while shelling beans. Little by little we get to know the man and his own history which is also the history of the common man in Poland.

Sometimes I was a bit overwhelmed by the prose which went on and on and on. The book really grabbed me at times, e.g. when the man talked of the drunk music-teacher who conducted the orchestra in silence, or of the dependant pig that was a metaphor of his happy childhood, or of the man who taught him how to play the saxophone, or of the girl from the Red Cross who helped him during the war, or of his uncle who committed suicide. Through his eyes and mouth you sense there is more to these people and, you feel the sorrow, pain, hope, joy and happiness of the individual.
The monologue is not linear and jumps back and forth through time, creating this beautiful, epic image of an ordinary life which proves that no life is ordinary once you dig a bit deeper.
It's a book you should read slowly. It's probably not everybody's cup of tea as it is rather hermetic at times, but if you take the time and are ready to put in the effort, you'll certainly be rewarded.

I've just received a book by Wieslaw Mysliwski, Stone upon Stone, from my Archipelago Books subscription. It is quite a tome, so I'm going to have to wait until I have time to read it, especially now that I've read your comments and see it probably needs to be read slowly.

# 26 - Stone upon Stone looks interesting! I've also added it to my list, although I will take some time to digest the other one first. It's not a "fluffy" read.

Azerbaijan: Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
. . .

This book was written in 1937 but it feels as if it was written very recently. Although the title says it's a love-story, it's primarily a story of the differences between East and West, Muslims and Christians, male and female, epitomized in the persons of Ali, a rich muslim boy and Nino, a Georgian christian living in Azerbaijan during the First World War. The turmoil in Azerbaijan, the difference of cultures (Arab, Georgian, Russian, Armenian, Turkish, Persian, ...) that clash and gell, the richess, the beauty, the ugliness of the cultural identity, honour and friendship is breathtaking. In the midst of all this turmoil are Ali and Nino who try to find a compromise to make each other happy without compromising their own soul and identity.
This is a magnificent book which not only gives you an insight into a fragment of the history of Azerbaijan but also into the meaning of a cultural identity.
There's also some mystery to the identity of Kurban Said.. It was a pen-name for the mysterious Turkish-Arab Essad Bey. Only in the 1990's it was discovered that Bey was actually Lev Nussimbaum, a jew who was born in Baku. More on Kurban Said can be found in the book The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss.

Albania: Het land waar je nooit sterft (The Country Where No One Ever Dies) by Ornela Vorpsi - 4 stars
. . .

Due to some discussion on Lisa's (labfs39) CR-thread, I was reminded of my Reading Globally-thread that I had enjoyed so much last year. The plan then was to alphabetically visit every country of the world, either through a book by a native writer or a book set in the country, preferably both. However, I got stuck in the Bahamas and Bahrein and let go. So this discussion rekindled the flame and I decided to continue where I left off, although I've decided to not be so dogmatic on reading alphabetically if a book is not available right away. I also decided to add the European countries which I'd left out first, because I 'd also started a European challenge (which I also may take up again, later). So, when trying to find a suitable book about Albania, this one came up and it was just perfect.
Ornela Vorpsi is an Albanian writer and in this book, more of a novella, she writes down her impressions of what it was like to grow up in Albania, one of the strictest communist regimes in the world. I can't imagine what it must have been like then and there, but the way in which she tells the story, subdued and cynical, makes it all very visible and tangible. There's a certain distance in her writing and yet it's very confronting at the same time. It would be strange to say I liked this book because it's a very bitter story (rather a collection of memories and impressions) but I did like it, because to me it conveyed perfectly the feelings of despair and bitterness that surrounded Vorpsi when growing up as a young woman in this harsh, very male society. Recommended if you feel up to reading the more serious stuff.

Hmm, so this is how you do it? I guess I should start a thread, but I'm worried about one more thing to keep up!

As I mentioned on Lisa's Club Read thread, I mostly don't follow individual RG threads, so I'm glad you also posted this review in the regional threads, which I do follow. Good luck and happy reading with your challenge!

PS Love the maps!

# 29 Thanks for stopping by, Rebecca. I think the regional threads were a great idea and I can't blame you for focussing on them rather than the personal threads. I created my thread before the regional threads were available and now I just keep it to log my personal reading-progress. But you won't miss out on anything because I'll always post in the regional threads as well... except for the maps of course :-)

I've just added all the books that I read in 2011 and that are more or less relevant to the regional threads. I'm a bit astonished that almost all are situated in Europe. I thought I was more of an international reader. I hope and think reviving this thread and challenge will broaden my reading-horizons.

Wow! Just got back to LT and discovered all those reviews you've added to the regional threads. Looking forward to reading them!

Bhutan: The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden - 3 stars

. . .

This is the fictional story about the Bhutanese woman Tsomo from early childhood, growing up, getting married, migrating to India, etc. until she finally finds her destination and becomes a bhuddist nun. It's a rather straightforward story, told by Tsomo herself (though in third person). I wasn't particularly taken by the story and found it at times a bit long-winded. I also was a bit disappointed because I expected to learn more about Bhutan but as the story only evolves around Tsomo from her limited point-of-view, the reader doesn't really get an insight into life in Bhutan and what is unique about that country. And it was such a s l o w read. It felt it took me forever to finish it.

Hmmm, fascinating subject, but poorly executed. I think I'll pass. Love the map!

Bangladesh: Het bijtende gevoel van verlies (A Golden Age) by Tahmima Anam

. . .

A gripping story of a woman, her children, a people and a country. For some reason however, the story could not hold my attention. I'm still trying to figure out why because the story really had everything I usually like in a book.

I started to get bothered by the many gaps in my alphabetical challenge. So I decided to go back and meticulously fill in the blanks. Some, like Belize and Bahrain, were really hard to find, but I finally managed. Since I already know where to find the books, it's only a matter of time before I read them.

Benin: De bruid van Benin (The Bride of Benin) by Annette Bokpê
. . .

I must admit I was a bit reluctant to read this book and I only started it because it was the only book about Benin I could locate. However, "forced reads" like this often hold very pleasant surprises, so after half a page, I was totally wrapped up in this autobiography and in the engaging style of Annette who married the modest, hard-working engineer Maurice she met in Germany who later became a prince in his own country Benin. Annette soon finds out that Benin is a country ruled by voodoo-rituals and although her husband tries to escape the traditions, he finally goes back to his roots.
I thought this was a magnificent book. Bokpê writes beautifully and vividly. She warmly embraces the Benin-culture and her new Benin-family and friends and undergoes events with a lot of open-mindedness. However, she manages to keep her identity and self-esteem, which cannot have been very easy in a culture that's so different from hers.
I must say, quite unexpectedly, I've learned a lot about Benin. The book's originally written in German and translated to Dutch. Highly recommended, but I don't think it's available in English.

Sounds interesting and yes, not available in English.

Bosnia: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone by Saša Stanišic
. . .

I'm temporarily skipping a few countries on my alphabetical tour of the world so now I've arrived in Bosnia.
This is a remarkable book. I had expected a somewhat conventional memoir but I was bowled over by a flood of fantasy, images, memories, flash-backs, personal histories and tragedies in which the Bosnian war plays a major role without being prominent. It's hard to describe the book, but it's very fresh and unusual and I recommend it to anyone who's not afraid to break away from conventional story-telling.

Botswana: Black Mulberries by Caitlin Davies
. . .

Continuing my alphabetical tour of the world, I've arrived in Botswana.
This is the story of a family from Botswana that's torn between tradition and progress. This book has a lot of potential: a fluid style, interesting perspectives, interesting characters, interesting issues but IMO it lacked some depth, some drama and tension. We get to meet three generations of women and two nationalities. There's the personal luggage of the mater familias who's raised her family rather succesfully in somewhat difficult circumstances after her husband died. There's the grand-daughter who has a special connection with her grand-mother. There's the beautiful daughter who has a carreer in modelling and there's the female neighbour-journalist who has a crush on the brother. The interaction between those women against the beautiful backdrop of Botswana gives plenty to write about. However, there are far too many loose ends, far too many easy-way-outs, too many gimmicks to make me overenthusiastic. In fact I had the same problem with this book as I did with Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. It's not exactly chicklit but it's coming close. On the other hand, if you liked Brooklyn, I'm pretty sure, you'll love this one. I liked it, didn't love it.

I was a bit behind on your thread, so it was a joy to read. I've added De bruid van Benin by Annette Bokpê to my own TBR list for when I go 'visit' Africa. I already had a short story(I think it's a short story anyway) on my list for Benin but this book sounds much more interesting!

Both A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam and Black Mulberries by Caitlin Davies were on my list of possible books for their respective countries. From your review, I think I'll like Black Mulberries, it sounds like the kind of book I like anyway. As for A Golden Age, I'll just have to wait and see.

Hi Samantha-Kathy, thanks for stopping by. I do recommend any of the books you mentioned for the RG-read. They may not be brilliant or extraordinary, but sometimes good is more than good enough. In fact I wonder why Black Mulberries isn't a hit on LT because it has everything it takes.

Black Mulberries (and other good books) often get snowed under when the next new book-fad is there, no matter how good or bad that popular book is. Twilight anyone?

Nice reviews: I'll look forward to seeing The Bride of Benin in English, and How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone sounds interesting too.

Andorra: Andorra by Peter Cameron
. . .

One-sentence-summary
A man moves to Andorra to start a new life, but what secret does he carry and who are the people who cross his path.

My personal thoughts
The story is set in the idyllic but fictionalized mini-state of Andorra (in reality landlocked in the Pyrenees between France and Spain, in this novel conveniently situated at the sea). The story slowly unwinds as the main character moves to Andorra and meets some people who influence his new life. It all leads to a climax that was interesting though a bit underwhelming. The beauty of this book primarily lies in the wonderful, dreamy setting and the elegant prose, minus points were the characters who were a bit too gimmicky, their stories a bit too plain and predictable. It felt as if the author forgot what he wanted to do with the story and suddenly decided to put an end to it. But all in all, a relaxing, enjoyable read.

Bahrain: An Archaeological Guide to Bahrain by Timothy Insoll (2011) – 3,5 stars
...
My Reading Globally-challenge sometimes brings me to countries that require a lot of effort to find a suitable book for or even to find just a book. As I did not find any fiction set in Bahrain or written by a Bahraini, I decided to read this non-fiction-book on the archaeological treasures of Bahrain. It was an eye-opener because it briefly sums up the archaeological highlights of the country and gives a little backgroundinfo on the history of the country. Since it is meant to be a guide to people living in or visiting Bahrain, there are also directions to find the sites and what to see in the museum which wasn't all that interesting to me. What bothered me more was the dry style in which the book is written. Surely, with a bit of imagination or effort, this book could have been much more entertaining, without comprimising to the scientific standards.

Antigua & Barbuda My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid (1997)
...
In this book Jamaica Kincaid describes the death of her younger brother from aids and all the feelings that accompany this tragic event. J.K. lives in the US with her husband and her children but when she hears that her brother is seriously ill, she travels to Antigua, the country where she grew up in. She finds her brother on the verge of death but manages to find adequate medical treatment which prolongs his life and its quality significantly.
This non-fiction-book is autobiographical which makes it difficult to comment or criticize. I could comment on the style – which is beautiful – and the structure – which is well-balanced –, but that would be inadequate, because the most important thing about this book is its contents. This book is packed with complicated feelings, unresolved issues and introspection. By writing the way she does, the author puts herself in a vulnerable position, because she seems very harsh towards her brother and her mother who she hates for reasons that are not quite explained in this book, at least not enough to feel unequivocally sympathetic towards the author. Okay, it may not have been relevant to this story to know the background of this feud between a daughter and her mother, but the way she puts it now, makes the author look harsh and selfish, while I sense she's frustrated and disillusioned about the whole situation. Apart from one incident which puts the mother into a bad light (and even then, one might understand the mother), she admits that her mother has always taken care of her children, prepared their food, looked after them when they were ill, while she had very little income to make ends meet. The author claims that her mother could get along with her children as long as they were depending on her, but was incapable of letting them go. But I wonder if that is such a horrible thing, moreso, isn't it normal for a mother to have difficulties in letting her children go? Again, I don't know what really happened between the author and her mother, but by omitting this vital information, she does not make herself all too likeable and makes me wonder what kind of woman the mother really is.
After reading this book I thought what she might have achieved if she had written a book from three different points of view: herself, the mother and the brother. I think, with the author's writing-skillls, this might have become a classic with clashes between generations, cultures and genders. Now, it's just a testimony of a resentful woman who has not come to terms with her own grief. In short, it's not a bad book, but it could have been so much better if she's stepped away from the autobiography.
I read this book for this challenge on Antigua (thanks to Carrie (cbl_tn) for suggesting it to me!) and it's excellent for that purpose: the author's originally from Antigua, the book is set in Antigua and it gives some insight into Antiguan ways. Cautiously recommended.

Brazil: Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (BR, 1958)


Don't be fooled by the cover. This book has a lot more to offer. After reading this book, I remember what is so special about South-American literature. This book has this typical feel of seriousness, wrapped in humour and irony. Basically, this is the story of the development of the small harbour-town Ilhéus in the Bahia-region in Brazil and its inhabitants in the 1920s. The book is packed with colourful characters who aren't very rounded, but who are unforgettable anyway. Amado knows how to portray people and their small traits that make them human: the jealousy, the friendship, the hypocrisy, the anger, the lust,... it's all there.

Underneath the thin layer of civilisation, there is still a less refined layer of brute force, machismo and violence in which the men do as they please and the women are expected to do whatever the man decides. It's not a coincidence that the four parts of the book are dedicated to four women who each choose their own way of dealing with the situation. Gabriela is one of them but her story is more prominent than the others.
This book was written in 1958, but it still has a modern feel. Highly recommended.

edited

>1 Trifolia: - I have updated my list of books per country. I've also added the books I read for my European Challenge which I've almost finished. I'm pleased to see that I'm already over 30% but I'll have to figure out where to find books for countries like Tuvalu and Monserrat...
Obviously, I have read more than one book for some countries, but I'm only adding one book per country. My choice is based on the most "appropriate" book for this list, e.g. because the author is a native, the book is a classic or it's my favourite.

Norway: The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas - 3 stars


Beautifully written story, set in a breath-taking Norwegian landscape, about the budding friendship between two girls that ends abruptly and traumatically. Although the setting is magnificent and the language and the style are beautiful, I thought the story and the characters were too flimsy in itself to leave a lasting impression on me.

Turkey: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak - 4 stars


The book begins with the death of the Turkish prostitute Leila and the ten minutes and 38 seconds in which she reflects on her life from birth, on her difficult childhood in a small town, her flight to Istamboul, and her further life to the point that she is murdered. In the second part, Leila's friends, who are already introduced in the first part, try to give her a dignified funeral and in the third part the book ends nicely from Leila's perspective.

I have mixed feelings about this book. In the first part, Shafak shows herself to be a great storyteller. Told from Leila's point of view, using scents and spices, she brings to life a story that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming in an image-rich language and style. I found the second part a lot less because the story there was rather tragicomic and the characters felt and acted rather cliché. But when Shafak switched back to Leila in the very short third piece, it's all tied together rather nicely.

Despite the lesser second part, I really enjoyed this book. The strength lies mainly in the beautiful writing style and less in the characters who, except for Leila, felt quite flat. Involuntarily I thought of an oriental jewelery box, beautifully decorated on the outside but empty on the inside. But nevertheless beautiful to look at and to enjoy. Very special.

Croatia: On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleža - 4 stars


When a settled man in his fifties almost accidentally accuses a prominent politician of being a murderer (which he actually is), the consequences are dire. Although he is given several opportunities to admit his "mistake", he decides to resolutely choose honesty from now on and give up his hypocritical existence. Within a week, the group turns against him and he loses all the foundations on which he has built his life.
This sometimes funny, sometimes poignant story is told from the point of view of the protagonist who is ostracized from the group. He is a somewhat strange figure, where it is not clear whether he actually wants to be consistent or suffers from some form of madness. Because through his encounters with others, you get the impression that there is more going on. Or is the peer pressure so great that the individual is crushed anyway.
Despite the fact that it has a limited storyline, I really liked this relatively short novel.

Germany: The Walk by Robert Walser - 3 stars


A seemingly simple story from 1917 turns out to be an allegory of life: a writer leaves his house with the intention of making a number of visits during the day and taking care of business. He starts his walk in good spirits, but gradually his thoughts run away with him and his encounters with others do not all go as planned.
This is a strange story where you get completely inside the head of the rather gaudy writer. I enjoyed the refined writing style, but I think you should read this book in a short period of time with as few interruptions as possible. Only then will you be able to follow the main character's stream of thoughts.
Unfortunately, I was a bit distracted soon after I started reading so I probably should read this book again to fully enjoy it. But I did not like it well enough to do this.

Btw, I looked at the English covers of the book to add to this review, but thought the Dutch cover best represented this book. If you like the cover, you'll probably like the book too.

Chile. The Distance Between Us by Renato Cisneros - 3 stars



This book is a bit confusing because the author, a journalist, starts his story by stating that his book is fiction, when in reality he is the son of the infamous Chilean General Cisneros who is omnipresent in some of the most black pages in the country's more recent history.
When he falls into depression after a broken relationship, his psychologist advises him to look for the life story of his deceased father in order to come to terms with his own past.
Little by little he reconstructs his father's life, but he continues to struggle with this very enigmatic figure: a ruthless, unyielding man who did not shy away from putting his bold statements into practice, but also a man who wrote sentimental love poems and who enchanted women with his charm.
I found the fact that the author also includes the ancestors in the story and shows that a large part of his father’s personality was already ingrained in his genes. I also liked the writing style. But every now and then he faltered a bit too long at certain events. If it is a fiction book, it could have been a little more condensed. But no doubt the author wanted to tell the whole, complex story, including his own experiences.
The unclear line between fiction and non-fiction made it difficult for me to empathize with the story. A difficult book to place, but in a strange way, well worth reading it.

Cameroon: How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue - 4,5 stars


A book that captivated me from the first page and never bored me. It is the story of an African village and its inhabitants that are destroyed by the toxic presence of the American multinational Pexton. When the children get sick one by one and die all too often, the village decides to revolt and take matters into their own hands. I don't want to spoil the reading pleasure of future readers by telling too much of the story, but it is absolutely beautiful. The story is delicately told, with varying points of view, each from a different perspective but all from the side of the underdogs, which gives the whole story much more depth than if the author had opted for the clash between the good and the bad. Added to this is a very beautiful use of language, a very empathetic style, a lot of nuance and a surprising introduction of "the children" as a separate narrator, making the story even more unique and layered. The other characters are also well developed. In combination with the captivating story, all this made it a pleasure to read this book.

Japan: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa - 2,5 stars

On an island, all kinds of objects disappear one by one. They are banned, destroyed and most people forget about them. But some people are genetically different so they don't forget things. They are prosecuted and arrested by the memory police, after which they are never heard from again. Some manage to go into hiding, but that becomes increasingly difficult as more and more things disappear.
The story builds up nicely, the atmosphere becomes more and more oppressive and seems to lead to a climax, but turned out to be an anti-climax for me. Perhaps this is inherent in dystopias and at the same time the reason why I rarely find them interesting. As with otjher dystopias, I think more could have been done with it.

North-Korea: The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee (2015) - 3 stars


I had this book on my shelf for almost 5 years but it wasn't until my reading-twin Lisa recently bought it and noticed it in my library, that we decided to read it together. RL prevented us (me) from reading it chapter by chapter or even part by part, but we somehow managed to read and finish it synchronically.
This book is the autobiography of a North-Korean girl who, more by luck than reasoning left North-Korea and after some spectacular episodes in China and Laos finally ended up in South-Korea where she met her American husband to be.
This book was a bit too polished and one-sided for my taste, but autobiographies have that intrinsic quality of course. It is a good story though and Lisa apparently liked it better than I did. You can find Lisa's comments on her thread

Germany: The German Lesson by Siegfried Lenz - 4,5 stars

In the aftermath of World War II and as the son of a Nazi loyal policeman, Siggi, a young man who is in an institution to be re-educated, is assigned to write an essay on “the joy of duty”. When he fails to get something on paper in time, he is punished and obliged to write the essay after all. It eventually becomes the beginning of a book in which he tells his life story and in which duty plays a leading role.

Flashbacks give us a glimpse of Siggi's life and how he ended up in the situation he is now in. Each chapter is a separate scene in which the storyline is rolled out in fine detail. Leading roles are played by the father and a painter who is forbidden by Berlin to paint, but other characters of his family and close-knit community are fleshed out well too.
In addition, Siggi also tells the story of his experiences in the institution, observing his fellow inmates, the guards and the psychologists who observe them and are supposed to cure them. In the end, you wonder who is more in need of healing.

I thought this was an amazing book. It is very well written, with beautifully crafted characters and an interesting storyline. But especially the way in which Lenz elaborates the theme of duty is impressive. Strongly recommended for those who love books to reflect on.

Austria: Pale Blue Ink in a Lady's Hand by Franz Werfel (1941) - 4 stars


One day, when he receives a letter from a woman he knew long ago, the complacent Leonidas, a middle aged senior civil servant, realizes that his perfectly balanced life might come to an end.
Packed with satire, humour and compassion, this superb novella about the inner struggle of a man also accurately reflects the zeitgeist and standards of the 1930s in Austria.
Franz Werfel was the third husband of the notorious Alma Mahler-Gropius-Werfel and his wife might have had an influence on this novella.
Although I do not find an English cover here on LT, I'm certain this book has been translated. It's well worth reading.

I'm glad to see you've revived your Reading Globally thread, Monica. Such good reading, as always.

It looks like you're halfway through. And your recent books sound interesting. Especially the one by Robert Walser. I'll have to look for a copy.

>63 RidgewayGirl: - Still a long way to go. Walser was the right book at the wrong time for me, but I would reread and recommend him.

South Africa: The Promise by Damon Galgut - 4,5 stars


The story begins with the death of the mother of the white Swart family on a farm in South Africa and a promise her husband made on her deathbed to give a small house on their land to the black maid. It is the start of four long chapters, each set in a different decade in which something happens to a different member of the family. The promise of the father runs like a red thread through the story, but it is actually not the most important issue in this book.
In parallel with the personal events, South Africa's history also seeps through: the apartheid, the initial optimism under Nelson Mandela, the growing disillusionment and frustration and ultimately the chaos, corruption and climate impact.
As a reader you look through the eyes of various characters in a kind of collective stream of consciousness. The perspective is constantly changing from one to the other, sometimes even mid-sentence, but while this might be confusing, it works great. It is striking that the black characters are never in that stream of consciousness but always have to watch from the sidelines and are viewed and treated from the white point of view. And that in itself is significant. But the white point of view is anything but unison either. As a reader you do have to pay attention, but it is never unclear whose head you are in.

It is also wonderful how the author manages to sketch a complete character in a few sentences without falling into clichés. There is always something that makes them something unique. They are all people of flesh and blood, often not pleasant people at all, but because of their petty traits and because of what they experience, you can understand their situation (or sometimes not at all).

This is a very mathematical work: four decades, four main characters, four parallel events that unfold in four different ways, etc. Yet it never feels forced. The book sparkles and vibrates, surprises and continues to fascinate until the last page.

This book turns out to be one of the biggest surprises of 2021. There is still so much to say about it and much more to think about, but I don't want to say too much about it so as not to spoil the reading pleasure. Highly recommended.

Uganda: The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi - 4 stars

In my quest to read more internationally, I came across this book by this Ugandan author. It was described as a girl's quest for her absent mother, but although that quest runs like a thread through the story, it is much more the coming of age story of Kirabo who grows up in a village in Uganda with her wealthy grandparents and who is well surrounded by her family. But it is also about the relationship between men and women, between women themselves, the importance and strength of the family, of the clan, the contrast between the countryside where people live from agriculture and the city where people live a Western lifestyle, about the choices you can make as a woman in Uganda (and they turn out to be less obvious than we would suspect with our Western point of view).
It was refreshing to read a book that for once was not about the contrast between black and white, but where the focus was mainly on the customs, traditions and mutual relationships of the Ugandans. Kirabo is a strong main character, but a number of other characters, especially the women, also come out well. This was a wonderful book to read.
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is also the author of Kintu and apparently that one is also something to look forward to.

I've added this book to my wish list. A note to others who might be interested, the US title is A Girl is a Body of Water. Not sure why the title change.

>67 labfs39: Thanks for pointing this out, Lisa.

Albania. Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi - 4 stars


A memoir of the Albanian Lea Ypi who was born in 1979 in one of the most isolated countries in Europe. While she, influenced by her teachers and the society that surrounds her, raves about the regime, about Stalin and socialism, her parents and grandmother seem to have the greatest difficulty to hang the obligatory photo of "Uncle Enver" (Hoxha), the then leader of Albania, in their house.
In each chapter we get a better picture of how things evolved in Albania and although the collapse of Eastern Europe initially seemed to skip Albania, the country eventually made the transition to democracy in its own way. Only then does Lea discover that her parents are very different people than she had always thought.

Heaven falls on her head not only on a personal level. She also has to watch how her familiar world changes and experience how the country is plunged into chaos and civil war.
Through gripping anecdotes and introspection, Ypi paints a nuanced, authentic picture of what it feels like to grow up as a child and teenager in a country, first under dictatorship, later in chaos. It is striking that, despite her parents' choices and history she does not really embrace the new democracy because she also sees and experiences the disadvantages of it. It is impossible to describe the richness of this book in detail but through her eyes you get a wonderful and personal picture of an important fragment of the history of Albania. In the end, like so many others, she will leave her country to go abroad to study.

Lea Ypi is Professor of Political Theory in the London School of Economics. The title of her book is probably a nod to the book by Francis Fukuyama, her American colleague who wrote the book The End of History and the Last Man and in which he described the end of the Cold War as the end of the ideological struggle.
This memoir is interesting from several angles: historical, political, philosophical, sociological, etc. It is one of those books that makes you think.
I liked it very much because it gave me an original perspective of a place and period of time I have witnessed as a (slightly older) bystander living in the West and I found it very insightful. Very well written. Highly recommended.

France: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - 4 stars


What more can be said about this classic about which so much has been written already. It's been on my "must-read classic" list for a long time but was a bit hesitant because I really didn't feel the need for another "women's novel" (how ironic, in light of previous discussions around my thread :-)) from a yearning woman to be rescued.
But look, I decided to bite the bullet and have once again found that classics are not called classics for nothing. Regardless of all the qualities of the book, it made me stop and think about the characters of Emma and Charles Bovary, both prisoners of their time. And after reading this book, I wonder what Emma's life would have been like if she'd had the chance to develop instead of being pushed into a role she didn't like. Somewhere in the book she says, apparently rather thoughtlessly, that she would have liked to become a nurse. And indeed, earlier in the book it had already been described how she had come to the aid of her husband in a prompt and skilful manner during a medical procedure. But for someone like Emma, ​​this may not have been possible. The subtitle of this book (Mœurs de province) therefore seems very relevant to me. This book was a very pleasant surprise for me.

Italy: The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati - 4 stars


A wonderful, slightly kafka-esque book about a young soldier who is sent to a fortress on the outside border to prepare for an invasion of the barbarians. From day one he wants to leave but even though he gets multiple chances to do so, he eventually stays his whole life. It's an allegory of life, but I'm not sure if it's comforting or daunting. Maybe it's both.

Italy: The Wild Boy: A Memoir by Paolo Cognetti - 3 stars

Although I always intend to objectify my opinion, I rarely seem to succeed. It may be hopeless since the choice of whether or not to read a book already is a value judgment or at the very least indicates a certain interest in something. And this book is no different.
I chose this book because it is set in the Alps where I have spent many summer vacations (though not in Italy which is where this book is set). It is about a man who wants to find his inspiration in peace and quiet and rents a house high in the mountains.
It fascinates me to know what drives people to do something like this. I understand that some people have a desire to leave everything behind, temporarily or permanently, but I always wonder to what extent such a thing is possible. Because in the end you always take yourself with you. But I digress.
Paolo tells the story of that summer and part of the autumn that he spends in solitude. He chronologically writes about the simple life up there, his impressions, his attempts to live even closer to nature, his struggles with the weather, his friendships with fellow mountain inhabitants.
His language is visual, atmospheric and also poetic. And I really enjoyed that part. But after reading this book, I'm still left with the question of what all this escapism yields, except perhaps a well-deserved rest (aka vacation?) before the hectic strikes again?

Norway: De eenzaamheid in het leven van Lydia Erneman by Rune Christiansen - 3,5 stars

"The Loneliness in the Life of Lydia Erneman" won the Norwegian Brage Prize in 2014, which according to Wikipedia is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation. The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature.
In the reviews I read, this book was mentioned as a book about a woman who loves solitude. In the end the story turned out slightly differently than I had expected, but I enjoyed the special atmosphere that the book radiated, a certain calm and melancholy, little action. However the plotline, if you can call it that, was a bit too flat for me to give this a higher rating. All in all I enjoyed this quiet, little book but did not love it.
I'd recommend it to those who enjoy atmospheric literature, as I do, every so often.

Cyprus / Turkey: The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - 4,5 stars


I have put off reviewing this book for too long. I thought it was a great book that really resonated with me. Perhaps there is something about Shafak's style that I really like, because I also enjoyed reading her previous books. Her emphasis is on storytelling rather than plot. Although you can certainly not claim in this book that nothing happens. On the contrary.
Set against the backdrop of the war in Cyprus in the 1970s, it stars a Greek Cypriot boy and a Turkish Cypriot girl, a love story that casts its shadows to the present day and features a fig tree as one of the main characters. (yes, I know, it sounds absurd, but it fits the story wonderfully). But there is so much more than the classic love story: ecology, fauna, flora, friendship, homosexuality, traditions, depression,... themes that somehow all intertwine into a cohesive story that never feels contrived.
I can imagine that not everyone will feel attracted to Elfi Shafak's style. But I am a fan and plan to read her other books as well. Highly recommended.

Lebanon: An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine - 4 stars

What superlatives can I add about a book that was brought to my attention by Lisa (labfs39) but that was already on my TBR because of a review by annavangelderen, a (former?) Dutch member of LT who has her own blog in the Dutch.
It takes place in Beirut. Since she was rejected by her now deceased husband shortly after she got married, Aaliya lives alone and translates world classics into Arabic. Literature and music give her life meaning. Only, nobody knows about her activities and it is not the intention that anyone ever sees those translations. She withstands the pressure of her family, her neighbors, the war, the loss of the few friends she has and feels safe in her home. Until something happens that throws her off balance.
Aaliya in a character I won't forget. The layering of her character, the combination of tragedy and humor and the way she deals with her environment and situations are beautifully developed. For a moment I feared it would end with a cliché, but luckily the author just didn't fall into the trap.
Highly recommended and definitely one of the better books of 2022.

France: The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas - 2,5 stars


The story is set in the 19th century and tells the story of some women who ended up in the asylum for the insane La Salpétrière in Paris. Most of the women in this asylum did not belong there but were victims of the zeitgeist that was not exactly kind to women. And then there's the medical and nursing staff who also have to fight their own demons.
The La Salpétrière and Dr Charcot are important in the history of psychiatry and I had high expectations about this book. Unfortunately, the book failed to convince me as the storylines got stuck in predictability, sentimentality and cliché.

Italy: Het geluk van de wolf (The Luck of the Wolf) by Paolo Cognetti - 2 stars


Intimistic stories of inhabitants of the high mountains seem to be the trademark of Paolo Cognetti. The summaries of his books always appeal to me and every time I'm slightly disappointed. It's all a bit too sentimental for me. Let me just say that I find little connection with Paolo Cognetti's oeuvre, but that is a purely personal choice. I know that others enjoy his books very much so don't let my review hold you back if you like this sort of books.

Nigeria: Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo - 4 stars


A surprisingly beautiful novel about the quest of a middle-aged woman who, after the death of her British mother, finds the diaries her African father left with her mother before she was even born. She decides to look for him, but that search turns out slightly differently than expected.
Chibundu Onuzo has written a beautiful and nuanced story that makes you think about identity, about what it means to grow up without a father in a loving and at the same time hostile environment, about how to deal with the different layers and the evolution of an individual and about what it means to be genetically defined by two cultures, even if one culture is completely foreign to you.
There is so much in this book and yet it never feels contrived. The characters and setting are authentic and believable, the story flows and surprises and remains captivating until the end.
The only downside is perhaps that some themes are not developed enough, but in a way this emphasizes the experiences of the main character. The title is particularly well chosen, btw. Recommended!

Kyrgyzstan: Jamilia by Tsjingiz Ajtmatov - 3 stars

This book was brought to my attention and recommended in several ways, so when I finally got my hands on it, I didn't hesitate. But maybe the recommendations made my expectations too high. Certainly, the story is beautifully written: when her husband goes to war, young Jamilia is left behind with her in-laws. Her brother-in-law falls in love with her, but when a stranger comes to the village, the situation changes. I can understand why this story will appeal to readers, but somehow this book just didn't appeal to me. I certainly didn't think it was bad, just not great.

France: Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin - 2,5 stars

This book was recommended to me by several friends who had read it and were impressed by it. I read it about three weeks ago and I still don't know if I liked it or not.
It is mainly the story of a woman who grieves quietly but that changes when a man comes into her life who opens old wounds and knows how to heal them, but not in the way you would expect.
On the one hand, I found the story rather weak and sentimental and there were too many coincidences to be believable. I also struggled to empathize with most of the characters because I couldn't picture them properly. It wasn't because they were so complex, but rather because they just didn't come to life.
On the other hand, the book also had a kind of gentle, sensitive atmosphere that attracted me. The unique feature of the main character as a train guard resp. cemetery manager certainly contributed to this. I also liked the way the author peeled off the story layer by layer without revealing too much right away.
Overall I somehow liked the book, but in the end I wasn't that impressed. A bit too much of a chicklit.

France: The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier - 3,5 stars


A story about the implications when a plane from Paris lands in New York a few months after the same plane from Paris landed in New York. Nothing unusual except for the fact that exactly the same people are on the plane and they don't know they have already landed. We follow some of the passengers and the reaction of the authorities who want to find out what happened.
I found this book a bit confusing, not so much because of the story but because of the author's style.
The way he referred to actual persons and situations was rather simplistic and at times I thought he was ridiculing his readers. But I don't know enough about Le Tellier to be able to properly interpret this book. It won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2020 so I probably missed the point.

Norway: The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen - 4 stars


A wonderful novel about the early years of Ingrid Barroy who grows up in a small family, living on a remote island off the coast of Norway in the 1920s.

I loved the way the author depicts the beautiful but harsh setting, the challenges the family faces and the subtle way in which a lot is said without actually writing it out. It's the first book in a series and I'm lookng forward to reading the next one, although not too soon because it's a series to be savoured in small doses.

The Netherlands: The death of Murat Idrissi by Tommy Wieringa - 3 stars


Tommy Wieringa is a Dutch writer of whom I have already read a number of books that I really liked. I like his writing style and the themes he tackles. This novella is about two Dutch girls of Moroccan descent who, due to a lack of money, have to make a drastic decision that gets them into big trouble and has far-reaching consequences.
Although the story seems a bit unbelievable (even if it seems to be based on true facts) and not all characters are equally well portrayed, I still found it very worthwhile: Wieringa knows how to create atmosphere and can keep a story interesting until the last moment. Actually, I think it's a shame that this was only a novella, because there was so much in this booklet that it would have been a great novel.

>75 Trifolia: I've had that on my tbr for ages. I should start the new year with it.

>74 Trifolia: A reminder that I want to read Island of Missing Trees. I must get a copy, as I suspect I'll want to keep it.

Algeria: A Bookshop in Algiers / Our Riches by Kaouther Adimi - 3 stars


Author’s nationality: Algerian
Original publication date: 2017
Author’s age when first published: 31
Written in: French
Read in: Dutch translation
Format: e-book

Why I read this :
In my search for suitable books for the African novel challenge in January, this book caught my eye. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, because I actually wanted an Algerian story by an Algerian author in an Algerian context and the French context therefore seemed less interesting to me. But since France is an integral part of Algeria's history and since I have a soft spot for bookstore books, I read it anyway. The fact that it is a short novel made the choice easier.

Summary:
Based on true events, the book tells the story of Edmond Charlot, a young man in his twenties, who opened a bookshop (Les Vraies Richesses) in Algiers in the 1930s and also became a publisher and champion of a literary scene that transcended borders. His bookshop became the place to be for writers, poets, publishers, students, a.o. Albert Camus (who had some of his first works published by Charlot).

My comments:
In this book we follow three storylines: that of Charlot through fictionalized diary fragments, that of Ryad who has to clean up the bookshop in 2017 and the author who's the voice of the Algerian people.
Charlot's diary fragments are interesting because they depict the hectic pace of the entrepreneur and enable the author to give a lot of information in a very concise manner. But sometimes it was a bit too much name dropping without the necessary context. Ryad's story seemed a bit superfluous to me, but perhaps necessary to complete the circle. Perhaps the most impressive was the anonymous voice of the Algerian people, although it is very limited. However decisive the storyline of Charlot's bookstore is, this is also the story of Algeria, a colony of France that tried to become independent and pays a very heavy price for it.
I must admit that I know very little about colonialism and the struggle for independence. That lack of knowledge is one of the reasons I've joined the African Roman Challenge. Ailthough this book offers no more than a very concise look at a complex and painful history, its merits are that it is well written, it rescues Charlots bookshop from oblivion and it has made me curious enough to explore this topic further, so it does have its value.

Recommended for:
Anyone who likes to read about booksellers or wants to take a cursory glance at a small aspect of Algeria's history.

Africa: Africa Is Not a Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa by Dipo Faloyin - 4 stars


Author’s nationality: Nigerian
Original publication date: 2022
Author’s age when first published: ?
Written in: English
Read in: Dutch translation
Format: audiobook
Genre: non fiction

Why I read this :
In my preparation for the African Roman Challenge I was looking for some kind of overview of African history. This book came up and while it wasn't really what I was looking for (I can see a pattern emerging here…), the synopsis tickled me enough to read it.

Summary:
In this intriguing book, the Nigerian journalist Dipo Faloyin who was born in the US, spent his childhood in Nigeria and now lives and works in London, challenges us to look at Africa differently. Because, for various reasons, we still use stereotypes and prejudices that are detrimental to the development of this continent.
After a first chapter in which he tells the story of how Africa was divided among the Western powers, he explains why charities such as Band Aid are so harmful, that there is much more diversity within Africa than Westerners think. There is a hilarious chapter about how Hollywood filmmakers should portray Africa to fit all the clichés, but he also explains the variety of African dictatorships and the impact of foreign influence, the link with supremacists, the outrage over the plunder of African art and heritage, he writes about the jollof rice war that Jamie Oliver unintentionally unleashed and finally also about possible future prospects for the continent. The common thread running through his story is the author's concern that Africa is being robbed of opportunities by all those wrong assumptions that drive investors away, simply giving a wrong picture of a continent in full development.

My comments:
The author sometimes rambles on and repeats himself, but it never gets boring. It may be necessary to emphasize the seriousness of the message, especially since Dipo Faloyin writes in such a disarmingly humorous, sometimes hilarious way. I can’t really say the facts he mentioned were unknown to me, but he presents them in a way that makes me think and see things from a different perspective.
I don't always agree with the author and I had hoped he would make more suggestions to improve Africa's image, but Faloyin has already given me a lot to chew on. He has made me think and I accept his invitation to try to stay away from clichés and prejudices when looking at this beautiful and fascinating continent.

Recommended for:
Anyone who’s interested in Africa and would like to look at it from a different angle.