Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
The topic of this week’s Top Ten Tuesday is:
Top Ten books with […] setting. And my pick is foreign countries.
I love to read books from other cultures and from foreign countries. I haven’t traveled that much out of Europe, so by reading about India, Pakistan and Australia it’s like I’ve been there anyway (though I am quite aware that it’s not the same thing).
- Cathedral of the Sea by Idefonso Falcones. I am reading this now. It is set in Barcelona in the 14th century and it really captures the spirit of both time and place.
- Papillon by Henry Charrière. Read this a lot of years ago, but I remember it well. It is set mostly in South America.
- Ensemble c’est tout by Anna Gavalda. Though France isn’t really that foreign I have never been there, so I am putting this on my list.
- Shantaram by Gragory David Roberts. This book is amazing! It is mostly set in the slum of Bombay, India. Based on true events, really a must-read.
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. If you still haven’t read this, you should. A heartbreaking story about friendship, family and love, set in Afghanistan.
- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Though Murakami has an unbelievable imagination I think this trilogy still captures the essence of Japanese culture.
- Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee. The only book I’ve ever read that’s set in South America. I found this really realistic, both because of the happenings and the not-so-perfect characters.
- Burmese Days by George Orwell. While this Orwell book can’t even compare to Animal Farm, it is a great story about the English Empire in Burma.
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. One of my ultimate favorite books! It is set in St. Petersburg and it mentions a lot of the streets and places there. After reading this I decided I have to visit St. Petersburg once.
- The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Since I couldn’t think of a 10th book I decided to give the amazing Dostoyevsky another one. This too is set in St. Petersburg.
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Great picks. I like all Khaled Hosseini books especially because of the setting. I also have Shantaram on my TBR though yet to read it. I haven’t read any of the other books on your list but will definitely look them up.
LikerLiker
Thanks! Shantaram is really good. I read it 10 years ago or something but it is actually a book I consider re-reading. I can also really, really(!!) recommend Crime and Punishment. It might seem quite heavy (a thick Russian book written in the 19th century), but it’s really not.
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Thanks Julianne… Ill bump up Shantaram on my reading list and try and get Crime and Punishment also.
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Cathedral by the Sea is one of my favorites!
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Cool! I like it a lot, but I read it in Norwegian and the translation is not so good :/
LikerLiker
I haven’t read any of these! Though, IQ84 has been on my TBR list for a while!
My TTT.
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1Q84 is fantastic!
LikerLiker
I’m so happy to see Crime and Punishment on your list, it is such a good book!
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I know! :)
LikerLiker