Books
worth reading around the world
by Marcelo Antinori[1]
February
27, 2018
South America
Argentina
Neuman,
Andres – Traveler of the Century
Pron,
Patricio – My Father’s Ghost is Climbing
in the Rain
Schweblin,
Samanta – Fever Dream
Bolivia
Colanzi, Liliana – Our Dead
World
Hasbun, Rodrigo – Affections
Recaecochea, Juan De – American
Visa
Brazil
Guimarães
Rosa, João – The Third Bank of the River
and other stories
Lispector,
Clarice – The Passion According to G.H.
Nassar,
Raduan – A Cup of Rage
Chile
Bolaño,
Roberto – The Savage Detectives
Zambra,
Alejandro – The Private Life of Trees
Zuñiga,
Diego – Camanchaca
Colombia
Gamboa,
Santiago – Night Prayers
Restrepo,
Laura – Delirium
Vasquez,
Juan Gabriel – The Sound of Things Falling
Ecuador
Cardenas,
Mauro Javier– The Revolutionaries Try
Again
Icaza,
Jorge – The Villagers (Huasipungo)
Guyana
Kempadoo, Oonya – Buxton
Spice
Paraguay
Roa Bastos, Augusto – I the
Supreme
Peru
Alarcon, Daniel – Lost City
Radio
Ribeyro, Julio Ramon –
Marginal Voices
Santiago Roncagliolo – Red
April
Suriname
Mc Leod, Cynthia – The Cost
of Sugar
Uruguay
Hernandez, Felisberto – Piano
Stories
Onetti, Juan Carlos – A
Brief Life
Quiroga, Horacio – The Decapitated
Chicken
Venezuela
Tyszka, Alberto Barrera – The
Sickness
Central America
Belize
Ellis Zoila – On Heroes,
Lizards and Passions
Costa Rica
Olivas, Oscar Nuñez – Cadence
of the Moon
El Salvador
Moya, Horacio Castellano – Senselessness
Guatemala
Asturias, Miguel Angel – The President
Monterroso, Augusto – Complete Stories and Other Works
Honduras
Yuscaran, Guillermo – Points of Light
Nicaragua
Belli, Gioconda – Infinity on the Palm of Her Hand
Ramirez, Sergio – Margarita,
How Beautiful the Sea
Panama
Morgan, Juan – The Golden Horse
North America
Canada
Atwood, Margaret, – The
Handmaid’s Tale
Brossard, Nicole – Mauve
Desert
McCormack, Derek – Grab Bag
Mexico
Luiselli, Valeria – The Story of My Teeth
Herrera, Yuri – Signs
Preceding the End of the World
Boullosa, Carmen – Texas
the Great Theft
United States
Johnson, Adam – Fortune Smiles
Whitehead, Collson – The
Intuition
Saunders, Georges – Lincoln
in the Bardo
Caribbean
Antigua
Kincaid, Jamaica –
Lucy
Cuba
Cabrera Infante, Guillermo _ Three Trapped Tigers
Carpentier, Alejo – The
Kingdom of this World
Padura, Leonardo – The
Man who Loved Dogs
Bahamas
Strachan, Ian – God’s Angry
Babies
Barbados
Lovel, Glenville – Song of
Night
Dominica
Alfrey, Phillys Shands – The
Orchid House
Dominican Republic
Diaz, Junot – The
Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Grenada
Collins, Merle – The Ladies
are Upstairs
Guadeloupe
Schwartz-Bart Simone – The
Bridge of Beyond
Haiti
Danticat, Edwidge – Breath,
Eyes Memory
Laferriere, Dany – How to
Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired
Roumain, Jacques – Masters
of the Dew
Jamaica
James, Marlon – A
Brief History of Seven Killings
Cezair-Thompson, Margaret – The Pirate’s Daughter
Spence, Vanessa –
The Roads are Down
Martinique
Chamoiseau, Patrick –
Texaco
Saint
Kitts and Nevis
Roach, Bertran –
Only God Can Make a Tree
Saint Lucia
Aubertin, Michael –
Neg Maron: Freedom Fighter
Walcott, Derek –
Omeros
Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines
Browne, Cecil – The
Moon is Following Me
Trinidad and Tobago
Lovelace, Earl –
Salt
Naipaul, V.S. – The
Bend of the River
Europe
Albania
Kadare, Ismail – The Palace
of Dreams
Andorra
Salvado, Alberto – The Teacher of Cheops
Armenia
Balakian, Grigoris – Armenian Golgotha
Austria
Bernhard,
Thomas – Woodcutters
Roth,
Joseph– The Radetzky March
Zweig
Stephan – The World of Yesterday
Azerbajan
Said, Kurban – Ali and Nino
Belarus
Karaktevich, Uladzimir – King
Stakh’s Wild Hunt
Belgium
Buwalda, Peter – Bonita
Avenue
Bosnia Herzegovina
Stanisic,
Sasa – Before the Feast
Bulgaria
Petrov,
Ivailo – Wolf Hunt
Gospodinov,
Georgi – Natural Novel
Croatia
Drndic,
Dasa– Trieste
Perisic, Robert – Our Man
in Iraq
Ugresic, Dubravka – The
Ministry of Pain
Cyprus
Nadjarian, Nora – Ledra
Street
Czech Republic
Hrabal,
Bohumil– Harlequin's Millions
Kundera,
Milan – The Unbearable Lightness of
Being
Denmark
Dinesen,
Isak – Seven Gothic Tales
Høeg,
Peter – Smilla’s Sense of Snow
Klougart, Josefine – Of
Darkness
Estonia
Luik, Viivi – The Beauty of
History
Finland
Oksanen, Sofi – Norma
Paasilinna, Arto – The
Year of the Hare
France
Binet,
Laurent - The Seventh Function of
Language
Despentes,
Virginie – King Kong Theory
Ndiaye, Marie – Three
Strong Women
Georgia
Chiladze, Otar – A Man Was
Going Down the Road
Germany
Doblin,
Alfred – Berlin Alexanderplatz
Erpenbeck,
Jenny – Go, went, gone
Fallada,
Hans – Every Man Dies Alone
Greece
Karapanou,
Margarita – Kassandra and the Wolf
Hungary
Kristof,
Agota – The Notebook, The Proof and The
Third Lie
Karinthy,
Ferenc – Metropolis
Márai,
Sándor – Embers
Iceland
Indridason,
Arnaldur – The Jar City
Ólafsdottir.
Auöur – The Greenhouse
Sjon – The
Blue Fox
Ireland
Mairtin O Cadhain – The
Dirty Dust
O’Brien, Flann – The Third
Policeman
Italy
Calvino,
Italo – Invisible Cities
Ferrante,
Elena – My Brilliant Friend
Starnone,
Domenico, – Ties
Latvia
Kalniete, Sandra – With Dance
Shoes in Siberian Snow
Liechtenstein
Harrer, Henrich – Seven
Years in Tibet
Lithuania
Kema, Antanas – White
Shroud
Luxembourg
Portante, Jean – In Reality
Macedonia
Smilevski, Goce – Freud’s
Sister
Malta
Mifsud, Immanuel – Happy
Weekend
Moldova
Drutse, Ion – Moldavian
Autumn
Monaco
Projetii, Danae – Grace
Kelly Princesse du Cinema
Montenegro
Popovich, Xenia – A Lullaby
for No Man’s Wolf
Netherlands
Weijers,
Nina – The Consequences
Bakker,
Gerbrand – The Twin
Mulisch,
Harry – The Discovery of Heaven
Norway
Fosse,
Jon – Melancholy
Tiller, Carl Frode – Encircling
Vesaas, Tarjei – The
Birds
Poland
Nowicki,
Wojciech – Salki
Stasiuk,
Andrzej – Dukla
Tulli, Magdalena – Moving
Parts
Portugal
Antunes,
Antonio Lobo – The Return of the
Caravels
Saramago,
Jose – The Year of the Death of Ricardo
Reis
Torga,
Miguel – Tales from the Mountains
Romania
Florian, Flip and Matei – The
Bayut Alley Lads
San
Marino
Rossi, Giuseppe –
The Republic of San Marino
Serbia
Valjarevic, Srdjan – Lake Como
Slovakia
Pištanek, Peter – Rivers of
Babylonia
Slovenia
Maja
– The Feline Plague
Spain
Alfau,
Felipe – Locos: A Comedy of Gestures
Goytisolo,
Juan – Marks of Identity
Marias,
Javier – The Infatuations
Sweden
Jonasson,
Jonas – The 100 Years Old Man Who
Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
Mankell,
Henning – Chronicler of the Winds
Switzwerland
Kracht, Christian – Imperium
Veteranyi, Aglaja – Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta
Walser, Robert – The Walk
Turkey
Kaygusuz,
Sema – The Well of Trapped Words
Pamuk,
Orhan – Snow
Ukraine
Kurkov, Andrey – Death and
the Penguin
Oksana Zabuzhko – Fieldwork
in Ukrainian Sex
United Kingdom
Carrington,
Leonora – The Hearing Trumpet
Hall,
Christina – To the Edge of the Sea
Mc
Ewan, Ian – Atonement
Vatican City
Milenary and Marinello, Luigi – Shroud of Secrecy
Africa
Algeria
Marouane, Leila– The
Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris
Angola
Agualusa,
Jose Eduardo – The Book of Chameleons
Ondjaki – Good
Morning Comrades
Tavares,
Gonçalo – Jerusalem
Benin
Ismaili, Rashidah – Stories
we Tell Each Other
Botswana
Head, Bessie – A Question
of Power
Burkina Faso
Zongo, Norbert – The
Parachute Drop
Burundi
Toyi, Marie-Therese – Weep
Not, Refugee
Cameroun
Beti, Monga – The Poor
Christ of Bomba
Cape Verde
Almeida, Germano – The Last
Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo
Central African Republic
Bamboté, Makombo – Dada’s
Travel from Ouada to Bangui
Chad
Seid, Joseph Brahin – Told
by Starlight in Chad
Comoros
Toihiri, Mohammed – The
Kafir of Karthala
Congo, Democratic Republic
Mwanza Mujilla, Fiston – Tram 83
Yamusangie, Frederick –
Full Circle
Congo Republic
Mabanckou, Alain – Black
Moses
Djibouti
Waberi, Abdourahman – In
the United States of Africa
Equatorial Guinea
Ndongo, Donato – Shadows of
your Black Memory
Eritrea
Addonia, Sulaiman – The
Consequences of Love
Ethiopia
Mengestu. Dinaw – Beautiful Things that Heavens Bear
Mengiste, Maaza – Beneath
the Lion’s Gaze
Verghese, Abraham – Cutting for Stone
Gabon
Mengara, Daniel – Mema
Gambia
Forster, Dayo – Reading the
Ceiling
Ghana
Agambila, G.A. – Journey
Armah, Ayi Kwei – The Beautiful
Ones Are Not Yet Born
Guinea
Laye, Camara – The Dark
Child
Guinea Bissau
Sila, Abdulai – The
Ultimate Tragedy
Ivory Cost
Kourouma, Ahmadou – Allah
is Not Obliged
Kenya
Ikonya,
Philo – Kenya, Will You Marry Me?
Ngugi
wa Thiong'o – Wizard of the Crow
Lesotho
Mofolo, Thomas – Chaka
Liberia
Stone, Mardia – Konkai:
Living Between Two Worlds
Libya
Al Koni, Ibrahim – The
Bleeding of the Stone
Madagascar
Bourgeack, Jacques – Voices
from Madagascar
Naivo – Beyond the Rice
Fields
Malawi
Kambalu, Samson – The Jive
Talker
Mali
Hampate Ba, Amadou – The
Fortunes of Wagrin
Mauritania
Bouya Bamba, Mohamed – Angels
of Mauritania and the Course of Language
Mauritius
Devi,
Ananda – Eve Out of Her Ruins
Pyamootoo,
Barlen – Benares
Morocco
Ben Jellou, Tahar – The
Blinding Absence of Light
Slimani Leïlla – The
Perfect Nanny
Taia, Abdellah – Another
Morocco
Mozambique
Chiziane,
Paulina – The First Wife
Couto,
Mia – Sleepwalking Land
Namibia
Andreas, Neshani – The
Purple Violet of Oshaantu
Niger
Malio, Nouhou – The Epic of
Askia Mohamed
Nigeria
Ngozi
Adiche, Chimamanda – Half of a Yellow
Sun
Soyinka,
Wole – Interpreters
Tutuola,
Amos – The Palm-Wine Drunkard and My
Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Rwanda
Hatzfeld,
Jean – Machete Season
Scholastique
Mukasonga – Notre Dame du Nil
São Tome and Prince
Beja, Olinda – The
Shepard’s House
Senegal
Ba Mariama – So Long a
Letter
Seychelles
Burridge, Glynn – Voices
Sierra Leone
Beah, Ishmael – A Long Way
Gone
Somalia
Farah, Nuruddin – Secrets
South Africa
Mahala,
Syphiwo – African Delights
Van
Niekerk, Marlene – Agaat
Vladislavic,
Ivan – The Exploded View
South Sudan
Duany,
Julia Aker – Making Peace and Nurturing
Life
Sudan
Salih,
Tayeb – Season of Migration to the North
Swaziland
Mkhonza, Sarah – Wedding
the Flowerbeds
Tanzania
Gurnah, Abdulrazak – Gravel
Heart
Togo
Kpomassie, Tete-Michel – An
African in Greenland
Tunisia
Meddeb. Abdelwahab – Talismano
Uganda
Isegawa,
Moses – Abyssinian Chronicles: A Novel
Makumbi,
Jennifer Nansubuga– Kintu
Zambia
Sinyangue, Binwell – A
Cowrie of Hope
Zimbabwe
Chikwava, Brian – Harare
North
Huchu, Tendai – The
Hairdresser of Harare
Middle East
Bahrain
Saeed, Ali Al – Quixotiq
Egypt
Basma
Abdel Aziz – The Queue
Iran
Hedayat,
Sadegh – The Blind Owl
Iraq
Antoon,
Sinan – The Corpse Washer
Israel
Grossman, David – To The
End of Land
Appelfeld, Aharon – Blooms
of Darkness
Jordan
Munif, Abdulrahman – Cities
of Salt
Kurdisthan
Barzanji, Jalal – The Man
in Blue Pyjamas
Kuwait
Danderma – The Chronicles
of Dathra
Lebanon
Al
Shaykh, Hanan – Retelling: One Thousand
and One Nights
Khoury,
Elias – Gate of the Sun
Oman
Al Farsi, Abdulaziz – Earth
Sweeps, Saturn Laughs
Palestine
Shukair, Mahmoud – Mordechai’s
Moustache and his Wife’s Cats
Qatar
Al Mahmoud, Abdulaziz – The
Corsair
Saudi Arabia
Alsanea, Rajaa – The Girls
of Riyadh
Syria
Schami, Rafiq – Damascus
Night
Khalifa, Mustafa – The
Shell: Memoirs of a Hidden Observer
United Arab Emirates
Al Murr, Mohamad – The Wink
of Mona Lisa
Yemen
Dammaj, Zayd Mutti – The
Hostage
Asia
Afghanistan
Rahimi,
Atiq – The Patience Stone
Azerbaijan
Rzayev, Anar – Summer and
Me
Bangladesh
Anan, Tahmina – The Good
Muslin
Bhutan
Choden, Kunsang – The
Cercle of Karma
Brunei
Falique Amir – Brunei
Secret Intelligence Service
Cambodia
Ratner, Vaddey – In the
Shadow of the Banyan
China
Hua,
Yu – Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
Keyi,
Sheng – Northern Girls
Ran,
Chen – Private Life
East Timor
Cardoso, Luis – The
Crossing
Japan
Enchi,
Fumiko – Masks
Mishima,
Yukio – The Sound of Waves
Soseki, Natsume –
Kokoro
Hong Kong
Kai-Cheung, Dung – Atlas:
The Archeology of an Imaginary City
India
Adiga, Aravind – The White
Tiger
Desai, Kiran – The Inheritance
of Loss
Lahiri, Jhupa – The Lowland
Indonesia
Kurniawan,
Eka – Beauty Is a Wound
Kazakhstan
Shayakhmethov, Mukamhet – Silent
Steppe
Kyrgyztan
Aitmatov, Chingiz – Jamila
Laos
Bounyavong, Outhine – Mother’s
Beloved
Macau
Fernandes, Henrique de Senna – The Bewitching Bride
Malaysia
Kow, Shih-li – Ripples and
Other Stories
Maldives
Sadiq, Abdoula – Dhom
Hiyala and Ali Fulhu
Mongolia
Tschinag, Galsan – The Blue
Sky
Myanmar
Yi Nu Nu – Smile as they
Bow
Nepal
Baral, Ajit – The Lazy
Conman
Upadhyay, Samrat– Buddha’s
Orphans
North Korea
Mo Ri In – Memoirs of My
Life
Pakistan
Ahmad,
Jamil – The Wandering Falcon
Hamid,
Mohsin – Exit West
Yousufi,
Mushtaq Ahmed – Mirages of the Mind
Philippines
Syjuco, Miguel – Ilustrado
Russia
Erofeev,
Venedikt – Moscow to the End of the Line
Ganieva,
Alisa – The Mountain and the Wall
Tolstaya,
Tatyana – The Slynx
Singapore
Lim, Su-Chem Christine – Fistful
of Colours
South Korea
Lee,
Min Jin – Pachinko
Han
Kang – The Vegetarian
Shin
Kyung-Sook – Please Look After Mom
Sri Lanka
Gunesekera. Romesh – Reef
Taiwan
Hsien-Young,
Pai – Cristal Boys
Qiu
Miaojin – Notes of a Crocodile
Tajikistan
Volos,
Andrei – Hurramabad
Turkmenistan
Welsapar, Ak – The Tale of
Aypi
Thailand
Sangsuk, Saneh – Venin
Uzbekistan
Ismailov, Hamid – The
Railway
Vietnam
Ninh,
Bao – The Sorrow of War
Thanh
Nguyen, Viet – The Sympathizer
Oceania
Australia
Jones, Gail – A Guide to
Berlin
Garner, Helen – The House
of Grief
Winton, Tim – Cloudstreet
Kiribati
Teaero, Teweiariki – Waa in
Storms
Marshal Islands
Kelin, Daniel – Marshal Islands
Legends and Stories
Micronesia
Bernart, Luellen – Book of
Luelen
Nauru
Solomon, Ben Bam – Stories
from Nauru
New Zealand
Duff, Allan – Once Were
Warriors
Palau
Klaulechad, Susan – Spirits
Tides
Papua New Guinea
Stella, Regis – Mata Sara
Samoa
Young, Lani Wendt – Telesa:
The Covenant Keeper
Solomon Islands
Saunana, John – The
Alternative
Tonga
Taumoefolau, Joshua – A
Providence of War
Tuvalu
Laracy, Hugg (Editor) –
Tuvalu: A History
Vanuatu
Regenvanu, Sethy John –
Laef Blong Mi: From Village to Nation
[1] Based on similar lists prepared by Jonathan Woollen
and Ann Morgan, and including a maximum of three books per country with
priority on contemporary novels.
