READ My book selection for Kuwait was Motorbikes and Camels, by Nejoud Al-Yagout. This is the author’s debut novel, and I thought the format was particularly interesting. The book consists of stories about thirteen different people, all of whose lives are intertwined with the lives of one or more other people in the book. While the plot … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Kuwait
The Booktrekker: Japan
READ One thing I’m enjoying about this reading-the-world project is that it’s nudging me to read international authors I’ve always heard about, but have never read. In the case of Japan, I finally read a book by bestselling author Haruki Murakami – Norwegian Wood, translated by Jay Rubin. As the novel opens, 37-year-old Toru Watanabe is … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Japan
The Booktrekker: Iran
READ There were so many books by Iranian authors I could have read for this blog post that I had a hard time choosing just one. I finally decided to do something completely different and read a graphic novel, written in comic book form. The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is a largely autobiographical tale of … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Iran
The Booktrekker: Indonesia
READ Many of the books I read for this blog are tedious and take me forever to get through. That was not the case for the book I chose for Indonesia. Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s The Girl from the Coast, translated by Willem Samuels, arrived in the mail Friday morning, and I was finished with it by … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Indonesia
The Booktrekker: Iceland
READ With words like “zany,” “bizarre,” and “quirky” dotting the reviews that appear on the back cover of the book I chose for Iceland, I knew I was in for some fun. Butterflies in November, by Auđur Ólafsdóttir and translated by Brian FitzGibbon, turned out to be a wild ride. The protagonist, whose name we never know, is … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Iceland
The Booktrekker: France
READ The book I read for France, The Heart, by Maylis de Kerangal and translated by Sam Taylor, left me emotionally drained. It chronicles the twenty-four hours following an automobile accident that leaves a young man brain dead, as doctors race through the steps required to remove his organs and transplant them into the bodies of people … Continue reading The Booktrekker: France
The Booktrekker: Denmark
READ I love thrillers and suspense novels, but somehow, I managed to miss Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow, translated by Tiina Nunnally, when it was an international bestseller back in the 1990s. When I was looking for a book to read from Denmark for this project, it seemed like the perfect choice. Smilla Jasperson is … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Denmark
The Booktrekker: Chile
READ I got about four-fifths of the way through the book I’d decided to read for Chile, Isabel Allende’s epic The House of the Spirits, before it occurred to me to take a look at Allende’s biography. Alas, Allende wasn’t born in Chile, but in Peru. Since my self-imposed rules for this project require that the author … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Chile
#WorldKidLit Weekend: Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff
Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff,* an adorably whimsical Estonian picture book for ages 3-6, is about a seabird named Ellie, who has no voice. “Everything else has a voice,” Ellie thought sadly. "The trees rustle. The waves crash. Even the rain sings when it falls." I’m the only one who can’t make a sound." Ellie felt tears … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Weekend: Ellie’s Voice or Trööömmmpffff
The Booktrekker: Argentina
READ In trying to decide what to read for my blog post on Argentina, how could I not choose a book called The Tango Singer? Many people are aware of the iconic dance, but outside of Argentina, less may be known about the singers whose music helped provide the atmosphere for the tango’s fiery passion. This novel, by Tomás … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Argentina
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 