Transport your mind with a Book
Feeling like your world is small? Staying at home this summer? Why not transport
your imagination with a book?
Whether you pick up a story set in Beijing, Ghana, or the English
Midlands, these reads will captivate your imagination while offering a real
sense of place.
An Asian Setting
Braised Pork by An Yu (Beijing, China and Tibet)
This book is a dreamlike journey from the haze of Beijing through to the snowy climes of Tibet, following a grief-stricken young woman as she digs into her past in order to pave her future.
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (India)
Anaparra’s coming-of-age tale shines a light on societal inequalities in India and its bustling slums. This is about three young boys investigating the disappearance of their friend.
Himalaya A Human History by Ed Douglas (The Himalayas)
The world’s highest mountain ranges are covered in fascinating detail in this world-first history book.
From the Himalaya's early inhabitants at the beginning of the
millennium to modern-day Everest climbers, take the ascent up the peak and feel
the howling winds in your ears.
Stranger in The Shogun's City by Amy Stanley (Tokyo, Japan)
Vividly capturing Japan on the brink of momentous change, this is the story of a Buddhist priest’s daughter who runs away to start life anew in metropolitan Edo (nowadays known as Tokyo). Strong-willed and unconventional, through her eyes we learn about the life of women in early nineteeth-century Japan and the battles they had to fight.
An African setting
This powerful satire exposes the corruption in Kenya, told through the eyes of four characters struggling to survive amidst drought, poor harvest and political exploitation.
Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Ayikwei Parkes (Ghana)
A gripping whodunnit set in a tribal village in the Ghanaian hinterland.
When forensic scientist Kayo happens upon some remains – possibly
human, definitely ‘evil’ – He is forced to forego practical logic and
embrace traditional storytelling to uncover all the important clues.
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpel (Zambia)
A historical, fantastical and sci-fi book all at once, charting the lives of three warring families near the magnificent Victoria Falls.
Interwoven in each other’s lives for decades with unexpected
retribution at the end, it all takes place against the backdrop of vibrant,
sub-tropical Zambia.
An Australian setting
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
This beautiful book recalls Chatwin’s travels through the red
desert on his quest to learn these mysterious songs.
Everything
is Teeth by Evie Wyld
This graphic novel is a collection of her memories and a homage
to the toothy (and often misunderstood) creatures themselves.
An Antarctic setting
The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick
Two travellers meet in Antarctica and, despite the freezing
temperatures, sparks fly.
Brought together by a mutual admiration of the solar system,
this romantic story reflects back on how Róisín and François’ lives have led up
to this very moment on the great icy expanse.
Terra
Incognita by Sara Wheller
Wheeler’s modern classic sets the scene of our most uncharted
continent and its mysterious beauty, and the realities of close confinement
amidst miles and miles of endless white.
A European setting
The Parisian by Isabella Hammad (France and Palestine)
Beautiful Animals by Lawrence Osborne (Greece)
It’s a blistering summer by the Aegean Sea. Young American
Samantha meets rebellious Brit Naomi on the Greek island of Hydra, and they
become fast friends.
However, their carefree days come to a halt when a man washes up
on shore from a shipwreck and their plan to help him goes horribly wrong. Sun,
sand, ouzo and murder… all the right ingredients for a summer thriller.
Young
Skins by Colin Barrett (Ireland)
This widely-acclaimed collection transports you to a small rural
town in Ireland and all its bristling tensions.
Glanbeigh is a desolate place: boredom is drowned with booze,
the youths run wild and crime is high. But there is more than meets the eye, as
we learn through seven powerful short stories.
Independent
People by Halldor Laxness (Iceland)
Iceland may just have one of the most intriguing landscapes
on earth: barren, breathtaking panoramas of rising steam and crystal water.
In lieu of a flight there, take a trip with the ‘Tolstoy of the
North’ in this wonderfully evocative story of sheep farmer Bjartus and his
struggle for independence.
Middlemarch by
George Eliot (England)
Surely there’s no better book to capture the idyllic English
countryside than Middlemarch, widely
considered the English
novel of the 20th twentieth century.
Rolling hills, green pastures and meadows of wildflowers all
feature, but of course, the main attraction is the intellectual landscape of
all her characters...
Italian
Life by Tim Parks (Italy)
Tim Parks spent years soaking up Italian culture and, writing
countless books about his ‘second home’.
However, alongside the glamour, shaded palazzos and gorgeous
kitchen aromas, there’s a dark underbelly of corruption, power and influence –
all of which is revealed in this gripping account.
A North American setting
There,
There by Tommy Orange (California, USA)
A powerful novel following 12 Native American characters
journeying to the Big Oakland Powwow, each connected by invisible threads not
yet known.
Sea
Monsters by Chloe Aridjis (Mexico)
On impulse, teenager Luisa runs away with a boy she barely
knows.
Beautifully evocative of the author’s own heritage and love of
the land, we follow their journey from sprawling Mexico City to a beachside
community in Oaxaca where, amidst nudists, hippies and beach-combers, Luisa
begins to distinguish expectation versus reality.
The
Travelers by Regina Porter (USA)
Reeling from the wake of World War Two, The Travelers follows
two American families: one black, one white, each with vastly different paths
ahead.
Chronicling their lives over six decades, it’s a story of how
chance encounters can mould us and what it means to be an American.
The
Cubans by Anthony DePalma (Cuba)
Beyond cigars, old cars and vibrant buildings, what do you
really know about Cuba?
As one of the most misunderstood nations in the world, Anthony
DePalma sets the record straight in this pioneering history of the Cuban
people, covering their Castro years to their near-societal collapse today.
A South American setting
Magdelena by
Wade Davis (Colombia)
For many of us, the first overseas country we go to is forever
etched in our hearts.
For Wade Davis, that country was Colombia. In Magdalena, he revisits
the magnificent river that made civilisation there possible and spares no
detail of Colombia’s magnificent coastal deserts, thick jungles and towering
Andean summits.
A Russian setting
Mud
and Stars by Sara Wheeler
A fascinating look at the Golden Age of Russia and its famous
scribes, from Pushkin and Tolstoy to Lermontov and Chekhov.
Shooting along the lengths of the Trans-Siberian railway to
brutalist Soviet apartment blocks, Mud and Stars looks at how Russia’s influential
writers continue to shape the country and its people today.
Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman
Prior to 2006, nobody had heard of Grossman’s Stalingrad or its
gripping depictions of Hitler’s defeat.
Now a bestseller and firm modern classic, it is a transportive
experience to the front lines of Stalingrad and the beauty of rural Russia.
A huge thank you to Penguin for this wonderful list - https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2020/july/26-globetrotting-books-to-take-you-to-exotic-locations.html
Comments
Post a Comment