10 Books From Around the World

All over the world, there are millions of books that people read, enjoy, and love. There are the traditional folk tales of every country that are told time and again to new generations. There are also a variety of poetry forms that people have practiced since ancient times. Not only in a particular region or country, but these books are also popular all over the world. These books get translated into various languages that people of other countries enjoy as well. Some of the literature forms are novels, poems, short stories, drama, folklore, epic tale etc.

In this blog, we will be exploring some of the world-famous books from different corners of the world. We will also get to know some interesting facts if there are any. So, let’s get into the topic and enjoy some literature from around the world. Some Books from Around the World

1. Half of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)- This is the story of Biafra’s struggle for independence in the late 1960s. It has five unforgettable characters in the form of Ugwu, Odenigbo, Olanna, Richard, and Kainene. This is a story of colonialism and oppression of the people of Biafra. People will love reading this novel if they are interested in history.

2. Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini (Syria)- This is a very emotional and sweet book written in the form of a letter by a father to his son. They are about to embark on a journey to leave behind Syria to become refugees in another country. The father, over his sleeping son, sees the vast ocean that they must cross to leave the war zone that Syria has now developed into. Hosseini has skillfully captured the refugee crisis in this novel.

3. Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami (Japan)- This novel by Murakami tells the story of an artist whose wife has left him and who discovers a mysterious painting in the house of the famous artist Tomohiko Amada. The artist himself is holed up in that famous artist’s home. What follows is a series of different mysterious circumstances which the artist must now close down so that they don’t escape out into the world. Those who love reading mysterious novels will surely love this masterpiece.

4. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (South Africa)- This is Noah’s memoir of his life. In it, he shares his struggles of childhood and terms his birth as a crime. He is the son of a Swiss father and a Xhosa mother. During Noah’s childhood, a union of a white and black person was considered an offence by the South African government and was punishable by 5 years in prison. To escape this crime, Noah’s mother hid him inside the house so that she doesn’t get captured by the government. After the apartheid came to an end in South Africa, Noah and his mother then start living their newfound independence from the tyrannical rule that oppressed them.

5. The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell (Zambia)- This is the story of an old drifter by the name of Percy M. Clark, who unwittingly sets in motion a series of events between an Italian hotelier and an African busboy. The story takes place in an area near the Zambezi river which is just a few miles off Victoria Falls. The colonial settlement in the novel is named The Old Drift. The novel also follows the lives of three families who are white, brown and black who then collide with each other throughout their lives.

6. White Teeth by Zadie Smith (England)- The novel follows the story of two friends Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal who both are veterans of World War II. Both of them become part of England’s transformation as they step into a new lifestyle. Both of them get married and while Archie has a daughter named Irie, Iqbal becomes father to twin boys who give him a lot of trouble. This book is a take on modern life which is a hodgepodge and contains disaster, confounding expectations and the comedy of daily existence.

7. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (Australia)- This is the memoir of Ned Kelly, the famous gangster in the old times. He narrates his life story which Carey has skilfully put before the readers. Kelly saw his first prison cell at the age of 15 and by the time he turned 26, became the most wanted criminal in Australia’s Victoria. For the police, Kelly was no more than a monster, thief, and law-breaker while for the lowly Australian people of his caste, Kelly was a hero. This is a classic outlaw story for anyone who loves reading about crime and gangsters.

8. Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad (Thailand)- This novel has an amalgamation of various stories of different characters that are a sort of elegy to Thailand. It tells of what time erases but love binds together, bringing to its characters the unknowable future.

9. Three Strong Women by Marie NDiaye (Senegal)- This is the story of three women who dared to say no. The lives of Norah, Fanta and Khady intertwine and they do an astonishing feat of self-preservation against the males of the society who have harassed them for years.

10. Human Acts by Han Kang (South Korea)- The story of the student uprising in South Korea kills Dong-Ho that ignites yet more fire in the protestors. This is the story of the victims and the bereaved people of the uprising. There are several characters in the novel that retell the incidents of the uprising in their own words. This is a book of collective acts that spark hope in the lives of people searching for a voice. So, these are our top 10 picks of books from around the world. We hope that you will like reading these titles. We will be back with a whole new blog, until then keep reading