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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 20:23:34 GMT
Does the literature of certain countries fascinate you?
I have a craving for Australian literature. I like the quirky vocabulary, the lifestyle that seems familiar but not quite, and a whole 'new world' flavor to the situations. Every time I have been to Australia, I head straight for the Australian section in the bookstores, buying serious novels, comic essays or crime crap. Helen Garner is perhaps the Australian author that I appreciate the most. As for the other stuff, it isn't always good, but I always find it anthropologically interesting.
Which countries fascinate the rest of you?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 20:39:23 GMT
Off the top of my head,I have to say that for whatever reason I have a tendency to lean toward British writers. Almost all my favorite fiction is written by Brits. I also favor US Southern writers over all other American writers. I have to give more thought to this.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 19, 2010 20:53:26 GMT
And I lean towards Indian writers.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2010 21:00:27 GMT
Yes, Indian writers can be fascinating as well, but I have to confess that it the the most 'westernized' of those writers with whom I connect. It would be magnificent if we could always easily span the gaps between our own culture and foreign cultures, but generally we need to recognize ourselves in what is written and not find it completely alien. That's hard to do.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 20, 2010 3:00:51 GMT
What a good question!
Lemme see .......... yes, I get pretty excited when I find a novel by an Australian writer, as the country seems to produce a disproportionate number of excellent writers.
I like the Scandinavians for crime.
I'm drawn to anything by Chinese writers.
Oddly, although my very favorite book is by a Latin American writer, overall I don't care for L.American writers. Same thing with Indian writers -- they don't click for me.
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Post by bjd on Mar 20, 2010 7:40:57 GMT
I like to read detective stories set in other countries. I find it's a good way of getting a picture of the place and the better ones often deal with contemporary issues like immigration or drugs or social things. Like Bixa, I read Scandinavians for crime, but tend to find them so depressing -- they are always alcoholics with family problems, it's always winter...
Since so many of you here are from the southern US, I hate to say it, but I really don't much like writers from the southern U.S. I just find it a completely foreign country and can't identify with the mentalities, and God forbid, if it's written in dialect, then I just can't read it.
Lately I have read some books by Chinese writers, but expatriate ones. There is a series of good detective stories set in Beijing but written in English.
In general, I would say I like British writers the best, but will try lots of different ones. I like some Latin Americans, but not all.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2010 11:32:41 GMT
I perused my book shelves earlier and yes,mostly British,with a smattering of Asian,a few South American,and quite a few French. Now,the writings themselves that I find intriguing are their descriptions of foreign places...(e.g. E.M. Forster's,A Passage to India being a good example.) Or,Isak Dinesen's(Scandinavian),Out of Africa and her other memoirs being another example.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 20, 2010 22:02:42 GMT
My bookshelves are very eclectic. A huge French library, British, Russian, Scandanavian, Italian and German...Chinese, Japanese and Indian, and some Latin American. Also, quite a few American books. I am fascinated by the southern writers, Tennesee Williams, Faulkner etc and find that the arts of the south are like a separate culture and country.
I enjoy reading in many genres. One I share with bjd, the mystery genre.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2010 22:13:33 GMT
I have also found some novels from Québec delightfully exotic, notably those by Réjean Ducharme. "L'Hiver de Force" really brought home how bitter the Montréal winter can be.
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Post by joanne28 on Apr 15, 2010 14:28:56 GMT
My bookshelves are a grab-bag. I very much like British and Indian authors but also have writers from everywhere else.
One book I particularly liked was Brick Lane by Monica Ali. I find the fish out of water approach really interesting. White Teeth by Zadie Smith I loved - I had "laugh out loud" moments with this one.
I'm very fond of the classics. Mark Twain is one of the great and ignored writers.
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Post by gertie on Apr 20, 2010 5:49:28 GMT
I'm with bjd in enjoying detective stories set in other countries for the glimpses of those countries you get from them. My reading tends to be eclectic, so you'll find quite a variety on my shelves. Antique westerns rub covers with Star Trek, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Anthony Bourdain videos, mysteries and detective stories from all over, and my cookbook collection. I think food is another great way to peek in on a country when you can't visit, and I often find myself looking up recipes for foods mentioned in those detective stories because it makes me feel just that much closer to them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 20, 2010 23:58:39 GMT
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Post by cristina on Apr 21, 2010 2:02:51 GMT
I have a particular affinity for Latin American writers. My bookshelves are pretty diverse, but the LatAm writers are the only one's not in the minority.
Magical realism is a favored genre of mine. This style tends to be dominated by Latin American writers, I think.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 26, 2010 14:01:34 GMT
I guess that if Kerouac mentioned Québec, I can mention France. (By the way, our winter was most civilised this year). Of course there are a lot of Italians on my bookshelves, but I have a degree in Italian language and literature. The Latin Americans I seem most drawn to are from Argentina and Uruguay, and although they are writing in Spanish, it is very Italianate Spanish, and an outlook both similar and somehow skewed, like Australian writers for people from either the UK or the US. I'm sad, as our best Latin-American oriented bookshop closed after the owner was hit with a hefty rent increase. Classic, as such interesting and quirky small businesses draw custom and raise the market value of shops, so they all become higher-volume boutiques such as clothing chains. I'm of the generation that still likes to feel and touch books and decide how I'll peruse them before buying.
Now I'm studying German, but not yet able to read all literature in the original, so I read a lot of newspapers and magazines, online and in print, and material I'm familiar with in English or French. And our German-language bookshop is closing too!
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Post by ninchursanga on Jan 27, 2011 16:03:26 GMT
South-African literature. It all started when I once noticed that I'm able to read in Afrikaans, and the history of South-Africa fascinated me. If it is written in Afrikaans I'll read any book, just to practice the language. But most of all I like the literature that gives an insight in South-African society.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 27, 2011 16:39:52 GMT
Any particular recommendations, Siduri? I've only read a little of Coetzee. I looked up S.African literature and found this. Weirdly, the main page features a writer they don't recommend, although there is access to a rich store of other information.
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Post by ninchursanga on Jan 27, 2011 18:35:45 GMT
Coetzee's "Disgrace" if you haven't yet read that; Andre Brink "Rumours of Rain" Alan Paton "Cry, beloved country"
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 27, 2011 18:58:46 GMT
The fiction is mostly English, Irish, Australian and American, but the factual books (Cookery, Egyptology, Art, Astronomy, Genetics, Blood Sciences etc) are by Egyptian, French, Russian, Chinese, Indian and others as well.....
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2011 19:25:27 GMT
I regret not coming across more 'pleasant' popular literature from nearby countries. Such books really contain lots of information about daily life in their home country. I would love to find the possibility of reading more Belgian, Dutch, German, Swiss, Italian and Spanish novels without having blockbusters shoved down my throat.
As the Thais say, "same same, but different."
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