books | international a-z |

As a connoisseur of books, I traipse through a destination, before embarking on my journey, by way of literary fiction, travel stories, or memoirs. Sometimes, though not often, I read historical accounts. I enjoy the process of immersing myself in a place before I go, getting a feel for the culture, the people, and what defines a place. Reading ignites my imagination about a place and its inhabitants. It also extends my travel time. 🙂

The following list of books, set in countries all over the world, is a work in process.  I invite readers to suggest additional books set in these locales in the comments below. I’m most interested in including memoir, literary fiction, historical accounts or essays, not guidebooks.  Links to Goodreads and star ratings (1-5) are provided for books I’ve read; if you click on them you may be able to read my review (if I wrote one!).

GENERAL WORLD TRAVEL BOOKS

  • The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton *****
  • The Mindful Traveler: A Guide to Journaling and Transformative Travel by Jim Currie *****
  • The Way of the Traveler: Making Every Trip a Journey of Self-Discovery by Joseph Dispenza *****
  • The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred by Phil Cousineau ****
  • the way of the wanderer: discover your true self through travel by David Yeadon
  • Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert *****
  • Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach ****
  • Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach
  • Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents by Elisabeth Eaves ****
  • Griffin and Sabine (Griffin & Sabine #1) by Nick Bantock *****
  • Sabine’s Notebook (Griffin & Sabine #2) by Nick Bantock
  • The Golden Mean (Griffin & Sabine #3) by Nick Bantock
  • Book Lust to Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers by Nancy Pearl
  • The Yellow Envelope: One Gift, Three Rules, and a Life-Changing Journey Around the World by Kim Dinan
  • Sun After Dark: Flights into the Foreign by Pico Iyer
  • Video Night in Kathmandu and Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East by Pico Iyer
  • Nomad’s Hotel: Travels in Time and Space by Cees Nooteboom
  • Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings by Paul Theroux
  • Figures in a Landscape by Paul Theroux
  • One Year Off by David Elliott Cohen
  • Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel
  • A Woman’s Path: Spiritual Travel Writing, ed. Lucy McCauley
  • Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations (Journeys of a Lifetime) by National Geographic Society
  • the singular pilgrim: travels on sacred ground by Rosemary Mahoney
  • Unsuitable for Ladies: An Anthology of Women Travelers, Ed. Jane Robinson
  • A Woman Alone: Travel Tales from Around the Globe, Ed. by Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick
  • 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List by Patricia Schultz
  • The Solo Traveler’s Handbook by Janice Leith Waugh
  • The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook by Janice Leith Waugh

BOOKS SET IN PARTICULAR COUNTRIES

  1. Afghanistan
    1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ****
    2. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini ****
    3. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
    4. The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad ****
    5. An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan by Jason Elliot
    6. The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
    7. The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya
    8. It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life in Love & War by Lynsey Addario (also Iraq, Sudan, Libya)
    9. The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban by Sarah Chayes
    10. American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Grant by Ann Scott Tyson
  2. Albania
    1. Agamemnon’s Daughter: A Novella and Stories by Ismail Kadare
    2. Broken April by Ismail Kadare
    3. Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare
    4. The Accursed Mountains: Journeys in Albania by Robert Carver
  3. Algeria
    1. The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris by Leïla Marouane **
    2. Nedjma by Yacine Kateb
    3. The Lovers of Algeria by Anouar Benmalek
    4. The Last Life by Claire Messud
    5. The Star of Algiers by Aziz Chouaki
    6. Women of Algiers in their Apartment by Assia Djebar
    7. The Stranger by Albert Camus
    8. Century of Locusts by Malika Mokeddem
  4. Andorra
  5. Angola
    1. A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa ****
    2. Blue Dahlia, Black Gold: A Journey Into Angola by Daniel Metcalfe
  6. Antigua and Barbuda
    1. Mr. Potter by Jamaica Kincaid
    2. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid
    3. Dancing Nude in the Moonlight by Joanne C. Hillhouse
  7. Argentina
    1. An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by César Aira
    2. The Disappeared by Gloria Whelan
    3. Santa Evita by Tomás Eloy Martínez
    4. The Tango Singer by Tomás Eloy Martínez
    5. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
    6. Enduring Patagonia by Gregory Crouch
    7. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
    8. My Father’s Ghost is Climbing in the Rain by Patricio Pron
    9. El Túnel by Ernesto Sábato
  8. Armenia
    1. Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian ****
    2. An Armenian Sketchbook by Vasily Grossman
    3. Three Apples Fell From Heaven by Micheline Aharonian Marcom
    4. The Crossing Place: A Journey Among the Armenians by Philip Marsden
    5. Daughter of War by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
  9. Australia
    1. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough *****
    2. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute *****
    3. Tracks by Robyn Davidson
    4. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
    5. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
    6. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
    7. The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
    8. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
    9. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
    10. Dirt Music by Tim Winton
    11. The Secret River (Thornhill Family #1) by Kate Grenville
    12. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  10. Austria
    1. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
    2. A Time of Gifts (Trilogy #1) by Patrick Leigh Fermor (& Germany, Hungary)
    3. The Bells by Richard Harvell
    4.  Vienna
      1. The Fig Eater by Jody Shields
      2. All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer
  11. Azerbaijan
    1. Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said
    2. Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter’s Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic by Thomas Goltz
    3. The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss
  12. Bahamas
    1. Pirates! by Celia Rees
  13. Bahrain
    1. The Meeting Point by Lucy Caldwell
  14. Bangladesh
    1. Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunnus ****
    2. Lajja: Shame by Taslima Nasrin
    3. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide by Gary J. Bass
    4. A Golden Age (Bangla Desh #1) by Tahmima Anam
  15. Barbados
    1. The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke
    2. Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire by Andrea Stuart
    3. The Dream Keeper’s Daughter by Emily Colin
    4. No Man in the House by Cecil Foster
  16. Belarus
    1. Chernobyl Prayer: A Chronicle of the Future by Svetlana Alexievich
  17. Belgium
    1. The Bridge of Years: A Novel by May Sarton
    2. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
    3. A Tall Man in a Low Land by Harry Pearson
    4. In the Company of Angels by N.M. Kelby (also France)
  18. Belize
  19. Benin
  20. Bhutan
  21. Bolivia
  22. Bosnia and Herzegovina
    1. Sarajevo
      1. The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon
  23. Botswana
    1. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  24. Brazil
    1. All Is Beauty Now by Sarah Faber
    2. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende (& Guatemala & Chile)
    3. Amazon Rainforest (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, etc.)
      1. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett *****
  25. Brunei
  26. Bulgaria
    1. The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova
  27. Burkina Faso
  28. Burundi
  29. Cabo Verde
  30. Cambodia
    1. The Disappeared by Kim Echlin *****
    2. The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine by Somaly Mam ****
    3. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (Daughter of Cambodia #1) by Loung Ung *****
    4. When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge by Chanrithy Him
  31. Cameroon
  32. Canada
    1. A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay ****
    2. British Columbia
      1. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki ****
    3. Newfoundland
      1. Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark
    4. Ontario
      1. China Dog: And Other Tales from a Chinese Laundry by Judy Fong Bates ****
      2. A Good House by Bonnie Burnard
    5. Ottowa
      1. Garbo Laughs by Elizabeth Hay
    6. Toronto
      1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
      2. Lost Geography by Charlotte Bacon
  33. Central African Republic
  34. Chad
  35. Chile
    1. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
    2. Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende
    3. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
    4. My Invented Country by Isabel Allende
    5. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
    6. Cape Horn and Other Stories from the End of the World by Francisco Coloane
    7. The Obscene Bird of Night by José Donoso
    8. Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read
    9. Travels in a Thin Country by Sarah Wheeler
    10. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende (& Guatemala & Brazil)
  36. China
    1. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang *****
    2. Waiting by Ha Jin *****
    3. The Crazed by Ha Jin ***
    4. A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin
    5. Red Azalea by Anchee Min ****
    6. The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan ****
    7. The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan ****
    8. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Saijie ****
    9. China Dog: And Other Tales from a Chinese Laundry by Judy Fong Bates ****
    10. Cries in the Drizzle by Yu Hua ****
    11. A Cup of Light by Nicole Mones ****
    12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See *****
    13. Peony in Love by Lisa See ****
    14. China Dolls by Lisa See **
    15. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtzee by Peter Hessler
    16. Frontiers of Heaven: A Journey to the End of China by Stanley Stewart
    17. Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream by John Derbyshire
    18. Monkey Hunting by Cristina García
    19. Hong Kong
      1. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee *****
      2. The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee
    20. Shanghai
      1. The Binding Chair or, a Visit from the Foot Emancipation Society by Kathryn Harrison ****
      2. Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng
      3. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro (also London)
      4. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
  37. Colombia
    1. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez *****
    2. Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
  38. Comoros
  39. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  40. Republic of the Congo
    1. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver *****
  41. Costa Rica
  42. Cote d’Ivoire
  43. Croatia
    1. The Sound of Blue by Holly Payne ***
  44. Cuba
    1. In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd by Ana Menéndez ****
    2. La Americana (memoir) by Melanie Bowder Simón
    3. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
    4. Monkey Hunting by Cristina García
    5. Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García
    6. The Agüero Sisters by Cristina García
    7. The Sugar Island by Ivonne Lamazares
    8. Cuba & the Night by Pico Iyer
  45. Cyprus
  46. Czech Republic
    1. Prague
      1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera ****
  47. Denmark
    1. The Dinosaur Feather by S.J. Gazan
    2. The Arc of the Swallow by Sissel-Jo Gazan
  48. Djibouti
  49. Dominica
  50. Dominican Republic
    1. Let it Rain Coffee by Angie Cruz
    2. In the Name of Salomé by Julia Alvarez
    3. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
    4. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
  51. Ecuador
    1. the queen of water by Laura Resau
    2. Plundering Paradise: The Hand of Man on the Galápagos Islands by Michael D’Orso
    3. The Panama Hat Trail by Tom Miller
    4. Galápagos Islands
      1. Enchanted Islands by Allison Amand
  52. Egypt
    1. The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó
    2. Lifting the Veil: Two Centuries of Travelers, Traders and Tourists in Egypt by Anthony Sattin
    3. Café on the Nile by Bartle Bull
    4. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
    5. Gazelle by Rikki Ducornet
    6. Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney
  53. El Salvador
  54. Equatorial Guinea
    1. By Night the Mountain Burns by Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel
    2. Shadows of Your Black Memory by Donato Ndongo
  55. Eritrea
  56. Estonia
  57. Ethiopia
    1. Chameleon Days: An American Boyhood in Ethiopia by Tim Bascom ****
    2. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
    3. Addis Ababa
      1. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste *****
  58. Fiji
  59. Finland
  60. France
    1. Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull ****
    2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr *****
    3. The Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Olive Oil in the South of France by Carol Drinkwater ***
    4. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle ****
    5. A Walk Across France by Miles Morland ****
    6. Madam Bovary by Gustave Flaubert *****
    7. On Pilgrimage by Jennifer Lash (also Spain) *****
    8. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier by Thad Carhart ****
    9. Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France by Craig Carlson
    10. Running in Place: Scenes from the South of France by Nicholas Delbanco
    11. In the Company of Angels by N.M. Kelby (also Belgium)
    12. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
    13. The Looking Glass by Michèle Roberts (Normandy)
    14. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
    15. The Treasure of Montsegur by Sophy Burnham
    16. Massacre at Montségur: A History of the Albigensian Crusade by Zoé Oldenbourg
    17. Wine and War: The French, the Nazis and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure by Don and Petie Kladstrup
    18. Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull
    19. Paris out of hand {a wayward guide} by Karen Elizabeth Gordon
    20. Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Ines de la Fressange
    21. Paris Chic & Trendy by Adrienne Ribes-Tiphaine (all in French)
  61. Gabon
  62. Gambia
  63. Georgia
  64. Germany
    1. The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa ****
    2. The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
    3. The Good German by Joseph Kanon
    4. Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon
    5. A Time of Gifts (Trilogy #1) by Patrick Leigh Fermor (& Austria, Hungary)
  65. Ghana
    1. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
  66. Greece
    1. Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières *****
    2. Eleni by Nicholas Gage *****
    3. Eurydice Street: A Place in Athens by Sofka Zinovieff ****
    4. When the Cypress Whispers by Yvette Manessis Corporon ***
    5. The Summer of My Greek Taverna: A Memoir by Tom Stone *****
    6. It’s All Greek to Me!: A Tale of a Mad Dog and an Englishman, Ruins, Retsina — and Real Greeks by John Mole ****
    7. Little Infamies: Stories by Panos Karnezis ****
    8. Odyssey with the Goddess: A Spiritual Quest in Crete by Carol P. Christ ****
    9. The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell
    10. Outline by Rachel Cusk
  67. Grenada
  68. Guatemala
    1. Hummingbird House by Patricia Henley ****
    2. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende (& Chile & Brazil)
  69. Guinea
  70. Guinea-Bissau
  71. Guyana
  72. Haiti
    1. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
  73. Honduras
    1. The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux
  74. Hungary
    1. Budapest
      1. The Afterlife of Stars by Joseph Kertes
      2. Prague by Arthur Phillips
      3. A Time of Gifts (Trilogy #1) by Patrick Leigh Fermor (& Germany, Austria)
  75. Iceland
    1. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent *****
    2. Into Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason
  76. India
    1. The God of Small Things by  Arundhati Roy *****
    2. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
    3. Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni *****
    4. Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
    5. The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri *****
    6. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
    7. The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra ****
    8. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster *****
    9. The Color of Our Sky: A Novel by Amita Trasi ***
    10. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga **
    11. Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi by Stanley Wolpert ****
    12. behind the beautiful forevers by Katherine Boo
    13. A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee
    14. Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
    15. Sharmila’s Book by Bharti Kirchner
    16. Shiva Dancing by Bharti Kirchner
    17. Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
    18. The Caretaker by A.X. Ahmad
    19. As Sweet as Honey by Indira Ganesan
    20. Everything was Goodbye by Gurjinder Basran
    21. The Abundance by Amit Majmudar (also Midwest USA)
    22. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
    23. Flash House by Aimee Liu
    24. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
    25. The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob (& Seattle & New Mexico)
    26. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott
    27. The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani
    28. Varanasi
      1. Sister India by Peggy Payne ***
  77. Indonesia
    1. The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher J. Koch
  78. Iran
    1. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi ****
    2. Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody
    3. The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran by Sigrid Fry-Revere
    4. Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran by Jason Elliot
    5. The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America by Kenneth M. Pollack
  79. Iraq
    1. Love in a Torn Land: Joanna of Kurdistan: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter’s Escape from Iraqi Vengeance by Jean Sasson ****
    2. Mayada: Daughter of Iraq by Jean Sasson
    3. a sky so close by Betool Khedairi
    4. Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq by Farnaz Fassihi
  80. Ireland
    1. In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French ****
    2. The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad #2) by Tana French *****
    3. The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) by Tana French *****
    4. The Trespasser by Tana French
    5. the all of it by Jeannette Haien ***
    6. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt #1) by Frank McCourt ****
    7. Tara Road by Maeve Binchy *****
    8. Evening Class by Maeve Binchy ****
    9. Dubliners by James Joyce
    10. Ulysses by James Joyce
    11. Border Crossings by Carole Bellacera
    12. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
    13. Are You Somebody?: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman by Nuala O’Faolain
    14. As It Is in Heaven by Niall Williams (also Italy)
  81. Israel
    1. From a Sealed Room by Rachel Kadish (?)
    2. the light we lost by Jill Stanopolo
  82. Italy
    1. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert *****
    2. The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner *****
    3. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway *****
    4. The Miracles of Santo Fico by D.L. Smith
    5. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
    6. The Fall of a Sparrow by Robert Hellenga
    7. An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser
    8. Cucina: A Novel of Rapture by Lily Prior
    9. Born Twice by Giuseppe Ponliggia
    10. The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
    11. My Brilliant Friend (The Neopolitan Novels, #1) by Elena Ferrante
    12. The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
    13. The Story of a New Name (The Neopolitan Novels, #2) by Elena Ferrante
    14. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neopolitan Novels, #3) by Elena Ferrante
    15. The Story of the Lost Child (The Neopolitan Novels, #4) by Elena Ferrante
    16. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
    17. The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
    18. The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani
    19. The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman
    20. Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year by Carlo Levi
    21. The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
    22. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
    23. The Enchanted April Elizabeth von Arnim
    24. A Room with a View by E.M Forster
    25. Vila Triste by Lucretia Grindle
    26. The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria by Marlena de Blasi
    27. Lost Hearts in Italy by Andrea Lee
    28. Extra Virgin (Italy Series, #1) by Annie Hawes
    29. The Villa in Italy (A Vintage Mystery) by Elizabeth Edmonson
    30. Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker
    31. Return to Glow: A Pilgrimage of Transformation in Italy by Chandi Wyant
    32. A Kiss from Maddalena by Christopher Castellani
    33. All This Talk of Love: A Novel by Christopher Castellani
    34. Rome
      1. Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr
    35. Sicily
      1. Siracusa by Delia Ephron ****
      2. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (Tante Poldi #1) by Mario Giordano ****
      3. That Summer in Sicily by Marlena de Blasi
      4. The Shape of Water (Inspector Montalbano, #1) by Andrea Camilleri
      5. A House in Sicily by Daphne Phelps
    36. Tuscany
      1. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes ****
      2. Vanilla Beans & Brodo: Real Life in the Hills of Tuscany by Isabella Dusi
      3. The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen
      4. A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure (Italian Memoirs) by Marlena de Blasi
      5. Home to Italy by Peter Pezzelli
    37. Venice
      1. The City of Fallen Angels by John Berendt
      2. A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi
      3. Venice by Jan Morris
      4. Venice: Pure City by Peter Ackroyd
      5. As It Is in Heaven by Niall Williams (also Ireland)
  83. Jamaica
    1. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
  84. Japan
    1. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata ***
    2. The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd ****
    3. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki ****
    4. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden ****
    5. Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan
    6. The Floating World by Cynthia Gralla
    7. The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
    8. Silence by Shūsaku Endō
    9. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
    10. Hiroshima
      1. Hiroshima by John Hersey *****
      2. The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
    11. Kyoto
      1. The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto by Pico Iyer *****
    12. Tokyo
      1. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto ****
      2. Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto ****
  85. Jordan
    1. The Confusion of Languages by Siobhan Fallon
  86. Kazakhstan
  87. Kenya
    1. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain *****
    2. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen *****
    3. I Dreamed of Africa by Kuki Gallmann ****
    4. The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans
    5. Rules of the Wild by Francesca Marciano
    6. The Fall of Saints by Wanjiku wa Ngugi
    7. Safari Style, Ed. Angelika Taschen
  88. Kiribati
  89. Kosovo
  90. Kuwait
  91. Kyrgyzstan
  92. Laos
  93. Latvia
  94. Lebanon
    1. Jasmine & Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour
    2. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  95. Lesotho
  96. Liberia
  97. Libya
    1. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
    2. The Return by Hisham Matar
  98. Liechtenstein
  99. Lithuania
  100. Luxembourg
  101. Macedonia
  102. Madagascar
  103. Malawi
  104. Malaysia
  105. Maldives
  106. Mali
    1. Walking with Abel: Journeys with the Nomads of the African Savannah by Anna Badkhen
  107. Malta
    1. The Jukebox Queen of Malta by Nicholas M. Rinaldi
  108. Marshall Islands
  109. Mauritania
  110. Mauritius
  111. Mexico
    1. All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy #1) by Cormac McCarthy ****
    2. The Crossing (The Border Trilogy #2) by Cormac McCarthy
    3. Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
    4. In the Casa Azul: A Novel of Revolution and Betrayal by Meaghan Delahunt
    5. Feathered Serpent by Colin Falconer
    6. The Years with Laura Díaz by Carlos Fuentes
    7. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez  (& Delaware, USA)
    8. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (also North Carolina and D.C.)
    9. Mexicasa: The Enchanting Inns and Haciendas of Mexico, Photos by Melba Levick, Text by Gina Hyams
  112. Micronesia
  113. Moldova
  114. Monaco
  115. Mongolia
  116. Montenegro
  117. Morocco
    1. Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun ***
    2. The Time in Between by Maria Duenas (also known as The Seamstress) *****
    3. The Tattooed Map by Barbara Hodgson ****
    4. The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
    5. In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams by Tahir Shah
    6. The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne
    7. Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam’s Greatest Traveler by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
    8. Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir, Michèle Fitoussi
    9. A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna Clarke
    10. Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatema Mernissi
    11. The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah
    12. The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun
    13. A Palace in the Old Village by Tahar Ben Jelloun
    14. Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami
    15. Secret Son: A Novel by Laila Lalami
    16. The Blue Hour by Douglas Kennedy
    17. The Saffron Gate by Linda Holeman
    18. In Morocco by Edith Wharton
    19. The Voices of Marrakesh: A Record of a Visit by Elias Canetti
    20. Tangerine by Christine Mangan
    21. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
    22. new Moroccan Style: The Art of Sensual Living by Susan Sully
    23. Moroccan Style by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren
    24. Moorish Style by Miles Danby
    25. Moroccan Interiors by Lisa Lovatt-Smith
  118. Mozambique
  119. Myanmar (Burma)
    1. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker ****
    2. The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason
    3. Smile as They Bow by Nu Nu Yi
  120. Namibia
  121. Nauru
  122. Nepal
    1. The Guru of Love by Samrat Upadhyay *****
    2. Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay *****
    3. City of Ghosts by Johanna Stoberock
  123. Netherlands
    1. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier *****
    2. Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
  124. New Zealand
    1. Rain by Kirsty Gunn
  125. Nicaragua
  126. Niger
  127. Nigeria
  128. North Korea
    1. The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story by Hyeonseo Lee
  129. Norway
    1. Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
    2. North of Dawn by Nuruddin Farah
  130. Oman
    1. My Year in Oman: An American Experience in Arabia During the War on Terror by Matthew D. Heines ***
  131. Pakistan
    1. Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid
    2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
    3. broken verses by Kamila Shamsie
    4. Kartography by Kamila Shamsie
    5. Trespassing by Uzma Aslan Khan
    6. The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad
  132. Palau
  133. Palestine
    1. The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa ****
    2. The Family Orchard by Nomi Eve
  134. Panama
  135. Papua New Guinea
  136. Paraguay
  137. Peru
    1. When Mountains Walked by Kate Wheeler *****
    2. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder *****
  138. Philippines
  139. Poland
  140. Portugal
    1. The Painter of Birds by Lidia Jorge ****
    2. 300 Days of Sun by Deborah Lawrenson ****
    3. Pereira Declares: A Testimony by Antonio Tabucchi ****
    4. Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali
    5. Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier (saw the movie)
    6. The Implacable Order of Things by José Luís Peixoto
    7. A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening by Mário de Carvalho
    8. Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal’s History and Culture by José Saramago
    9. Blindness by José Saramago
    10. All the Names by José Saramago
  141. Qatar
  142. Romania
  143. Russia
    1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy *****
    2. Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey Into the Heart of Russia by David Greene
    3. The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
    4. The Translator by John Crowley
    5. In the Casa Azul: A Novel of Revolution and Betrayal by Meaghan Delahunt
    6. Dreams of My Russian Summers by Andreï Makine
    7. dancer by Colum McCann
    8. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
    9. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  144. Rwanda
    1. A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche
    2. A Thousand Hills to Heaven: Love, Hope, and a Restaurant in Rwanda by Josh Ruxin
  145. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  146. Saint Lucia
  147. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  148. Samoa
    1. The Girl in the Moon Circle by Sia Figiel ***
  149. San Marino
  150. Sao Tome and Principe
  151. Saudi Arabia
    1. Finding Nouf (Nayir Sharqi & Katya Hijazi #1) by Zoë Ferraris *****
    2. City of Veils (Nayir Sharqi & Katya Hijazi #2) by Zoë Ferraris ****
    3. Kingdom of Strangers by Zoë Ferraris
    4. Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
  152. Senegal
  153. Serbia
  154. Seychelles
  155. Sierra Leone
  156. Singapore
  157. Slovakia
  158. Slovenia
  159. Solomon Islands
  160. Somalia
  161. South Africa
    1. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton *****
    2. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
  162. South Korea
    1. One Thousand Chestnut Trees: A Novel of Korea by Mira Stout *****
    2. How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway ***
    3. The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee ****
    4. White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht
    5. The Book of Dead Birds by Gayle Brandeis
    6. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
  163. South Sudan
  164. Spain
    1. Duende: A Journey into the Heart of Flamenco by Jason Webster ****
    2. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway *****
    3. Travelers’ Tales Spain: True Stories, Ed. Lucy McCauley ****
    4. Iberia by James Michener
    5. The Vineyard by María Dueñas
    6. Camino de Santiago
      1. Guidebooks:
        1. A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago: St. Jean * Roncesvalles * Santiago by John Brierley ****
        2. Camino de Santiago: The ancient Way of St. James pilgrimage route from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela by Sergi Ramis
      2. Personal accounts:
        1. In Movement There is Peace (Anxiety Treatment Alternatives) by Elaine Orabona Foster (Kindle) ****
        2. The Road to Santiago by Kathryn Harrison *****
        3. Sunrises to Santiago: Searching for Purpose on the Camino de Santiago by Gabriel Schirm ****
        4. Steps Out of Time: One Woman’s Journey on the Camino by Katherine B. Soper (Kindle) ****
        5. On Pilgrimage by Jennifer Lash (mostly in France, but ends in Santiago de Compostela) *****
        6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ***
        7. The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit by Shirley MacLaine
        8. I’m Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago by Hape Kerkeling
        9. The Way, My Way by Bill Bennett (Kindle)
        10. Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route Into Spain by Jack Hitt (Kindle)
        11. The Way is Made by Walking: A Pilgrimage Along the Camino de Santiago by Arthur Paul Boers
      3. Packing advice:
        1. To Walk Far, Carry Less by Jean-Christie Ashmore ****
        2. Pilgrim Tips & Packing List Camino de Santiago by S. Yates
      4. History & Culture
        1. The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook by David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson
    7. Andalucía
      1. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucía (Driving Over Lemons Trilogy #1) by Chris Stewart *****
    8. Barcelona
      1. The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafó ****
    9. Madrid
      1. The Seamstress by María Dueñas (also called The Time In Between) – also takes place in Morocco *****
  165. Sri Lanka
    1. The Flower Boy by Karen Roberts
    2. Cinnamon Gardens by Shyam Selvadurai
    3. The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies
    4. Love Marriage by V.V. Ganeshananthan
  166. Sudan
    1. Emma’s War: An Aid Worker, A Warlord, Radical Islam, and the Politics of Oil – A True Story of Love and Death in Sudan by Deborah Scoggins
  167. Suriname
  168. Swaziland
  169. Sweden
    1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman ****
    2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson *****
    3. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium #2) by Stieg Larsson
  170. Switzerland
  171. Syria
    1. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian ***
    2. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf
    3. Dark at the Crossing by Elliot Ackerman (& Turkey)
  172. Taiwan
    1. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
    2. Heaven Lake by John Dalton
  173. Tajikistan
  174. Tanzania
    1. Zanzibar
      1. The Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley
  175. Thailand
    1. The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej by Paul M. Handley ****
    2. Siam by Lily Tuck
    3. Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski
    4. Thailand’s Political History: From the Fall of Ayutthaya to Recent Times by B.J. Terwiel
  176. Timor-Leste
  177. Togo
  178. Tonga
  179. Trinidad and Tobago
    1. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey *****
  180. Tunisia
  181. Turkey
    1. The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk ****
    2. Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk
    3. Snow by Orhan Pamuk
    4. Gardens of Water by Alan Drew
    5. The Virgin’s Knot by Holly Payne
    6. Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey, Ed. Anastasia M. Ashman and Jennifer Eaton
    7. Dark at the Crossing by Elliot Ackerman (& Syria)
  182. Turkmenistan
  183. Tuvalu
  184. Uganda
  185. Ukraine
    1. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
  186. United Arab Emirates (UAE)
    1. Water from Heaven: An American woman’s life as an Arab wife by Anne Schreiber Thomas ****
  187. United Kingdom (UK)
    1. England
      1. Missing, Presumed (D.S. Manon #1) by Susie Steiner ****
      2. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger ****
      3. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson ****
      4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë *****
      5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *****
      6. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ****
      7. Persuasion by Jane Austen
      8. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins *****
      9. behind the scenes at the museum by Kate Atkinson
      10. The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr
      11. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
      12. The Navigation Log by Martin Corrick
      13. offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
      14. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
      15. The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
      16. a sky so close by Betool Khedairi (& Iraq)
      17. Atonement by Ian McEwan
      18. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
      19. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald (& Europe)
      20. Next of Kin by Joanna Trollope
      21. The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
      22. Not That Sort of Girl by Mary Wesley
      23. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
      24. London
        1. Brick Lane by Monica Ali ***
        2. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger ****
        3. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
        4. Only in London by Hanan al-Shaykh
        5. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (Egypt too?)
        6. The Photograph by Penelope Lively
        7. Saturday by Ian McEwan
        8. Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan
        9. life isn’t all ha ha hee hee by Meera Syal
        10. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro (also Shanghai)
    2. Scotland
      1. Featherstone by Kirsty Gunn
      2. Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey
    3. Wales
      1. The Welsh Borderlands: Reflections Afoot by Anne Holmes Filson
  188. United States of America (USA)
    1. See books | u.s.a. |
  189. Uruguay
  190. Uzbekistan
    1. A Carpet Ride to Khiva: Seven Years on the Silk Road by Christopher Aslan Alexander
  191. Vanuatu
  192. Vatican City (Holy See)
  193. Venezuela
  194. Vietnam
    1. American Romantic by Ward Just (Indochina) ****
    2. A Dangerous Friend by Ward Just (Indochina)
    3. The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars by Andrew X. Pham ****
    4. Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam by Andrew X. Pham ****
    5. Daughters of the River Huong by Uyen Nicole Duong ****
    6. Paradise of the Blind by Dương Thu Hương ****
    7. The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen
    8. The Lover by Marguerite Duras (Indochina)
    9. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
    10. What It’s Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes
    11. The Things They Carried (stories) by Tim O’Brien
  195. Yemen
    1. The Ambassador’s Wife by Jennifer Steil (actually it’s an unknown Middle Eastern country that sounds like Yemen) *****
    2. The Woman Who Fell From the Sky by Jennifer Steil (non-fiction)
    3. The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers
  196. Zambia
  197. Zimbabwe

*******************

BOOKS SET IN UNNAMED COUNTRIES FROM REGIONS AROUND THE WORLD

  • AFRICA
    • The Hotel Alleluia by Lucinda Roy
    • Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town by Paul Theroux
  • EUROPE
    • Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson
  • MIDDLE EAST
  • SOUTH AMERICA
    • Bel Canto by Ann Patchett *****
    • The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara
    • Traveling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary by Alberto Granado

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS SET AROUND THE WORLD