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!). The ones in bold green are books I own but haven’t read.  The others are suggestions for future reading.

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 ****
  • Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert *****
  • Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach ****
  • Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman 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
  • the way of the wanderer: discover your true self through travel by David Yeadon
  • 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
  • Travel, Sex, & Train Wrecks by Julie Morey (Kindle)
  • Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel
  • A Woman’s Path: Women’s Best 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
  • The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats by Daniel Stone
  • National Geographic Student World Atlas (4th Edition)
  • Merriam-Webster’s Student Atlas

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. Broken April by Ismail Kadare
    2. Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare
    3. Agamemnon’s Daughter: A Novella and Stories 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. The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier (Tunisia. Crete. Turkey.)
    3. Nedjma by Yacine Kateb
    4. The Lovers of Algeria by Anouar Benmalek
    5. The Last Life by Claire Messud
    6. The Star of Algiers by Aziz Chouaki
    7. Women of Algiers in their Apartment by Assia Djebar
    8. The Stranger by Albert Camus
    9. Century of Locusts by Malika Mokeddem
    10. Some Dream for Fools by Faïza Guène, Jennifer L. Johnson (Translator), Jenna Johnson (Translator)
  4. Andorra
    1. If You Dare (MacCarrick Brothers #1) by Kresley Cole (historical romance)
  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
    10. We Came Here to Forget by Andrea Dunlop
  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. The Dry by Jane Harper
    5. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
    6. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
    7. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
    8. The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
    9. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
    10. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
    11. Dirt Music by Tim Winton
    12. The Secret River (Thornhill Family #1) by Kate Grenville
    13. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
    14. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
    15. Two Old Men Dying by Tom Keneally
  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
      3. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
  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. The Bahamas
    1. Kiss Heaven Goodbye by Tasmina Perry
    2. The Far Side of the Sun by Kate Furnivall
    3. The Night Manager by John le Carré (also Cairo)
    4. The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams
    5. 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
    5. The Summer Country by Lauren Willig
  16. Belarus
    1. Chernobyl Prayer: A Chronicle of the Future by Svetlana Alexievich
  17. Belgium
    1. In the Company of Angels by N.M. Kelby (also France)
    2. The Bridge of Years: A Novel by May Sarton
    3. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
    4. A Tall Man in a Low Land by Harry Pearson
  18. Belize
    1. Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico by Ronald Wright
  19. Benin
  20. Bhutan
  21. Bolivia
    1. The Matter of Desire: A Novel by by Edmundo Paz Soldán, Lisa Carter, translator
    2. Purity by Jonathan Franzen
    3. Let Me Speak (Memoir) by Domitila Barrios de Chungara
    4. The Fat Man from La Paz (stories) edited by Rosario Santos
    5. Marching Powder (Autobiography) by Rusty Young & Thomas McFadden
    6. Whispering in the Giant’s Ear (Memoir) by William Powers
    7. Beyond the Snows of the Andes (Memoir) by Beatrice Brusic
    8. The Bolivian Times by Tim Elliott
    9. Lost in the Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival by Yossi Ghinsberg
    10. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
    11. Ghost Train Through the Andes: On My Grandfather’s Trail in Chile and Bolivia by Michael Jacobs
  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
    2. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
    3. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
    4. The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
    5. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
    6. Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
    7. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
    8. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
    9. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
    10. Botswana Time by Will Randall
    11. Mating by Norman Rush
    12. Mortals by Norman Rush
    13. When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head
    14. A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley
    15. The Second Death of Good Luck Tinubu by Michael Stanley
    16. Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens
  24. Brazil
    1. All Is Beauty Now by Sarah Faber
    2. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende (& Guatemala & Chile)
    3. We Came Here to Forget by Andrea Dunlop
    4. The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles
    5. Brazil by John Updike
    6. A Death in Brazil by Peter Robb
    7. Heliopolis by James Scudamore
    8. The Sad End of Policarpo Quaresma by Lima Barreto
    9. Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands by Jorge Amado
    10. Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado
    11. Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado
    12. Tent of Miracles by Jorge Amado
    13. Ancient Tillage by Raduan Nassar
    14. There Were Many Horses by Luiz Ruffato
    15. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
    16. Blood of the Wicked (Chief Inspector Mario Silva #1) by Leighton Gage
    17. Buried Strangers (Chief Inspector Mario Silva #2) by Leighton Gage
    18. In Trouble Again: A Journey Between the Orinoco and the Amazon by Redmond O’Hanlon
    19. The Accidental President of Brazil: A Memoir by Fernando Henrique Cardoso
    20. Brazilian Adventure by Peter Fleming
    21. A Land of Ghosts: The Braided Lives of People and the Forest in Far Western Amazonia by David G. Campbell
    22. 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
    2. Café Europa: Life After Communisim by Slavenka Drakulić
  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
    5. Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind by Loung Ung
    6. Three Flames by Alan Lightman
    7. In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
    8. A Cambodian Odyssey by Haing Ngor, Roger Warner
    9. The King’s Last Song by Geoff Ryman
    10. Temple of a Thousand Faces by John Shors
    11. When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution by Elizabeth Becker
    12. The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
    13. The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay
    14. River of Time by John Swain
    15. Dogs at the Perimeter by Madeleine Thien
    16. Holiday in Cambodia (stories) by Laura Jean McKay
    17. Hunters in the Dark by Lawrence Osborne
    18. To the End of Hell: One Woman’s Struggle to Survive Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge by Denise Affonço, Margaret Burn (Translator), Katie Hogben (Translator)
    19. Song for an Approaching Storm by Peter Fröberg Idling (Goodreads Author), Peter Graves (Translator)
    20. Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador by Angelina Jolie, Caspian Tredwell-Owen
    21. Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare by Philip Short
    22. The Lost Executioner: A Journey to the Heart of the Killing Fields by Nic Dunlop
    23. The Gate by François Bizot
    24. A Cambodian Prison Portrait by Vann Nath
    25. The Sea Wall by Marguerite Duras
    26. A Dragon Apparent by Norman Lewis
    27. Phnom Penh by Milton Osborne
    28. Survival in the Killing Fields by Haing Ngor
    29. When Clouds Fell From the Sky by Robert Carmichael
    30. A Woman of Angkor by John Burgess
    31. To Cambodia with Love by Twefic El-Sawy – Essay collection, 2010
  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
      2. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
    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. Quebec
      1. The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman
    7. 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 (Kindle)
    16. Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream by John Derbyshire
    17. Monkey Hunting by Cristina García
    18. My Last Empress by Da Chen (Kindle)
    19. Colors of the Mountain by Da Chen (Kindle)
    20. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Kindle)
    21. Frontiers of Heaven: A Journey to the End of China by Stanley Stewart
    22. Elsey Come Home by Susan Conley
    23. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
    24. Hong Kong
      1. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee *****
      2. The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee
    25. 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 ***
    2. The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
    3. On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleža
    4. April Fool’s Day by Josip Novakovich
    5. Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust by Josip Novakovich
    6. The Balkan Express: Fragments from the Other Side of War by Slavenka Drakulić
    7. Cafe Europa: Life After Communism by Slavenka Drakulić
    8. The Museum of Unconditional Surrender by Dubravka Ugrešlić
    9. Fording the Stream of Consciousness by Dubravka Ugrešlić
    10. Zagreb, Exit South by Edo Popović
    11. A Traveler’s History of Croatia by Benjamin Curtis
    12. Escape from Despair by Katarina Tepesh
    13. Girl at War by Sara Nović
    14. The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic
    15. The Stone Fields by Courtney Angela Brkic
    16. Stillness: And Other Stories by Courtney Angela Brkic
    17. Running Away to Home: Our Family’s Journey to Croatia by Jennifer Wilson
    18. Every Day, Every Hour by Natasa Dragnic
    19. Balkan Ghosts by Robert Kaplan
  44. Cuba
    1. In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd by Ana Menéndez ****
    2. La Americana (memoir) by Melanie Bowder Simón
    3. Cuba & the Night by Pico Iyer
    4. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
    5. Monkey Hunting by Cristina García
    6. Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García
    7. The Agüero Sisters by Cristina García
    8. The Sugar Island by Ivonne Lamazares
    9. Revolution Sunday by Wendy Guerra
  45. Cyprus
  46. Czech Republic
    1. The Russian Debutante’s Handbook by Gary Shteyngart
    2. The Engineer of Human Souls by Josef Skvorecky
    3. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
    4. The Last Bohemians by Kit Kimberly
    5. Between the Woods and the Water (Trilogy #2) by Patrick Leigh Fermor
    6. Mendelssohn is on the Roof by Jiří Weil
    7. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
    8.  Prague
      1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera ****
      2. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
      3. Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright
      4. Prague Winter by Nikolaus Martin
      5. All That Man Is by David Szalay
  47. Denmark
    1. The Dinosaur Feather by S.J. Gazan
    2. The Arc of the Swallow by Sissel-Jo Gazan
    3. The Boy In the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl, Agnete Friis (Kindle)
  48. Djibouti
  49. Dominica
  50. Dominican Republic
    1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
    2. Let it Rain Coffee by Angie Cruz
    3. In the Name of Salomé by Julia Alvarez
    4. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
    5. Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina by Raquel Cepeda (& New York, California)
  51. Ecuador

    1. America Was Hard to Find by Kathleen Alcott
    2. the queen of water by Laura Resau (Young Adult)
    3. The Panama Hat Trail by Tom Miller
    4. Pieces of My Life by Rachel Dann
    5. Villa Pacifica by Kapka Kassabova
    6. The Amnesia Clinic by James Scudamore
    7. City on the Ledge by Philip Kraske
    8. The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (+ Columbia + Venezuela)
    9. Fool’s Gold by P.J. Skinner
    10. Huasipungo: The Villagers by Jorge Icaza
    11. Galápagos Islands
      1. Enchanted Islands by Allison Amand
      2. The Evolution of Jane by Cathleen Schine
      3. To the Edge of the World by Harry Thompson
      4. Mr. Darwin’s Shooter by Roger McDonald
      5. The Origin of Murder by Jerold Last
      6. Plundering Paradise: The Hand of Man on the Galápagos Islands by Michael D’Orso
      7. Galápagos Regained by James K. Morrow
      8. The Voyage of the Beagle: Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Round the World by Charles Darwin (intro. by Steve Jones)
      9. Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin’s Lost Notebooks by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
      10. The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner
      11. The Origin: A Biographical Novel of Charles Darwin by Irving Stone
  52. Egypt
    1. Café on the Nile by Bartle Bull
    2. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
    3. Gazelle by Rikki Ducornet
    4. The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
    5. The City Always Wins by Omar Robert Hamilton
    6. The Cairo Affair by Olen Steinhauer
    7. The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó
    8. The Night Manager by John le Carré (also The Bahamas)
    9. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
    10. Lifting the Veil: Two Centuries of Travelers, Traders and Tourists in Egypt by Anthony Sattin
    11. Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney
    12. The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
    13. The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell
    14. The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
    15. The October Horse: A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra (Masters of Rome #6) by Colleen McCullough
    16. The Yacoubian Building by Alla al Aswany
    17. The Cheapest Nights by Yusuf Idris
    18. The Collar and the Bracelet by Yahya Taher Abdullah
    19. The Trench by Abdul Rahman Munif
    20. Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
    21. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
    22. A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib
    23. The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel by Margaret George
    24. Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to Mubarak by Tarek Osman
  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 (Kindle)
    3. There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene (Kindle)
    4. In Praise of Savagery by Warwick Cairns (Kindle)
    5. The Shadow King By Maaza Mengiste
    6. 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. Running in Place: Scenes from the South of France by Nicholas Delbanco
    10. In the Company of Angels by N.M. Kelby (also Belgium)
    11. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
    12. The Looking Glass by Michèle Roberts (Normandy)
    13. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
    14. The Treasure of Montsegur by Sophy Burnham
    15. Massacre at Montségur: A History of the Albigensian Crusade by Zoé Oldenbourg
    16. Wine and War: The French, the Nazis and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure by Don and Petie Kladstrup
    17. Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull
    18. Paris out of hand {a wayward guide} by Karen Elizabeth Gordon
    19. Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Ines de la Fressange
    20. Paris Chic & Trendy by Adrienne Ribes-Tiphaine (all in French)
    21. The Room on Rue Amélie by Kristin Harmel
    22. The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer
    23. Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France by Craig Carlson
    24. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheen
    25. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell
    26. The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy
    27. Antilles islands in Caribbean
      1. Guadeloupe
        1. Victoire: My Mother’s Mother by Maryse Condé
  61. Gabon
  62. Gambia
  63. Georgia
  64. Germany
    1. The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa ****
    2. Stones from the River (Burgdorf Cycle #1) by Ursula Hegi ****
    3. The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
    4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Kindle)
    5. The Good German by Joseph Kanon
    6. Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon
    7. A Time of Gifts (Trilogy #1) by Patrick Leigh Fermor (& Austria, Hungary)
    8. The Tattooist of Auschwitz (The Tattooist of Auschwitz, #1) by Heather Morris
    9. Cilka’s Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz, #2) by Heather Morris
    10. The Things We Cherished by Pam Jenoff (Poland. Italy.)
    11. Your Perfect Year by Charlotte Lucas (Pseudonym), Wiebke Lorenz, Alison Layland (Translator)
    12. Travelers by Helon Habila
  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. Café Tempest by Barbara Bonfigli (Kindle) **
    10. The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell
    11. A House in Corfu by Emma Tennant (Kindle)
    12. Xenos by David A. Ross (Kindle)
    13. Dinner with Persephone: Travels in Greece by Patricia Storace (Kindle)
    14. North of Ithaka by Eleni N. Gage (Kindle)
    15. Outline by Rachel Cusk
    16. The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier (Crete. Tunisia. Algeria. Turkey.)
    17. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (& Turkey. Greece.)
  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
    2. The Roving Tree by Elsie Augustave
    3. The World is Moving Around Me: A Memoir of the Haiti Earthquake by Danny Laferrière
  73. Honduras
    1. The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux
  74. Hungary
    1. The Swimmer by Zsuzsa Bánk
    2. Budapest
      1. Prague by Arthur Phillips
      2. The Afterlife of Stars by Joseph Kertes
      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
    3. A Fist or a Heart by Kristín Eiríksdóttir, Larissa Kyzer (Translator)
    4. The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea
  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. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
    14. Flash House by Aimee Liu
    15. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
    16. The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob (& Seattle & New Mexico)
    17. Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
    18. The Caretaker by A.X. Ahmad
    19. Sharmila’s Book by Bharti Kirchner
    20. Shiva Dancing by Bharti Kirchner
    21. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott
    22. The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay
    23. A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee
    24. Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
    25. As Sweet as Honey by Indira Ganesan
    26. Everything was Goodbye by Gurjinder Basran
    27. The Abundance by Amit Majmudar (also Midwest USA)
    28. The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani
    29. 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
    6. A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri
    7. Refuge by Dina Nayeri
    8. The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri
  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
    5. The Baghdad Clock by Shahad al Rawi
  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 Witch Elm by Tana French
    6. the all of it by Jeannette Haien ***
    7. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt #1) by Frank McCourt ****
    8. Tara Road by Maeve Binchy *****
    9. Evening Class by Maeve Binchy ****
    10. Dubliners by James Joyce
    11. Ulysses by James Joyce
    12. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
    13. Border Crossings by Carole Bellacera
    14. Are You Somebody?: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman by Nuala O’Faolain
    15. As It Is in Heaven by Niall Williams (also Italy)
    16. This Is Happiness by Niall Williams
    17. Normal People by Sally Rooney
    18. When All Is Said by Anne Griffin
    19. Divine Beauty: The Invisible Embrace by John O’Donohue
    20. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
  81. Israel
    1. the light we lost by Jill Stanopolo
    2. To the End of the Land by David Grossman * (my husband’s rating after he gave up on the book)
    3. From a Sealed Room by Rachel Kadish (?)
  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. The Fall of a Sparrow by Robert Hellenga *****
    6. The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga
    7. The Italian Lover by Robert Hellenga
    8. The Confessions of Frances Godwin by Robert Hellenga
    9. An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser ****
    10. Born Twice by Giuseppe Ponliggia ***
    11. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
    12. Cucina: A Novel of Rapture by Lily Prior
    13. The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
    14. The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
    15. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames
    16. My Brilliant Friend (The Neopolitan Novels, #1) by Elena Ferrante
    17. The Story of a New Name (The Neopolitan Novels, #2) by Elena Ferrante
    18. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neopolitan Novels, #3) by Elena Ferrante
    19. The Story of the Lost Child (The Neopolitan Novels, #4) by Elena Ferrante
    20. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
    21. The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
    22. A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
    23. The Homecoming Party by Carmine Abate
    24. From the Land of the Moon by Milena Agus
    25. The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani
    26. The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman
    27. Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year by Carlo Levi
    28. The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
    29. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
    30. The Enchanted April Elizabeth von Arnim
    31. A Room with a View by E.M Forster
    32. Vila Triste by Lucretia Grindle
    33. The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria by Marlena de Blasi
    34. Lost Hearts in Italy by Andrea Lee
    35. Extra Virgin (Italy Series, #1) by Annie Hawes
    36. The Villa in Italy (A Vintage Mystery) by Elizabeth Edmonson
    37. Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker
    38. Return to Glow: A Pilgrimage of Transformation in Italy by Chandi Wyant
    39. A Kiss from Maddalena by Christopher Castellani
    40. All This Talk of Love: A Novel by Christopher Castellani
    41. Been Here a Thousand Years by Mariolina Venezia, Marina Harss (Translator)
    42. A Chill in the Air by Iris Origo
    43. Italy Out of Hand: A Capricious Tour by Barbara Hodgson
    44. A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantonio, translated by Ann Goldstein
    45. A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar
    46. Florence
      1. Dark Water: Flood and Redemption in the City of Masterpieces by Robert Clark
    47. Rome
      1. Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr
    48. 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
    49. Tuscany
      1. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes ****
      2. The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen ****
      3. Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes
      4. Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes
      5. See You in the Piazza by Frances Mayes
      6. Vanilla Beans & Brodo: Real Life in the Hills of Tuscany by Isabella Dusi
      7. A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure (Italian Memoirs) by Marlena de Blasi
      8. Home to Italy by Peter Pezzelli
      9. That Month in Tuscany by Inglath Cooper
    50. Venice
      1. As It Is in Heaven by Niall Williams (also Ireland)
      2. The City of Fallen Angels by John Berendt
      3. A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi
      4. Venice by Jan Morris
      5. Venice: Pure City by Peter Ackroyd
  83. Jamaica
    1. Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
    2. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
    3. Gloria by Kerry Young
  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. The Floating World by Cynthia Gralla
    6. The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
    7. Silence by Shūsaku Endō
    8. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (Kindle)
    9. Kokoro by Natsume Soseki (Kindle)
    10. Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata (Kindle)
    11. The Lake by Banana Yosimoto (Kindle)
    12. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton (Kindle)
    13. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
    14. Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan
    15. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
    16. Hiroshima
      1. Hiroshima by John Hersey *****
      2. The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
    17. Kyoto
      1. The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto by Pico Iyer *****
    18. Tokyo
      1. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto ****
      2. Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto ****
  85. Jordan
    1. West of the Jordan by Laila Halaby (Kindle)
    2. Live from Jordan: Letters Home from My Journey Through the Middle East by Benjamin Orbach (Kindle)
    3. The Confusion of Languages by Siobhan Fallon
  86. Kazakhstan
    1. The Dead Lake by Hamid Ismailov, Andrew Bromfield (translator)
  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. Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh
    8. 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
    1. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
    2. Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan
  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
    1. The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah
  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 Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (also North Carolina and D.C.)
    8. Mexicasa: The Enchanting Inns and Haciendas of Mexico, Photos by Melba Levick, Text by Gina Hyams
    9. Costalegre by Courtney Maum
    10. Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement
    11. Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr
  112. Micronesia
  113. Moldova
  114. Monaco
  115. Mongolia
  116. Montenegro
  117. Morocco
    1. The Time in Between by Maria Duenas (also known as The Seamstress) *****
    2. The Tattooed Map by Barbara Hodgson ****
    3. Tangerine by Christine Mangan ****
    4. The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne *****
    5. Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir, Michèle Fitoussi
    6. Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam’s Greatest Traveler by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
    7. The Saffron Trail by Rosanna Ley
    8. The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun
    9. A Palace in the Old Village by Tahar Ben Jelloun
    10. This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun
    11. Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatema Mernissi
    12. Beyond the Veil by Fatima Mernissi
    13. Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami
    14. Secret Son: A Novel by Laila Lalami
    15. The Blue Hour by Douglas Kennedy
    16. The Saffron Gate by Linda Holeman
    17. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
    18. The Spider’s House by Paul Bowles
    19. Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
    20. For Bread Alone by Mohamed Choukri
    21. In Morocco by Edith Wharton (1920)
    22. Fez
      1. A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna Clarke
    23. Marrakesh
      1. The Voices of Marrakesh: A Record of a Visit by Elias Canetti
      2. A Year in Marrakesh by Peter Mayne
    24. Casablanca
      1. The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah
      2. In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams by Tahir Shah ****
    25. Tangier
      1. Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun ***
      2. The Tangier Diaries by John Hopkins
      3. Tangier: A Literary Guide for Travelers by Josh Shoemake (2013)
      4. Tangier by Steven Holgate
    26. DESIGN
      1. new Moroccan Style: The Art of Sensual Living by Susan Sully
      2. Moroccan Style by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren
      3. Moorish Style by Miles Danby
      4. 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
    4. Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig
  120. Namibia
  121. Nauru
  122. Nepal
    1. The Guru of Love by Samrat Upadhyay *****
    2. Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay *****
    3. The Royal Ghosts: stories by Samrat Upadhyay
    4. City of Ghosts by Johanna Stoberock
    5. The Memory of Leaves by Manan Karki (Kindle)
  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
    2. All This by Chance by Vincent O’Sullivan
    3. Let the River Stand by Vincent O’Sullivan
  125. Nicaragua
  126. Niger
  127. Nigeria
    1. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    2. An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma
    3. Beneath the Tamarind Tree: A Story of Courage, Family and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram by Isha Sesay
  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 ***
    2. The English Girl by Katherine Webb
    3. Celestial Bodies by Jokhha Alharthi
  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
    1. Euphoria by Lily King
  136. Paraguay
  137. Peru
    1. When Mountains Walked by Kate Wheeler *****
    2. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder *****
  138. Philippines
    1. A Good Provider is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century by Jason DeParle (non-fiction)
  139. Poland
    1. The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
  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 (Kindle)
    5. Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier (Kindle)
    6. Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal’s History and Culture by José Saramago
    7. All the Names by José Saramago (Kindle)
    8. Blindness by José Saramago
    9. The Implacable Order of Things by José Luís Peixoto
    10. A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening by Mário de Carvalho
  141. Qatar
  142. Romania
  143. Russia
    1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy *****
    2. The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
    3. The Translator by John Crowley
    4. In the Casa Azul: A Novel of Revolution and Betrayal by Meaghan Delahunt
    5. Dreams of My Russian Summers by Andreï Makine
    6. dancer by Colum McCann
    7. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
    8. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre
    9. The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
    10. Cilka’s Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz, #2) by Heather Morris
    11. Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
    12. The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander (also California)
    13. Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey Into the Heart of Russia by David Greene
    14. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    15. Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
    16. The Underground by Hamid Ismailov, Carol Ermakova (translator)
  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
    1. The Poetry of Derek Walcott, 1948-2013 by Derek Walcott
    2. Omeros by Derek Walcott
  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
    5. Three Thousand Miles for a Wish by Safiya Hussain
  152. Senegal
  153. Serbia
  154. Seychelles
  155. Sierra Leone
  156. Singapore
  157. Slovakia
    1. The House of the Deaf Man by Peter Krištúfek
    2. Zoli by Colum McCann
    3. Banana Peels on the Tracks: Coming of Age in Post-Communist Slovakia by Jason Lockwood
    4. Siren of the Waters (Commander Jana Matinova #1) by Michael Genelin
    5. The Magician’s Accomplice (Commander Jana Matinova #3) by Michael Genelin
    6. Katarina by Kathryn Winter
    7. The Year of the Frog: A Novel by Martin M. Šimečka
  158. Slovenia
  159. Solomon Islands
  160. Somalia
  161. South Africa
    1. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton *****
    2. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
    3. The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh
    4. 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. The Book of Dead Birds by Gayle Brandeis
    5. White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht
    6. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
    7. If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim
  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. The Vineyard by María Dueñas ***
    5. Voices of the Old Sea by Norman Lewis (Kindle)
    6. Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom (Kindle)
    7. It’s Not About the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels by Polly Evans (Kindle)
    8. Waiting for Robert Capa by Susana Fortes (Kindle)
    9. Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (Kindle)
    10. The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
    11. Homeland by Fernando Aramburu, translated by Alfred Macadam
    12. Iberia by James Michener
    13. 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
    14. Andalucía
      1. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucía (Driving Over Lemons Trilogy #1) by Chris Stewart *****
      2. A Parrot in the Pepper Tree by Christ Stewart (Kindle)
    15. Barcelona
      1. The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafó ****
    16. 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 Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (& Turkey. Greece.)
    3. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf
    4. 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
    3. Two Trees Make a Forest: A Story of Memory, Migration, and Taiwan by Jessica J. Lee
  173. Tajikistan
  174. Tanzania
    1. A Girl Called Problem by Katie Quirk
    2. Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories by Ernest Hemingway
    3. The Magic of Saida by M. G. Vassanji
    4.  Zanzibar
      1. The Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley
      2. Death in Zanzibar by M.M. Kaye
      3. Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah
      4. Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah
      5. By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
      6. Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah
      7. Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah
      8. The Last Gift by Abdulrazak Gurnah
  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
    5. Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
  176. Timor-Leste
  177. Togo
  178. Tonga
  179. Trinidad and Tobago
    1. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey *****
    2. Archipelago by Monique Roffey
    3. Golden Child by Claire Adam
    4. Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul
    5. Salt by Earl Lovelace
    6. The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace
    7. The Dragon Can’t Dance by Earl Lovelace
    8. Is Just a Movie by Earl Lovelace
    9. Lime Tree Can’t Bear Orange by Amanda Smyth
    10. A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
    11. Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul
    12. The Mystic Masseur by V.S. Naipaul
    13. The Loss of El Dorado: A Colonial History by V.S. Naipaul (non-fiction)
    14. Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo
    15. Valmiki’s Daughter by Shani Mootoo
    16. Out on Main Street: And Other Stories by Shani Mootoo
    17. Bruised Hibiscus by Elizabeth Nunez
    18. Anna In-Between by Elizabeth Nunez
    19. Black Rock by Amanda Smyth
    20. Light Falling on Bamboo by Lawrence Scott
  180. Tunisia
    1. The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier (Algeria. Turkey. Crete.)
  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. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (& Syria. Greece.)
    8. The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier (Tunisia. Algeria. Crete.)
    9. Dark at the Crossing by Elliot Ackerman (& Syria)
    10. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
  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. a sky so close by Betool Khedairi (& Iraq)
      15. Atonement by Ian McEwan
      16. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
      17. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald (& Europe)
      18. The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
      19. Not That Sort of Girl by Mary Wesley
      20. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
      21. War Brides by Helen Bryan (Kindle)
      22. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
      23. Next of Kin by Joanna Trollope
      24. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
      25. The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
      26. A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier
      27. London
        1. Brick Lane by Monica Ali ***
        2. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger ****
        3. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (Egypt too?)
        4. If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman
        5. The Photograph by Penelope Lively
        6. Saturday by Ian McEwan
        7. Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan
        8. life isn’t all ha ha hee hee by Meera Syal
        9. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
        10. Only in London by Hanan al-Shaykh
        11. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro (also Shanghai)
        12. Queenie by Candice-Karty Williams
        13. The Light Over London by Julia Kelly
        14. The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
        15. Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley
    2. Scotland
      1. Featherstone by Kirsty Gunn
      2. Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey
      3. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
      4. Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela
    3. Wales
      1. The Walking Tour by Kathryn Davis ***
      2. 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
    2. The Railway by Hamid Ismailov, Robert Chandler
  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 Lover by Marguerite Duras (Indochina)
    8. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
    9. Once Upon a Distant War by William Prochnau
    10. The Things They Carried (stories) by Tim O’Brien
    11. If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by Tim O’Brien
    12. Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien
    13. What It’s Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes
    14. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
    15. The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen
    16. The Man From Saigon by Marti Leimbach
    17. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
    18. Chickenhawk by Robert Mason
    19. Live from the Battlefield, autobiography of one of the greatest war correspondents, Peter Arnett
    20. Nam by Mark Baker
    21. In Pharoh’s Army by Tobias Wolff
    22. Dispatches by Michael Herr (possibly Mari’s favourite)
    23. All the Wrong Places by James Fenton
    24. A Wavering Grace by Gavin Young
    25. Derailed in Uncle Ho’s Victory Garden by Tim Page
    26. A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan (history)
    27. Winning Hearts and Minds, war poems by Vietnam Vets
  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
    1. Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
    2. The Book of Not (Nervous Conditions #2) by Tsitsi Dangarembga
    3. This Mournable Body (Nervous Conditons #3) by Tsitsi Dangarembga

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

BOOKS SET IN UNNAMED COUNTRIES OR REGIONS AROUND THE WORLD

  • AFRICA
    • The Hotel Alleluia by Lucinda Roy
    • Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town by Paul Theroux
    • The Tree Where Man was Born by Peter Matthiessen
  • NORTH AFRICA
    • The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
  • EUROPE
    • Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson
  • MIDDLE EAST
    • Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse *****
    • All Strangers are Kin: Adventures in Arabic and the Arab World by Zora O’Neill
    • Misadventure in the Middle East: Travels as a Tramp, Artist and Spy by Henry Hemming
    • Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World by Zahra Hankir (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Christiane Amanpour (Foreword)
  • 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
    • Viva South America!  A Journey Through a Surging Continent by Olive Balch
  • SOUTH PACIFIC
    • The Last Good Paradise by Tatjana Soli
  • ALL OVER THE WORLD
    • The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (Kindle)

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS SET AROUND THE WORLD

EXTRATERRESTRIAL TALES:

  • The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  • Children of God (The Sparrow #2) by Mary Doria Russell

Here’s a resource for finding fiction set in different locales: