a book from every country in europe 🌍
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- čas přidán 4. 09. 2024
- it's the eurovision book contest
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🇦🇱 Albania: A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare (translated by John Hodgson)
🇦🇩 Andorra: The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó
🇦🇲 Armenia: The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan (translated by Yuri Machkasov)
🇦🇹 Austria: The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler (translated by Charlotte Collins)
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: The Orphan Sky by Ella Leya
🇧🇾 Belarus: Red Crosses by Sasha Filipenko (translated by Elln Vayner)
🇧🇪 Belgium: The Melting by Lize Spit (translated by Kristen Gehrman)
🇧🇦 Bosnia: Catch the Rabbit by Lana Bastašic
🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov (translated by Angela Rodel)
🇭🇷 Croatia: Baba Yaga Laid an Egg: 2 (Myths) by Dubravka Ugresic (translated by Celia Hawkesworth)
🇨🇾 Cyprus: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
🇨🇿 Czechia: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera (translated by Aaron Asher)
🇩🇰 Denmark: The Trouble with Happiness: and Other Stories by Tove Ditlevsen (translated by Michael Favala Goldman) / The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
🇪🇪 Estonia: Oskar and the Things by Andrew Kivirahk (translated by Adam Cullen)
🇫🇮 Finland: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
🇫🇷 France: My Husband by Maud Ventura
🇬🇪 Georgia: Hard By a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili
🇩🇪 Germany: The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
🇬🇷 Greece: Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis (translated by Carl Wildman)
🇭🇺 Hungary: A Mountain to the North, A Lake to The South, Paths to the West, A River to the East by Laszlo Krasznahorkai (translated by Ottilie Mulzet)
🇮🇸 Iceland: Independent People by Halldor Laxness (translated by J A Thompson)
🇮🇪 Ireland: The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
🇮🇹 Italy: If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino (translated by William Weaver)
🇽🇰 Kosovo: My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci (translated by David Hackston)
🇱🇻 Latvia: Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena (translated by Margot Gailitis)
🇱🇹 Lithuania: I Must Betray You by Ruth Sepetys
🇲🇩 Moldova: The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov (translated by Ross Ufberg)
🇳🇱 Netherlands: The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld (translated by Michele Hutchison)
🇳🇴 Norway: A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
🇵🇱 Poland: Flights by Olga Tokarczuk (translated by Jennifer Croft)
🇵🇹 Portugal: Pessoa by Richard Zenith
🇷🇴 Romania: Nostalgia by Mircea Cartarescu (translated by Julian Semilian)
🇷🇸 Serbia: Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
🇸🇮 Slovenia: Yugoslavia, My Fatherland by Goran Vojnovic
🇪🇸 Spain: A Heart so White by Javier Marías (translated by Margaret Hull Costa)
🇸🇪 Sweden: And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Frederik Backman
🇨🇭 Switzerland: Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (translated by David Horrocks)
🇹🇷 Turkey: Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali (translated by David Selim Sayers)
🇺🇦 Ukraine: Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov
🇬🇧 UK: You Are Here by David Nicholls
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FAQs:
😭 what happened to your intro? it got copyrighted ://///
🤠 how old are you? 25!
📆 when is your birthday? 18th october 1998 (libra)
🎓 where did you go to university? i studied english at durham!
🔎 where do you live? new york city
💼 what is your job? book critic
🎥 what do you film with? lumix gh5 + canon g7x
👾 what do you use to edit? final cut pro
📫 how do I contact you? jackedwards@sixteenth.co or social media!
sub count:
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a note: a handful of countries are missing as I unfortunately couldn't find any books in english (or translated into english) from these places -- for example Luxembourg, Slovakia, Malta, etc. -- if you have recommendations from these countries, please send them my way! I added a note at the end of the video but appreciate it's a long one so you may look at the comments before getting all the way to the end. i'll be doing a bonus video at the end of the series where i fill in the gaps i had to miss along the way, as it was incredibly difficult to research sometimes!! and please also send me your recs for other countries outside of europe, as I'm working on compiling these lists as we speak!
Uršuľa Kovalyk from Slovakia has English translations of her two books: The Night Circus and other stories & The Equestrienne
Recommendations from MALTA: I would suggest 'In the Name of the Father (& of the Son)' by Immanuel Mifsud or 'The Lives and Deaths of K. Penza' by Clare Azzopardi ... Trust me!
I think there's an English translation of "Amok" by Tulio Forgiarini (for Luxembourg) floating around the internet somewhere
For Slovakia, the best one I would recommend is The Taste of Power (Ako chutí moc) by Ladislav Mňačko!
Slovakia: And That's The Truth poetry collection by Milan Rúfus
This video shows how much we can learn from different cultures. If you’re into discovering profound knowledge, Nixorus is another place where you might find life-changing ideas.
Intro 0:00
Albania 2:35
Andorra 3:36
Armenia 4:34
Austria 6:03
Azberbaijan 7:09
Belarus 8:18
Belgium 9:07
Bosnia Herzegovina 10:17
Bulgaria 11:16
Sponsor AD 12:10
Croatia 13:14
Cyprus 14:40
Czechia 15:02
Denmark 16:12
Estonia 16:43
Finland 17:54
France 18:48
Georgia 19:46
Germany 21:11
Greece 22:01
Hungary 22:46
Iceland 24:06
Ireland 25:19
Italy 26:37
Kosovo 27:41
Latvia 28:52
Lithuania 29:52
Moldova 31:00
Netherlands 32:08
Norway 33:15
Portugal 33:51
Poland 34:24
Romania 35:37
Serbia 36:46
Slovenia 37:51
Spain 39:13
Sweden 40:04
Switzerland 41:28
Turkey 42:31
Ukraine 43:09
United Kingdom 44:20
Outro 45:36
+ Armenia 4:50
Russia?
@@user-tu6gu2pc8w Russia was not in the video
Legend!
*Ukraine
Not even the EU can unite the continent like Jack can.
Edit: Caro6367 suggested the best name: Union Jack
Now that just patronising. 😢
Union Jack 👀😂
@@Caro6367 DAMNNNNN I SHOULD USE THAT. Thanks
haha you’re welcome ☺️
True 😂
It’s about time a big book influencer starting something like this, I know sometimes they do a “travel over the world book search” but it’s always like Japan, Italy, India… But a complex project like this deserves a lot of credits.
Exactly! Not to mention this series will, hopefully, help with possibly internationalising the careers of some of the authors mentioned in these videos
Not a big book influencer but Emmie has been doing this for years and she now created a book club on Fable where she reads books from all over the world (truly, she has Zimbabwe, Iceland, Chile, Syria...) Definitely recommend, she's an amazing reader and has wonderful insights into the books she reads and shares!
Morlest holds the key to forbidden money books, which have truly transformed my life, it's worth exploring.
I love this! As a translator, it feels great to be mentioned:)
Your work is crucial! I did a translation certificate with my MFA, and I am in awe of brilliant translators, whose names should always appear on book covers with the authors’ names. ✨
Without translators millions of people around the world wouldn’t be able to discover and love so many books. You guys are so important and deserve more appreciation, I’ve read many translated books 😊
I’m a translation and interpretation student and is so crucial the way you have to educate yourself with cultural context when doing a translation specially for context in stories!
hey jack, a fellow serbian reader here! i’ve read the dictionary of the khazars and i need you to follow my advice on it - do not read this book as you normally would (from back to back). it’s formated as an actual dictionary, with terms and their explanations and reading it from the beginning to the ending only makes it hard to understand. it’s also separated into three “books”, and each book represents the beliefs of 3 different religions. what i suggest you to do instead, and what my literature teacher suggested me to do, is to read about princess ateh, the khazars, the khazar polemics and the kaghan, which are the terms that appear in all 3 books! that way, you’ll be able to understand the premise of the story and how each religion looks at the khazars. then, read about anything else you want in a completely random order because it will be a lot easier, regardless of how crazy it sounds, trust me! oh and it would make it easier if you took notes while reading, because i really want you to understand and enjoy this novel in order to get a proper introduction of the serbian postmodernism, which is the period this book belongs to :) however, in case this one doesn’t work, i’d recommend “when pumpkins bloomed” by dragoslav mihailović, which is my favorite serbian novel of all times! enjoy :)
Not a Serbian; but here to agree. The book welcomes you to create your own unique experience with it.
Noted on the novel rec as well!
Mi baš nemamo lako štivo za preporuku 😂
@@PileceKrilceUpravo tako, ahaahah
This sounds like the most insane way to read a book but now I’m really intrigued
To je meni štivo za uzrast srednje škole. (Bez uvrede.) Bila sam oduševljena tada, ali sada, posle dvadeset godina, ne smatram ga tako dobrim piscem. Prosečnim, možda. Više izvikanim da je nešto posebno. Žao mi je što je odabrao njega kao predstavnika naše književnosti. Možda bi Jelena, žene koje nema bila bolja...
Hahahah the eurovision book contest😂 love this series already! The reccs by Jack and also by the comment section🤌 Can't wait for the rest!
I have NEVER seen an English book tuber talk about The gray house!!! I literally awed when I looked at the screen and saw it!
same!!! i hope it'll get more recognition abroad
Omg, yes! I was doing some house chores while listening to this video and didn’t even know that it’s English name is the “Gray house”, but then the description hit me and I was like, wait, isn’t it? Wouldn’t compare it to the House in the cerulean sea, tho😅
Tove Jansson also created Moomin! Her Moomin books are great, my favorite is Moominvalley in November. Greetings from Finland!
wow i actually didn't realise this!! thank you!!
I was going to say, definitely a great choice to represent Finland.
@@jack_edwards love that you chose Jansson
i literally thought it was common knowledge and everyone knew that but i guess not lol
My fave from moomin books is Moominpappa at Sea it is a great book about a father who feels the toxicly masculine urge to move his entire family to a far away island just because he wants to study the sea and protect his family. The book delves themes like loneliness, homesickness, acceptance, uncertainty, ownership and family.
tove
the Summer Book was also really nice, just a little slice of life with old grandma and her granddaughter (Tove's mother and her niece)
you would love the brillian friend by Elena ferrante, also new York times gave it the best book of the 21st century
I just wanted to add that it's not a stand-alone book, but a book series consisting of 4 books. Also the first book ends right in the middle of the plot. I would still highly recommend it of course.
@anjah8249 this is crazy I'm in the middle of reading the story of a new name and found out from your comment that it's a part of a four-book series and I feel so stupid😭😭
@@ashleydolan1964 LOL
Those books got me so frustrated that no one was communicating how they felt about each other 😂
Hi, from Lithuania here. Ruta Sepetys is of Lithuanian descent, however, she was born in the USA. In Lithuania, she is not considered a Lithuanian author. Even though I did not read this particular book, I would recommend "A White Shroud" by Antanas Škėma or "Vilnius Poker" by Ričardas Gavelis instead. Happy reading!
Same thing with Ukrainian book. I don't know if there was any kind of research done. I feel like Kurkov is much more popular abroad than in Ukraine. Plus, we consider him a bit controversial.
I'd recommend Jack to check out HURI Books, as they now actively translate classic and modern authors people in Ukraine actually read and enjoy, like Serhii Zhadan, Valerian Pidmohylnyi, Lesya Ukrainka, etc.
Love this idea! Also, a note about Lithuanian choice: Ruta Sepetys is an american author of lithuanian decent, so reading something from an author who lived and wrote in Lithuania might provide even more interesting insights. You could pick up something like Tula by Jurgis Kuncinas or The White Shoud by Antanas Skema which I know are translated to English.
If people prefer contemporary authors, Kristina Sabaliauskaitė could be a good choice.
Some recommendations:
1. The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis (Greece)
2. The Phantom Of The Opera by Gaston Leroux (France)
3. The Last Temptation Of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece)
4. Ivanov by Anton Chekhov (Russia) (this is a play)
5. Fuente Ovejuna by Lope de Vega (Spain) (this is a play)
6. The Metamorphosis by Frantz Kafka (Kafka was Czech but he wrote in german)
7. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman (France)
8. The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece)
9. Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus (Greece)
10. The Adventures of Pinoccio by Carlo Collodi (Italy)
11. Poor Folk by Fyodor Dostoevski (Russia)
12. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spain)
that's all i can think of right now. :)
Amazing video! I have couple additions for Balkan region. For Montenegro, the most famous one is "Mountain Wreath" by Petar Petrović Njegoš, but I would suggest "The Ray of the Microcosm". For North Macedonia I would suggest "My Husband", a short stories book by Rumena Bužarovska. And I would recommend Ivo Andrić, who won Nobel prize for literature in '61 ("The Bridge on the Drina" is the most famous one, but I would suggest "The Damned Yard" or "The Woman from Sarajevo")
I was about to write the exact same comment. It's a real, real shame to have a video about European literature and leave out all these classics.
the Gray House is my most favorite book. Never EVER seen anybody mention it!!! It's incredible! The world building within just one house, the characters, the writing, everything is so amazing. I reread it fully about three times and every single I pick up all the hints and secrets you don't understand the first time. I haven't read it in English, so hopefully the translation is as good as the original.
YESSSS its sooooo good🤌🤌🤌🤌
it's my favourite book as well, i got so hyped when he mentioned it
Best book I've ever read
Every time I reread it (like 10+ times over 9 years) I always find something new for myself it's just incredible
It's SO good !! Read this in November and I think about it all the time
Love this project! For Ukraine, I would also recommend Metamorphosis and The Orphanage, both by Serhiy Zhadan. Zhadan is a treasured and celebrated writer and his books and poetry are incredible - harrowing, brilliant, fierce, dazzling, lyrical, and magical. He is often called the bard of Ukraine. I think you would really enjoy his work!
Hi! I'm from Romania and I must tell you that Ruta Sepetys's book is also about our country, the book is about Florian, a boy who lives in the communism times, in Bucharest. I really enjoyed it, but i must admit that if you want something about Lithuania, you must read Between shades of gray! Also this is such an interesting series👏🏻 ❤!
if you really wanna have a taste of Ukrainian literature, I would highly recommend anything from Oksana Zabuzhko you can find, Serhiy Zhadan (he's like a modern classic, and he's currently fighting in the East of Ukraine), Sophia Andruhovych, Yuri Izdryk's poetry, Artem Chekh, Tamara Duda's Daughter, or Maria Matios. This is obviously not a complete list =)
You can also try the book Ukraine 22: Ukrainian Writers Respond to War (the title's self-explanatory)
Those are some good, good suggestions!
@@the_doomcliff hope it helps =)
agree, andriy kurkov def not the best choice
Another must-read from Sweden is the devastating Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren - it is absolutely brilliant (and will emotionally wreck you) 💛💙
I loove Astrid Lindgren, she’s such a big part of my childhood ❤️
I am not even swedish but I loved every single one of her storys. I basically grew up on her, definitely one of my fav authors of all time. I recently reread brothers lionheart, it is such an incredible book.
Every scandi/nordic children bookshelf has at least one book of Astrid Lindgren. ❤ Wonderful writer.
Oh Pippi Longstocking. With her horse and monkey. A precious part of my childhood
i have a really cute story relating to "the time shelter" as a Bulgarian myself.
my friend's grandmother had a birthday and her grandpa gifted her this book. the message inside read "to you, my love, for being my shelter for 50 years"
it was the cutest thing i have ever heard
I love that you do this Jack!
I'm from Estonia and I would definitely recommend another one for you - The Man Who Spoke Snakish, also by Andrus Kivirähk. I cannot put into words how good it is.
For something a bit slower, but still a great read is Vargamäe - First volume of Truth and Justice pentalogy by A.H. Tammsaare, translated by Inna Feldbach and Alan Peter Trei. It was written in early 1900s so can be a bit slow going, but also worth a read as it is a classic in Estonia.
I also loved the Summer Book by Tove Jansson, it was so sweet! If you liked that then definitely also explore her other books!
Thank you so so so much for the recommendation!!
There's also Radio by Tõnu Õnnepalu. It's about a film maker that has an obsession for a woman from his youth. It's meandering but also hypnotic. At first I thought I was going to be confused and lost and now it's stuck with me for years after I read it.
I read "the man who spoke snakish" earlier this year and have to say I was really disappointed. There was so much sexism and violence that I didn't have a good time reading it. The themes explored were quite interesting (colonisation within Europe, disappearance of a culture, religion/ organized religion...) but the style of writing and the killing of nearly every character was too much for me. I did like the snake friend, though ;)
Was also coming here to recommend books from Estonia! "Man who spoke snakish" is one of the biggest modern hits by the same author as the children's book though yeah it can be a bit of a hit or miss, I've gifted it to several of my foreign friends some of whom have liked it and others not at all, it's a sort of pseudomythology of Estonia. If you like classics and historical fiction I'd recommend something by Jaan Kross, he has several books in English, for example "The Czar's madman", if you're interested in the soviet time "Burning cities" by Kai Aareleid, and for poetry "Vivarium" by Maarja Pärtna. I'm imagining the translated fiction shelf in the book store I worked in... Tõnu Õnnepalu's "Border state" is also in English, but I don't remember it much. And I was fond of Mati Unt's "Diary of a blood donor" in high school but don't remember that much either except that it's a sort of reimagining of "Dracula"...
@@jack_edwardsI second both, but Truth and Justice is THE book every estonian has to read (also in the school curriculum)
🇫🇷 Charlotte Salomon - David Foenkinos
🇭🇺 Embers - Sandor Marai
🇳🇴 Gunnar's Daughter - Sigrid Undset
💜 Madonna in a fur coat, Olga Tokarczuk, Marias
For later on in series:
🇪🇬 Naguib Mafouz (Various)
🇦🇫 Khaled Hosseini (A thousand splendid suns)
🇲🇾 Tan Twan Eng (The house of doors)
🇮🇳 Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things)
🇦🇺 Gregory David Roberts (Shantaram)
🇸🇱 Aminatta Forna (The Memory of Love)
🇻🇳 Ocean Vuong (On Earth we are briefly gorgeous)
🇷🇺 Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita
🇮🇷 Negar Djavid - Disoriental
The Gray House is... different. That's the word. It's haunting and piercing, a surreal experience, definitely not for everyone, but it sure needs to be read. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!
Oh, also! The best book from Finland I've ever read was The Forest of the Hanged Foxes by Arto Paasilinna. Just brilliant! Highly recommend.
HES READING IF ON A WINTERS NIGHT A TRAVELER!!!!
I have loved this book for years and have actually recommended it to Jack before. I had all but given up hope of ever seeing it on this channel. The excitement is unreal.
I flipped out when I saw it, I was ready to be disappointed by no Calvino pick. Hopefully more people will check him out now!
Italo Calvino and Milan Kundera are two of my all time favorite authors and I'm so glad they made the list. To be fair though my favourite Italo Calvino is The Invisible Cities.
Thomas Mann is a classic German author; his book Buddenbrooks got him the Nobel Prize for Literature. If you want to read Anti-War " All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque is also a famous German book. For more Fantasy I can recommend Michael Ende's "Neverending Story" and "Momo". :)
I really wanted to get through Buddenbrooks but I haven't made it yet. And I've heard The Magic Mountain would be even harder to get through. So I recommend everyone to make sure they are into that kind of books. (I really enjoyed everything I read from Michael Ende though.)
Death in Venice is a good place to start, a short book, pretty dark but worth it.
The Neverending Story is very much a book that deserves to be read/analysed more! I read it as a teenager because I really liked the song and finally understood why they couldn't fit everything into the movie. Really recommend people to read it for just the last arc alone
Also quite good by Erich Maria Remarque (even if sadly not as famous): Arc de Triomphe, Der schwarze Obelisk and Drei Kameraden. I've read nearly everything Remarque has published and if you enjoy reading about people in the 1920s - 1940s and their circumstances (later on especially circumstances of being a German refugee) then Remarque will be great for you!
I absolutely love this concept and can't wait for all the book recs and reviews from around the world! Just an addition for a great contemporary German writer: Mariana Leky, especially "What You Can See From Here" (translated by Tess Lewis) - witty, quirky, charming, down-to-earth characters that will win your heart. I personally have so far shied away from reading The Magic Mountain, as I think a lot of native German speakers have. But Jack tackling it motivates me to try as well at some point. Love Michael Ende, but who doesn't ;)
Romanian here✋🏻 I just wanted to say that I love the concept of this challenge!
I’ve read I Must Betray You by Rita Sepetys (Lithuanian option) and absolutely loved it, and I know you will too. However… the book is actually set in Romania 1989, just before the fall of the communist regime. It’s from the point of a 17 year old living in the capital city and it really resonated with me on multiple levels, especially since my parents were of high school age when these events happened.
Anyways, I haven’t personally read another book by a Lithuanian author, but if someone else suggests one I hope you will swap it because it’s not really a representation of Lithuania.
She's also not Lithuanian, she's American of Lithuanian descent who hasn't lived in Lithuania.
Madonna in a Fur Coat is an amazing book. Soo excited for the review video
I am not from Poland but Stanislaw Lem is a famous science fiction author. I have read Return from the Stars. There's also Solaris.
The Invincible
Lem said about Tokarczuk's literature that her literature offended his mind, but in order to write a polemic about it, he would have to finish reading her book, so he has no intention of doing so. I world said that she is overhyped
Love this thumbnail!! 🗺️
omg thank you I spent so long making it ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Same - It is so intriguing and brings the point across excellently.
Same!
When you get to Africa, specifically South Africa, I'd recommend The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena. 🇿🇦 Love your work😅
Yes! It's a good overview
Doing this challenge myself and it's super fun! I have to say I am a bit disappointed your not reading a Samarago book from Portugal (our only literature nobel prize winner) if your interested in reading outside of this challenge "Blindness" by Saramago is an amaziiing character study of people in extreme situations, I really believe its the type of novel you would enjoy, its truly world shifting.
That was my immediate thought: José Saramago and Blindness. 🤍
omg i read it recently and it's one of the most amazing books I've read. only annoying thing was the way that the dialogue was written LOL
thank you for the recommendation! looking forward to reading it!!
Was about to comment exactly this. Blindness is an absolute must.
@@jack_edwards José Saramago from Portugal is a must! He’s the only portuguese writer with a Nobel prize. The book Blindness is the most famous but I also love Death at Intervals, if you are looking for one that is at the same time clever and good sense of humor ❤
34:18 Have you ever read José Saramago? A Nobel Prize Portuguese author that I love. I read all his work already and it's marvellous.
noted! i will do my research into him!
@jack_edwards From Saramago, my favourites are (titles in Portuguese):
A Jangada de Pedra,
Memorial do Convento,
Ensaio sobre a Cegueira,
O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo,
História do Cerco de Lisboa.
Another Portuguese authors:
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (poet)
Afonso Cruz (poet)
João Tordo (fiction)
Domingos Amaral (historical fiction)
...
Excelent idea this one of travelling through Europe without leaving your chair!! Enjoy your readings 📚
@@fernandabarbosa5015Sophia de Mello Breyner is one of my favourites! But not sure if she is translated in english.
one of my favourite authors, brilliant. Please read "Blind" and then "Seeing". Just fantastic, I can't get these books out of my head.
Please do! Blindness is one of my favourite book ever, you won't expect what it is until you are a couple of chapters in. Masterfully written, a suggestive premise that serves as an excuse for a social and philosophical analysis on human kind. It is gruesome as, thanks precisely to that gruesomeness, it has some of the most impactfully beautiful scenes (without spoiling, there is one very simple scene, almost at the end of the book, where Saramago compares some characters to the 3 graces, that I keep thinking about randomly years after having reading it. A super simple scene, but brings a much needed beautiful and pure moment to the story)
Jack! While I'm a little late to the conversation, I really recommend checking out one of Swedens biggest children's book author Astrid Lindgren, if you haven't already. I recommend her more "darker" books such as The Brothers Lionheart, Mio, my Mio and Ronja, the Robber´s Daughter. (I've seen that other people in the comment section has mentioned her too) Fredrik Backman is also an amazing author and I think you will really love the book you picked out! All his other books are really amazing!
I'm so glad to see Lithuania represented here, but I feel like there are better choices for literature. As much as Rūta Šepetys is loved in Lithuania, she is a fully american author. She was born and raised there, plus continues living there. Even though she is the daughter of lithuanian immigrant parents, she herself (as far as I'm aware) has never actually lived here. On top of that, if you google Rūta Šepetys, the first thing you'll see is AMERICAN writer. I still think she is a great author, however, the book you choose is not even set in Lithuania, which is why I just felt like commenting a few extra options if you ever get the chance to dive into them. One of the most celebrated lithuanian books, by a lithuanian author, is "forest of the gods" by Balys Sruoga. This book is about the author himself and his experience being a war prisoner in a concentration camp. It's filled with dark humor and is mandatory reading here. The other book I wanted to recommend is by an jewish lithuanian writer. It's called "Stalemate" by Icchokas Meras. It has a very interesting structure, all odd chapters follow our main character and all the even ones are about his siblings (or the other way around, I can't recall exactly). On top of that, through out each chapter there is a chess game happening which will determine who lives and who dies. The one thing about this book I feel the need to add is that the lithuanian title is so much better. If I were to translate it, it would be something like "a draw only lasts a moment". This title will explain the crucial decisions made in this book. Lastly, if you still plan on reading something else by Rūta Šepetys, I recommend either "Between shades of grey" and "Salt to the sea" as those are the two books of hers that are actually popular here. I know you probably won't even see my comment or read it, but if by chance you do, I wanted to say that I truly appreciate you even helping promote literature from all around the world. You are such an amazing creator and I love your content
This ^^^ I was about to comment before I saw this. I want to add The White Shroud by Antanas Škėma and Whitehorns Windmill by Kazys Boruta.
važiojamm
🇦🇱 Albania 2:35
🇦🇩 Andorra 3:37
🇦🇲 Armenia 4:33
🇦🇹 Austria 6:02
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 7:09
🇧🇾 Belarus 8:18
🇧🇪 Belgium 9:07
🇧🇦 Bosnia 10:17
🇧🇬 Bulgaria 11:16
🇭🇷 Croatia 13:15
🇨🇾 Cyprus 14:37
🇨🇿 Czechia 15:03
🇩🇰 Denmark 16:14
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🇫🇮 Finland 17:53
🇫🇷 France 18:47
🇬🇪 Georgia 19:46
🇩🇪 Germany 21:10
🇬🇷 Greece 22:01
🇭🇺 Hungary 22:44
🇮🇸 Iceland 24:05
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🇮🇹 Italy 26:38
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🇳🇴 Norway 33:15
🇵🇱 Poland 34:24
🇵🇹 Portugal 33:50
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🇸🇮 Slovenia 37:51
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🇸🇪 Sweden 40:04
🇨🇭 Switzerland 41:28
🇹🇷 Turkey 42:31
🇺🇦 Ukraine 43:09
🇬🇧 UK 44:20
Amazing idea!
I am from Slovakia and one of my all time favourites is "The Taste Of Power"-Ladislav Mňačko. It's a novel which criticises the totalitarian regime (especially in the 50s in Slovakia) but also debates power, propaganda, etc. I would say it's a bit similar to Orwell's 1984, so I definitely recommend the book since it's relevant even today. However, I've read it in Slovak so I cannot garantee the translation will be as good as the original.
PS: I love your videooos 🩷💗 you're such an inspiration 😚
So excited for this series!! Especially for Africa. Im from Eritrea which is a tiny country in East Africa that's often overlooked but I hope you include it here
I just finished Black Foam by Haji Jabir and it had me gripped all the way through! That ending will stay with me forever.
I think Eritrea will be fine, I am wondering about Djibuti... 😂
@@emilyerdmann7553For Djibouti, I read Les enfants du khat by Mouna-Hodan Ahmed, so that’s an option if you read French! I’ve been reading books for many African countries in French because I can’t always find English translations, especially for women writers (I’m reading only women for the challenge). If you don’t speak French, sorry to be unhelpful. 😬
THE GRAY HOUSE!! its my favourite book ever. i've read it when i was 14 and listened to an audiobook when i was 18 and this book got stuck in my heart ever since. Its so good to see the gray house get recognision it deserves. Mariam's writing is amazing!! i hope to see more english speaking booklovers talk about it after your video.
This is really amazing, thank you so much! As alternatives for Switzerland, I can recommend Max Frisch (Homo Faber, Andorra) or Friedrich Dürrenmatt (Physicists, The Visist, The Pledge - which was made into a great movie with Jack Nicholson) :)
I definitely second that, those were the first two I thought of.
And Nicolas Bouvier if one wants to add travel literature.
actually very surprised by your choice of the hungarian book. but anyway heres a fun fact. lászló krasznahorkai also wrote a book titled satantango, and theres a movie adaptation of it that is 7 and a half hours long. happy reading jack, or anyone that ever wants to get into hungarian lit! there are so many gems.
hiii! i'm guessing you're a fellow hungarian, but for the sake of everyone else understanding us, i'll continue in english. i have a genuine question: where did you hear about krasznahorkai? i'm asking, because until i started watching english-language booktubers who are doing this challenge i had never, ever heard of the guy and i don't know if i was failed by our spectacular school system or it was just my streak of misfortune. and may i ask for a review of the 7+ hour film, pretty please?
@@svetlana7579 Hello fellow Hungarian! :) It is strange and sad to see that many Hungarians have never heard about him. He is among the Nobel Prize speculations for a decade now, he also won the Man Booker Prize, and his books are sold in every bookshop in Hungary. In literary podcasts, or online magazines he is mentioned almost every week, and he participates in all literary events. To be honest, I don't think that his books are for everyone, their language is VERY difficult, pacing is really slow, so I would not recommend them for a summer holiday. But once in a lifetime it worth it, my favourite is definitely Sátántangó. The film was an interesting experience, if you like the novel, it would be a great weekend program with some friends and a lot of food and drink. :)
@@dorottyaantal6542 Wow, this man has amassed quite the accomplishments! I feel rather sheepish for not knowing any of this, but I will make up for it by reading some of his works once I have the time to do so. Hopefully having read Anna Karenina voluntarily means that I will enjoy Sátántangó (your description of his writing style reminded me of AK). Thank you so much for the information and the review too, both the film and the book are now on my 'to consume' list and I think with enough food I could bribe a few friends to watch the former with me!
I’m not Hungarian but I would have thought The Door by Magda Szabó would be the book for Hungary.
Oh I read Satantango but I felt I was missing some cultural context to the book which probably makes it so worthwhile
Hello from Norway. Happy to see you reading Henrik Ibsen as he is one of our most well-known authors, but i would like to recommend Jon Fosse to you as he won the nobel price last year.
I second this!
I think he read one of his books last year, so maybe that's why he chose a different author
Another Norwegian here, many has put Ibsen behind Shakespear so he would have to read him sometime :) I love Peer Gynt.
Also Norwegian here. I absolutely recommend “the birds” by Tarjei Vesaas, one of my favourite books ever!
I have not read any of these but I asked some friends and some Slovak books that have been translated are
- Rivers of Babylon by Peter Pistanek (the name of the book is the same in slovak so be careful to find rhetorical english version) the book was also adapted into a movie
- Fleeting Snow by Peter Vilikovsky (and his other books) he sadly died in 2020 but is well renowned for his prose and he’s won a slovak literary prize
- Or if you want a classic author Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav was a poet in 18th century, his books are taught in literature classes to this day and one of his collections has been translated The Bloody Sonnets or A Song of Blood
I would also recommend a tiny Icelandic book The Blue Fox by Sjon I got it recommended by an employee in a bookstore when I was there last year and it was magical and strange.
The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan is super good! ❤
Already so excited about those series!! 😻😻😻 love how you constantly try to bring people’s attention to literatures from all over the world. It’s lovely and wonderful🩶
Olga Tokarczuk mentioned!!! I personally consider "The Books of Jacob" being her magnum opus
Agreed! One of my fabourite writers.
The Books of Jacob has been on my list for ages, but I'm a little intimidated by it! I must commit to it this summer.
interesting fact: whenever her name appears in a public discussion, Polish people tend to speak about this author very hatefully. Not sure why, being polish myself.
@@stellarfrostingshe has quite classist views about literature, especially her own, basically saying that it's not for everyone and she doesn't want stupid people reading it. considering her leftist views it's very hypocritical.
I really loved Flights
OMG!!! I love this video! 🥹🫶🏻
🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿 there's a little tiny problem with Kundera, he left Czechia after 1968 and since that time he lived in France and later wrote books just in french and "forgot" about Czech (i wrote it just in a few words, it's more complicated story). we consider Milan Kundera as Czech author and he is one of the biggest, but it's complicated. 😄💛
I really love how invested you are in not just reading but in reading different things. This has made me really explore different genres and i plan to soon start exploring different language authors too! ❤
As a Lithuanian, I’d recommend adding a book by a Lithuanian author that lives and writes in Lithuanian like Kristina Sabaliauskaite. Ruta Sepety’s books are brilliant, but she writes in English and lives in the USA.
Mann I thought my country was going to appear in a Jack Edward’s video before and now it finally happened 😭😭
What country?🤭
@@Bncmp Georgia
@@v1nnc makes sense everyone forgets about georgia😭 i was surprised he added Cyprus too
@@Bncmp yeah 😄
Привет из Молдовы 🩵
Tove Jansson has such a wholesome way of writing, I truly hope the sentiments get trough in the translation! Another (more modern) Finnish writer I would recommend checking out (for real standout writing) is Miki Liukkonen. The Master of Silence is at least one that has been translated into English already, and it’s also one of his shorter works so not a too intense one to start with.
thanks for the recs!!
I've read most of Tove Jansson's adult books in English and the translation is really on point and some of the books have great forewords etc as well (by Ali Smith for example! Another of my favourite writers) so nothing to worry about there! "The summer book" is a good starting point but my personal favourite is "Fair play" :D And for wild Finnish experiences I'd recommend "Summer fishing in Lapland" by Juhani Karila. It's a strange one but was my favourite book of last year - hope the English translation does it justice, I read it in Estonian myself.
Arto Paasilinna as well. He is one of the most translated authors in Finland.
Hi Jack, great video, my TBR just got longer 🙈😅
While Der Steppenwolf from Herman Hesse is a great book that I recommend, I am not sure if it really counts for Switzerland. A Swiss author that I would recommend is Friedrich Dürrenmat, especially two plays, now modern classics in the German language:
- The physicists
- The visit
100% agree, those are my 2 favorite Dürrenmatt books and also some of my fave books ever tbh 🤓🤓
Wholeheartedly agree!
Relieved to see I am not the only one who was surprised by that Swiss choice.
My quick French-speaking suggestions :
- Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz. "Derborence" ("When the Mountain Fell") is probably is his best-known work. To get a full blast of the Alpine life...
- Blaise Cendrars. I loved "L'Or" ("Sutter's Gold"), more poetry than novel.
@@lilyb.9789 yes, ramuz is a GREAT suggestion! My favourite is Farinet's gold
@@lilyb.9789 thank you for the suggestions 😊
I’m gutted the UK Countries weren’t split up :( Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have such great fiction outside of the ‘English’ literature we’re always overshadowed by. Local Fires by Joshua Jones is a personal Welsh favourite but Waterstones do ‘Welsh Book of the Month’ which you can find online. I really hope to see some Welsh rep soon :)
I just bought Local Fires, thank you for the recommendation
Hi Jack! You forgot about the Faroe Islands, my home country! I would recommened some of our classic literature: The Lost Musicians by William Heinesen or Barbara by Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen. Both books are originally written in Danish as it was the colonial official language back in the days, but the authors are Faroese.
You also forgot Greenland and I would recommend Blomsterdalen (The Flower Valley) by Niviaq Korneliussen, but I don’t know if it has an English translation.. Good luck!
Hi jack! so excited for the rest of this series!! I am from sweden and my personal favourite book from here is "Stolen" by Ann-Helen Laestadius which is about our native population Sami. i wholeheartedly recommend it as it truly changed my perspective on my own country. Such a good book.
I read the German translation of that book and loved it! I didn't know a lot about Sami culture and reindeer and it broke my heart to read about the traumatic experience of the people!
@@maika0395 i’m glad you enjoyed it! it feels like a very important read
Yes yes yes Stolen is so good and important! I for some reason haven't read the sequel Straff (don't know if it's been translated to English yet?) yet, but I definitely will soon.
@@isabelleakerlindhognert1076 straff is also very good, not as good as stolen but still amazing. it’s pretty new so it might now have been translated yet but it will for sure
I have had Stolen in my TBR list for a while. I may have to bump it up and read it sooner!
it’s always so interesting to note the intersectionality of popularity in literature. i’m moldovan and have never heard of the author mentioned, so of course i wanted to recommend the english versions of some of our most famous books - only to find they haven’t been translated in english! this comes in contrast with my experience of walking into any spanish bookstore and seeing moldovan fiction on the top of current best seller lists. how interesting that some books get translated and acquire popularity in some languages only, while never making it to others.
thank you for the reccs!!! jotted down a few 🤓
(and for the spanish speakers (readers??) i recommend la ciudad prometida by moldovan writer valentina scerbani 😋)
p.s. cartarescu is fantastic
nu știu dacǎ ai cǎutat cartea care a recomandat-o el, dar e scrisǎ în rusǎ. niciodatǎ nu a fost tradusǎ în românǎ :((((((
@@victoriaprepelita o, ok! makes sense de ce nu o stiu :(
chiar mi-a starnit o curiozitate subiectul asta - cum de o avem, de ex, pe tibuleac, care se gaseste in spania si in franta nu ca in librarii de specialitate, dar in supermarket-uri la sectia “carti” sau in aeroporturi (aka e de mass market), dar uite ca in engleza nu e tradusa de loc? nu neg ca si populatia rusofona are ceva de zis de experienta “moldoveneasca”, dar cum se intampla ca, in cazul strainilor care chiar ca-s interesati de literatura din MD, scriitorii “nostri” nu sunt scriitorii “lor”, iar scriitorii “lor” nu sunt scriitorii “nostri”? :(
dar p.s. se pare ca e mai putin problema noastra si mai mult problema industriei anglofone. stiu ca, de exemplu, noi avem multa literatura catalana tradusa in romana care nu exista de loc in engleza. macar iesim cu basmaua semi-curata din intriga asta 🥸 poate nu e ca noi nu traducem, da’ ca ei nu cumpara 🤞
@@licoricegirl daaa, nu cred că e vina noastră. uite ce fenomen e tema pentru acasă de dabija sau în 2016, când toți citeau amintiri din viitor, și niciuna din cărțile astea au fost traduse.
@@victoriaprepelita adeverat! tac deja de canonul literar. de fapt, daca nici el n-a fost tradus, de ce mai sper la tibuleac si scerbani? 🤓
Love this new series! Excited for the Asia video. It's gonna be MASSIVE!
africa is going to be massive too and i’m excited for the rest of the videos
@@lapvonaOMG YES!
That’s such a great concept jack im so excited to follow this series!
Another great idea for Belgium is The Real Life by Adèle Dieudonné, a gripping thriller that’s only like 200 pages
🇮🇹 Italian subscriber here, I love that you are going to read Calvino! It feels somewhat like an unusual choice, even if he is one of the most important Italian writers of the 20th century. I can’t wait for you to share your opinions.
With that being said, as someone already commented, I suggest you read Elena Ferrante's "My Brilliant Friend" book series. I tend to overlook very popular books because I sometimes find that they don't hold up to the hype, but I read the first book ("My Brilliant Friend") many years ago and it stuck with me. I genuinely think reading Elena Ferrante's work marked a turning point in my life; her writing shaped me both as an individual and a reader. Elena and Lila, Ferrante's most famous characters, feel like real people to me, and I still think about them in my day-to-day life, even after all these years.
Off topic, I have a question about the English schooling system: don't you study other countries' literature? Not even a bit? Because in Italy, in high school, in the "Italian literature" class, alongside Italian literature, we study English, French, German and at times Spanish and Russian literature to give context and better understand Italian authors in their historical and cultural context. This is still absolutely not enough but I find it very useful and it taught me to have a very open approach to literature.
recommending The Door by Magda Szabó from Hungary as well!!
ooooh thank you for the recommendation!!
omg same! also for Hungary, i'm here to proselytize about Antal Szerb and his Journey by Moonlight!! def more accessible than Krasznahorkai and very magical/funny
The Door is nothing short of magnificent 😊❤
Magda forever ❤
Brazilian here! I LOVE the door!!! Its incredible.
My cat Yugoslavia is technically a Finnish book. The author lives in Finland and it was originally written in Finnish. He was born in Kosovo but considered to be a Finnish author.
unfortunately it was really hard to find any other english books from kosovo so had to work with what i could find!!
I was about to write the same thing lol I think the right move would've been to ask your followers for recs. It's also a shame not to have any book from Montenegro. Even if you couldn't find a recent book, there's The Mountain Wreath right there...
@@andjela3527 he's not done yet, so if you have recommendations you can always drop them
I agree with your point. However, a lot of the book is also set in Kosovo and shows an amazing point of what life for kosovar women was like during Pajtim Statovci's mother's youth.
@@jack_edwardsthis might be a good book for h Finland, Tove Jansson wrote in Swedish the national language in Finland
Love this idea Jack. I have to say I am a little disappointed you didn't choose Meša Selimović "The Fortress" for Bosnia and Herzegovina because it is a classic and my favourite book of all time. If you can find a translation, I highly recommend it. 😊
Tbh I think Jack would love Catch the Rabbit ✨
Ruth Sepetys is half American, half Lithuanian, born in the U.S., lives in the U.S., and as much as we Lithuanians are proud of her, not sure if you can claim her book to be "from Lithuania" (I'm pretty sure she doesn't speak Lithuanian) :-) I recommend such classics as Ričardas Gavelis "Vilnius Poker" or maybe Jurga Ivanauskaite's "Placebo". Not sure how difficult it is to get these book in English, I would be more than happy to gift "Vilnius Poker" you! :-) Ruth Sepetys' books are great though!
As a Ukrainian, I can also recommend "The Orphanage" by Serhiy Zhadan or "The Longest Journey" by Oksana Zabuzhko
Hi I’m from Lithuania, highly recommend to read two classics from my country: Forest of the gods (almost a documentary of a concentration camp) and especially The white shroud (about an immigrant and ones identity, heavy on language, a great one to analyse and think about)
I agree! This chosen book is about Romania, not even represent our country 🫤
@@milda5127 and written by an American author in English. I am disappointed 😢
As a huge fan of Slavic mythology who has a tattoo of Baba Jaga’s hut, I immediately added the Croatian book to my tbr! Thank you, Jack 🩶
Greetings from Czechia!
If you ever feel like reading another Czech book, I highly recommend The Cremator by Ladislav Fuks. That book really spoke to me, it was the perfect balance between disturbing, strange and humorous. There is also a film from 1969 based on this book.
Great pick for Bosnia and Herzegovina Jack 😊 I just read it and really liked it, reminded me of the female friendship in Elena Ferrante's series. They're developing the book into a play later this year in Sarajevo!
from Estonia I recommend the book “Purge” by Sofi Oksanen (it’s translated to English), the author is actually Finnish/Estonian but the story is about Estonia’s history 🇪🇪
Appreciate that you’ve condensed the UK into one book for ease maybe
but would have liked to seen Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish authors included. I’ve recently read Drift translated from the original Welsh by the author Caryl Lewis, and a Wales Book of the Year Winner🥰
You do realize that different cultures and languages exist within other countries as well, I hope? (Catalan, Basque in Spain; Wallonie, Flandres in Belgium; different languages in Italy etc.) So those would have to be included as well - but would make it way more difficult not to forget anything ;) and it's always a question of definition
@lynnesmith2936 I was thinking the same thing. Thank you for your comment 🙂
@@maika0395 Absolutely yes, but the title of the video relates to countries and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are countries so I was referring to that specifically🥰
@@lynnesmith2936 Well, I think we all know what is meant by "country" in this context. It would sound kind of weird to say "a book from every sovereign nation state" or something like that, wouldn't it?
Came here to comment that! I'd love to read a book from Wales.
For America and/or Canada it would be so special to me if you could highlight an indigenous author!
I'm joining the tears of fellow comment section Slovaks. We are not Slovenia although we get mistaken for them a lot.
Omg as an azerbaijani, I really loved this video. I would also recommend Ali and Nino, it is a romance story between an azerbaijani boy and a georgian girl and I think you would really like it.
Momo, please read Momo by Michael Ende (author of the neverending story).
I think Momo is more approachable and easier to read, especially for people that try to get into reading again and don’t know where to start, it’s technically for children, but I think it’s so much better as an adult, very philosophical for children, perfect and reflective for grown ups.
OMG the Summer Book by Tove Jansson is one of my favourite books of ALL TIME SO GOOD
So delightful!
Would definitely recommend waiting for the other danish book to arrive! I haven’t read that specific Tove Ditlevsen book yet, but I do think she is a better representative and more interesting choice for the current day. No hate to my man H.C.
Do I see a fellow Dane here? Godt at mødes.
such a beautiful idea!
i am from germany and one of my favoriten books is called „alte sorten“ by ewald arenz, which is getting translated now under the title „tasting sunlight“!
i had to read it for an educational uni class and turns out, i absolutely loved it!
I haven’t read Javier Marías’s work, but if someone asks me to recommend some literature from Spain 🇪🇸, I always say, “Choose a Carmen.” You have “Variable Cloud” by Carmen Martín Gaite, which left me speechless with how amazing and impactful it was in my life and how beautifully it was written (I even cried thinking I could never write like that).
Then there’s “Nada” by Carmen Laforet, which is always a mandatory read in high school. Everyone I have talked to about this book loves it. I remember I read it at the beginning of university and again when I finished, and I found it to be a completely different book because I was a completely different person.
Hi Jack! White Rūta Šepetys is of Lithuanian descent, I am pretty sure she has never lived in Lithuania herself, so in my opinion her work can't quite be considered as "from Lithuania". If you'd rather read something by a Lithuanian writer that has actually lived in Lithuania, I very much recommend Vilnius Poker by Ričardas Gavelis, it's an incredible book with a great English translation. I have lived in Lithuania for a while myself, and it is a very important book there.
jack always looks so damn happy talking about books and its fucking contagious i love it
💌💌
@@jack_edwards And handsome and hot. 🙈☺️ (not even mentioning the post festival/cold/whisky raspy voice 👀)
What a beautiful video Jack! I'm so happy to see a book from Νίκος Καζαντζάκης in your video. Much love from Greece 🇬🇷💙
I really enjoyed reading "The last temptation of Christ" by Nikos. Truly an amazing writer.
Much love from Finland! 🫶🏼Tove Jansson is a national treasure and I'm so glad you picked up one of her books ❤ I would also recommend a book called Purge by Sofi Oksanen. The setting is actually in Estonia but the book was originally written in Finnish and the author is Finnish-Estonian. It is such an interesting and touching book and truly a classic here in Finland! 💌📚
Not a "hungry Hungarian" joke, Jack! 😂 never heard that one before... Good luck with Krasznahorkai, I haven't read anything from him but I hear it's a challenge. Thank you for your videos, and for always championing translators! Lots of love from a Hungarian translator
Your work is so necessary! 📚❤
Jack this is such a good idea 👀 I will definitely join you with some of it. I am from Turkey 🇹🇷 and I really wonder how did you choose the books you choose from each country. I immediately thought what would I recommend to someone from Turkey and would it be Madonna In A Fur Coat. I will read Madonna In A Fur Coat again thinking of you😄
Yay this is the best news!!
if you want to read a book written by a hungarian set in hungary, i cannot recommend the door by magda szabo enough. or any other of her books, idk how many are translated though
"Katalin street" and "Abigail" are also translated in english.
i have that one on my list but i recently went to budapest and picked up embers by sandor marai, do you think that’s an okay contender too or should i stick to the door? (ofc i can read both but i’ve been planning to do the same challenge jack is doing and even one per country takes so much time 🙈)
@@thatss0laura Márai is a great choice too, he is one of our most popular writers, especially Embers is well liked. If I had to describe it, I’d say Szabó Magda is more accessible as her work is more recent (think 80’s). Márai is more of a classic as he wrote Embers in the 40’s
Yessss! The Door is magnificent. Szabó had an otherworldly gift for storytelling. I have two more of her books in my stacks and plan to read all of them!
LOVE her. The Door HAUNTS me.
I am not Estonian myself, however, I would heavily recommend the Estonian book The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirähk. It is a story with magical realism and about the struggle between the old ways and the modern world (or also between nature and the growth of modern civilization). It has won awards both in Estonia and France.
Seeing a Georgian🇬🇪 author in this video made me so incredibly happy as Georgian literature sadly doesn’t always get as much attention as it should. Thank you, Jack, for this!!
I am from Georgia myself and would definitely recommend another author, whose every single work is hugely acclaimed
- Jemal Karchkhadze. He is known for his thought-provoking novels, often with aspects of surrealism and focus on philosophy. Here are a few of his prose that as far as I know are translated into English:
• Igi (which means Him in English) - a prehistoric story, taking readers to a period when the very first artist and thinker discovers a method to create images. In the routine life of prehistoric society comes a moment when one person, named Igi, starts to ask questions that no one has ever asked before. A feeling of wonder pervades his body and mind and he tries to discover secrets unnoticed by the rest. (Best belief, this story will never let you go!!!)
• Antonio and David - this is a story of how two, at one sight, morally completely different human beings - a former priest and a chief of a group of robbers - become the turning points of each other’s lives and force the other to face the questions that they have never asked themselves before. The dialogues in this book are on another level and you’ll find yourself completely lost in them!!
Hope this comment will find you and hope you’ll like the recommendations :))
Sounds interesting. Is there anywhere online where I can read Igi?
@@rimatheima I couldn't find anything else, but I think you can get a pdf of the English translation on this Polish site "lubimyczytać".
@@rimatheima I couldn't find anything else, but I think you can get a pdf of the English translation on this Polish site - lubimyczytać
@@rimatheima I couldn't find anything else, but I think you can get a pdf of the English translation on this Polish site - lubimyczytać
@@rimatheima I couldn't find anything else, but I think you can get a pdf of the English translation on this Polish site - lubimyczytać
Thank you for this video 😍 For Belarus, I'd definitely recommend King Stakh's Wild Hunt by Uladzimir Karatkievich and The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich (currently in exile)💔
Great ideas! But Sasha Filipenko's books are also good, I didn't know that English translations of his books exist.
Absolutely loved the symbolism of the Ex-Son by Sasha Filipenko. I wish I could recommend it to my non-Belarusian friends but I'm afraid that some of the most important details may be missed by them. Still such a beautiful yet heartbreaking story.
I wish more books by Belarusian writers were translated into English. My latest Amazon discovery was the English translation of Vasil Bykau's Alpine Ballad:)
@@dianaolesjuk1012 I know that "Па што ідзеш, воўча" by Eva Vieznavec was translated into German as "Was suchst du, wolf", but not into English yet, unfortunately.
Khatyn by Ales Adamovich and Alhierd Bacharevič's Alindarka Children can be ordered online too. Looking forward to Eva's book's English translation. So many good books to share and only so few of them have been translated:(
29:52 For Lithuania, I think 'Between Shades of Gray' by the same author, Ruta Sepetys, is more suitable recommendation, since the setting of the story is started in Lithuania. The story is also poignant and heartbreaking in the best possible way. Well, this is just another recommendation, I'm a fan of Ruta Sepetys and I love all of her books, I will definitely read her grocery list if she allows me 😂😂
Hello there! Just wanted to give a heads up that Ruta Sepetys is from the Lithuanian diaspora, so the writing style is very much North American. That being said, very few Lithuanian authors are translated into English, so I understand the difficulty (especially when others recommend The White Shroud which is available but directly speaks about the LT immigrant experience in 1950s NYC so catch-22). Could you be more clear about this when doing the reviews with all the authors? This may seem like a technicality, but it definitely changes the lens of analysis imho
Well done!!! great initiative although I am very sad to see there was nothing from Slovakia which might be due to the lack of translations. Thats why Im so happy about an upcoming translation (Spring 2025) of an amazing debut This Room Is Impossible to Eat by Nicol H. translated by the great Julia Sherwood. I am sure you will like this book!
Bosnia and Herzegovina also has a Nobel prize winner author: Ivo Andrić
Edit to add the info: at the time he represented his current country Yugoslavia but Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia and he was born in a small city there, and when Yugoslavia fell apart B/H became independent.
ooooh good to know, thank you!
Zašto onda Srbi kazu da je Andrić "naš"?
@@ivanatesic5921 zato što se izjašnjavao kao srbin celog života i zato što je srbin
@@irenamcg not actually he is serbian
@@ivanatesic5921 covjek je rodjen u katolickoj porodici i imaju fotografije dokuemanata gdje se izjasnjavao kao Hrvat, tako da tehnicki Hrvati imaju vise prava, ali ne mijenja cinjenicu da se rodio u BiH u Travniku, dzaba sve xD
I've been hoping for you to read Madonna in a Fur Coat for over 2 years now im so happy😭
Hi Jack! I have a an idea for a Slovak book: The Shop on Main Street by Ladislav Grosman. "Looking at the Holocaust through the eyes of a complicit individual, the narrative follows a good-natured carpenter living in a Slovak town in 1942 who unwittingly becomes a participant in a moral crisis involving the abuse and persecution of Jews." There was a also a movie based on the novel which won the1965 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
I must betray you is a brilliant book (my favourite Sepetys) but it is set in Romania about the Romanian revolution. I highly recommend 'Between Shades of Gray' set during WWII and following a Lithuanian family and their imprisonment in a Siberian gulag. While I'm at it read Salt to the Sea too simply because it made me cry
Hello, Lithuanian here. 'I Must Betray You', is a book about Romania, has nothing to do with Lithuania.
Ruta Sepetys is an American-Lithuanian author, who writes historical fiction about various countries. One google search of Lithuanian authors who write about Lithuania (as you did with Latvian one) would have given you beautiful books about Lithuanian lives and literature. Valdas Papievis is a great author, Balys Sruoga wrote the most gut wrenching book 'Forest of the Gods'.
admire your dedication jack
I couldn’t find a book from Malta in the UK, but would love to hear recommendations!! I’ll be doing a video at the end of the series with the ones I couldn’t find myself based on recs from the comments!!
@@jack_edwards omg ruzann would be perfect if there was a translation :(
@@jack_edwardscheck out Praspar Press! They’re a UK publisher dedicated to publishing Maltese literature
@@jack_edwards pleaseeee read a death in Malta: An assassination and a family's quest for justice by paul caruana galizia :)
@@jack_edwardsThe Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monsarrat!
'Flights' is such a peculiar book! It touches a lot of difficult topics - what I remember most is the story with the syringe... won't spoil it though.
But at the same time the book seems unfinished or as it is a collection of never published before fragments of Tokarczuk's prose.
Fun fact: in May in Wrocław there was a music festival on which they played concerts inspired by 'Flights', and the fragments were recited - amazing combination!
Feels weird and nice to see and hear mention of Belarusian writer here.
Actually I thought you have chosen book by Svetlana Alekseevich.
That is what I expected as well
I thought the same thing!Especially given that Sasha Filipenko studied and lives in Russia and writes about Russia...
My thoughts exactly
Was waiting for some Alekseevich appreciation
@user-xi5ix6ov6v According to Wikipedia, he lives in Switzerland since 2022. Given his support for the Belarusian opposition, it would probably be dangerous for him to even show up in russia now (or in Belarus, obviously).
Speaking of Svetlana Alekseevich, as I understand, she also writes in Russian. Do you know any books actually written in Belarusian and translated into English, you could recommend?
I've heard good things about “Alindarka’s Children” by Alhierd Bacharevic and "King Stakh's Wild Hunt" by Uladzimir Karatkievich.
For Estonia I very enthusiastically recommend "Old Barney" (or sometimes called "November") by Andrus Kivirähk ("Rehepapp" in Estonian). It is a classic for us and definitely an interesting read for someone outside of the culture or with little knowledge about our folklore and history. The book itself is whimsical, dark, funny, bizarre and one of my personal all time favourites. That and "The Man Who Spoke Snakish" also by Andrus Kivirähk are both great and I will always recommend them.
PS The book "Old Barney" also has a film adaptation called "November" (2017)