Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme that was started by The Broke and Bookish and moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists (something I share) and each week participants come up with a list of ten(ish) things based on a theme.
The theme for this weeks Top Ten Tuesday is Books That Take Place in Another Country. It’s been a while since I took part in TTT but couldn’t resist this week. I do love travelling and learning about other countries through my reading so thought I would fairly easily make it around the world but as it turns out most of my reads seem to be set in the UK or US. I have however tried to find 10 great books from around the world where the setting is a big part of the story.
- The Dry/Force of Nature by Jane Harper (Australia) – Very atmospheric thrillers, that show a different side to Australia. The Dry in particular, which is set in small town rural community during a drought, was completely alien to someone from a very wet Scotland.
- Broken Harbour by Tana French (Ireland) – Every book in Tana French’s Dublin murder squad series paints a realistic picture of modern day Ireland but I think this one set in a ghost estate outside Dublin was the one that struck me the most.
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman (Sweden) – set in a small dying community, this may be in a very different country but was extremely relateable.
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Russia) – little bit cheaty as it’s historical and is mostly set within a hotel but it does have a real sense of time and place (and I love it)
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Spain, Egypt, Sahara Desert) – follows a young shepherd who follows his dream to find treasure in Egypt so is probably more of a fable but it gives you a taste of the different cultures and beliefs.
- The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (France, Spain, Italy) – this is historical again, following Monty on his Grand Tour of Europe but seems pretty realistic in its portrayal of Europe around this time.
- The Border by Steve Schafer (Mexico) – four teens try to make it across the border from Mexico to the States after their families are killed. I had no idea how treacherous a journey it is and how desperate you have to be to attempt it.
- Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick (Mexico) – also about a couple of teens who fall foul of drug gangs in Mexico but has a much bigger focus on culture and beliefs.
- Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter (Alaska) – funny and action packed story about a girl trying to save her ex-friend from trained assassins in middle of nowhere, Alaska.
- Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares (New York, USA) – I love this book so much, mostly because of all the different sides of New York it shows you as Dash and Lily challenge each other to a series of dares around the city.
So that’s my 10 books set in other countries. I kind of feel like I’m missing something major (which will no doubt come back to me after I post this) but hey ho. Looking at this I also feel like I should be reading wider, and travelling further so I’m open to any and all recommendations. Have you read any of these? Anything you think I’m missing or that you’d recommend?
Feel free to leave comments below and links to your top ten’s.
Great list! I have A Gentleman in Moscow on my bookshelf to read, and The Dry had a fantastic setting. I’m interested in checking out The Border. It looks like a truly wonderful story. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Thank you. I highly recommend A Gentleman in Moscow, I put it off for ages thinking it wasn’t for me but ended up loving it. It’s slow but a great character story.
I probably wouldn’t have picked up The Border if the publisher hadn’t offered me a copy. It’s very much a survival story. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so behind a group of characters and was surprised by how relatable the MC was.
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I love posts like this! It’s so cool to see novels set in different countries!
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It is a great topic this week. I kind of feel bad I don’t have more to put on the list. I thought I’d read wider. I must fix that.
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Saint Death is a great choice! That book, though.
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Hmm. It is probably the one on this list I’m not sure I would recommend.
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I wouldn’t either!
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Great list- I really want to read Gentleman in moscow and Gentleman’s Guide 😀
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One is most definitely more of a gentleman than the other 😂 Both are fantastic reads but very different.
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hehehe fair enough! Great!!
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