Which books are most representative of each country?

Question

I plan to read a novel from every country. Which books are most worthwhile, both as a means to gain the truest insight into the soul of each land, and also from a literary standpoint?

I have a long-term ambition to read one literary novel, in English, from (almost) all of the nations on earth. For years, the books I've read have been written, almost exclusively, by white, upper-middle-class American and British authors. I want to expand the breadth of this reading dramatically. I cannot name a single writer or novel from Mongolia, Indonesia, Somalia, Morocco, Brazil, etc etc, much less any of the literary gems from these countries.

So: which single novel from each nation is most revealing of the lifestyle, customs, struggles, history and national spirit of that country? I'm from the Indian subcontinent, so I'd nominate Rohinton Mistry's 'A Fine Balance'.

Answer 1

Try these:
Something by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whom, I believe is Columbian, and an excellent writer.
And a book called Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, who is Russian.
I've read a short story by Marquez called The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, and enjoyed it.
Heart of a Dog is a crazy story about a medical experiment that turns a dog into a human, but it is really about society in the early years of the Soviet Union.
There is also a book called Iguana Dreams that has lots of short stories by hispanic authors from different countries--all in English.
Enjoy!

Answer 2

Well, I don't know if this would necessarily be considered a literary masterpiece, but this book is definitely representative of what life has been like in Sierra Leone. It's called A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, so if you wanted to read that you could. It's written by a Sierra Leonean, so it's not from an outsider's perspective.

Answer 3

What a great question/idea. Can't wait to see the results. Unfortunately I really don't have an answer for you but I can give you a star.