Read Around Europe Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.
Best books from Europe (4391)
41.
The File on H. by Ismail Kadare EN
AlbaniaDescription:
A political comedy on two American academics who are recording story-singers in Albania. The two are on a project to show that story-singers were the source of Homer's epics, but this is much too highbrow for the district governor, convinced the pair are spies. By an Albanian writer, author of The Concert.
42.
La mariée était en rouge : roman by Anilda Ibrahimi FR
Description:
Au début du XXe siècle, dans un village isolé des montagnes albanaises, Saba est mariée de force pour solder une dette de sang. Longtemps après, elle et sa petite-fille Dora se décident à raconter leur histoire et celle de leurs proches. Des vies dominées par la violence, entre la loi clanique, les vengeances qui passent les générations et la brutalité policière du régime communiste. Inspirée par l'histoire de ses ancêtres, la romancière Anilda Ibrahimi retrace sur quatre générations, de la Seconde Guerre mondiale à la chute du Mur, les destins tourmentés de femmes en butte aux tradition.... continue
43.
A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare EN
Description:
Longlisted for the International Booker Prize The Wall Street Journal, A Best Book of the Year Using a sophisticated and literary version of the ever-popular game of telephone to examine the relationship of writers with tyranny, Ismail Kadare reflects on three particular minutes in a long moment of time when the dark shadow of Joseph Stalin passed over the world In June 1934, Stalin allegedly called Boris Pasternak and they spoke about the arrest of Osip Mandelstam. A telephone call from the dictator was not something necessarily relished, and in the complicated world of literary politics it w... continue
44.
The Successor : A Novel by Ismail Kadare EN
Description:
"This, Ismail Kadare's most recent novel, is a fictional inquiry into the still-unexplained death of Mehmet Shehu, the man who for decades was the designated Number Two political figure in Communist dictator Enver Hoxha's ironfisted and increasingly paranoid regime." "On the night of December 13, 1981, the so-called Successor was shot dead, sometime between midnight and early morning. Did he commit suicide or was he murdered? This is the burning question. There are a number of potential murderers: the architect in charge of renovating the Successor's new quarters, who knew of the secret underg... continue
45.
Albanian Spring : The Anatomy of Tyranny by Ismail Kadare EN
Description:
Ismail Kadare, Albania's foremost literary figure, went into self-imposed exile to France in October 1990. The Albanian Spring had proved no more substantial than the Prague Spring many years earlier.
46.
Free : Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi EN
Description:
Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope. Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were topple... continue
48.
A Girl in Exile : Requiem for Linda B. by Ismail Kadare EN
Description:
When a girl is found dead with a signed copy of Rudian Stefa’s latest book in her possession, the author finds himself summoned for an interview by the Party Committee. Unable to guess what transgression he has committed Rudian goes fearfully to meet his interrogators. He has never met the girl in question but he remembers signing the book. As the influence of a paranoid regime steals up on him, Rudian finds himself swept along on a surreal quest to discover what really happened to the mysterious girl to whom he wrote the dedication – to Linda B. ‘Powerful, empathetic, at times harrowing... ex... continue
49.
The Accident by Ismail Kadare EN
Description:
Why did the taxi crash on the autobahn in Vienna? Who exactly were Besfort Y and Rovena, the mysterious couple who died after being flung from the backseat? How was Besfort connected to the war in the Balkans? And why was his affair with Rovena clouded in jealousy and mistrust? Who wanted them dead? This is the story of the last forty weeks of their lives - a fever dream where love and obsession collide.
50.
Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga EN
Description:
"Xhoga writes with sly, benign wit. Read this novel."--Tom Grimes