UK Book Club discussion

Round the world trip - Started April 2018 -This could take me a long time ...

1. Kenya No Picnic on Mount Kenya: The Story of Three POWs' Escape to Adventure by Felice Benuzzi

Enjoy! A good way to travel conveniently!

Brilliant topic!!!!!!!!!

Happy travels Rachel.

May your balloon have few punchers on your trip, happy reading.

2. Russia Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

Russia! Keep your balloon up high, Rachel... ;o)

Anna Faversham wrote: "Russia! Keep your balloon up high, Rachel... ;o)"

Lol. It's very topical given the Skripal goings on !

Enjoy your travels, Rachel

3. UK (well London really) Moon Over Soho byBen Aaronovitch

It was ok

Scotland Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Enjoyable but simplistic and overly optimistic portrayal of mental health services and recovery from problem drinking and childhood trauma.

4. USA The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich Very Dark and a bit grim.

USA and Mexico On the Road Jack Kerouac

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole Set in New Orleans in 1950s comical - great book

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens set in North Carolina in the 1960s 3.5 stars

5. Germany Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism Through the Eyes of Everyday People by Julia Boyd

I wouldn't say its was unputdownable but nevertheless fascinating to read about the experiences in between the world wars of people travelling in Germany.

6. Japan Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

I really liked this book's character and story. The writing style was easy to read get still managed to convey the feelings of Keiko and how it feels to be at odds with what is perceived to be "normal".

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell Historial Japan but also fantasy - loved it 4 stars read July 2023

7. Iceland Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

A double murder in Northern Iceland in 1829 fictionalised version of the story of the last woman to be beheaded in Iceland.

8. Spain The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Enjoyable but went on a bit too long and I found the depiction/objectification of all the female characters tiresome, childish and irritating and I think ultimately detracted from one of the messages the book.

Nicola wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Round the world trip - Started April 2018 -This could take me a long time ...

I've been away for years and likely some years to come. It's all about the journey eh? 😉"

Yep :)

9. Mexico All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Western genre. Set Texas and Mexico (mainly Mexico). Interestingly set similar time/ few years before On the Road.

Travels so far

Nice start to the trip Rachel.

10. Nigeria Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Really liked this book. Learnt a lot about the history of Biafra and the Nigerian civil war. Loved the way it was written and the characters felt real.

Edited to add another book Read October 2019
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Would recommend - enjoyed set in Lagos

That will likely be my choice for Nigeria too. I kept meaning to read it last year.

Happy travels! This is such a great way of diversifying/expanding our reading lives.

Leni wrote: "That will likely be my choice for Nigeria too. I kept meaning to read it last year.

Happy travels! This is such a great way of diversifying/expanding our reading lives."

Yep and learning geography !!

11. India The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Set in Laxmangarh , Dehli and Bangalore.
How a poor servant sets himself free from his master to become a successful business man and treats his employees with more respect irony is that never considers the 50% of the population who are even more suppressed than he is and still appears to hold them in disregard despite his journey.

12 Australia Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over by Geraldine Brooks

Memoir of an Australian journalist who grew up in Sydney in 1960 -70s. She becomes a foreign correspondent and travels the world on assignments. She tracks down the penpals she had as a child to Israel , France and USA.

The Dry by Jane Harper
Enjoyable Murder mystery/thriller set in Rural Australia 4 stars from me

13. Greece The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Enjoyed this modern interpretation of story of Achilles and Patroclus.

Circe by Madeline Miller

14. Vietnam The Quiet American by Graham Greene

4.5 Stars
especially this bit :

I drive through the streets, and care not a damn;
The people they stare, and they ask who I am;
And if I should chance to run over a cad,
I can pay for the damage if ever so bad.
so pleasant it is to have money, heigh ho!
so pleasant it is to have money.

I really liked the fact that it was thought provoking and still relevant to conflicts today.

15. Solomon Islands Devil-Devil by Graeme Kent

3.5 Stars
A detective story set in 1960's Solomon Islands. Fast easy read. Interesting details about the paganism of the different tribes.

16. Greenland The North Water by Ian McGuire

5 stars. Definitely recommended. Not a usual read for me and don't think I would have picked it up based on the blurb on back.

17. Colombia The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernières

(I know its not strictly Colombia and more an amalgamation of south american countries mashed into some magical imaginary country but I'm taking it)

4 stars from me. I loved and hated some of the characters. A magical farce with dark undertones.

18. Italy The Gadfly by Ethel Lilian Voynich

19. Poland The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris 3 stars from me. Controversial genre as not totally historical fiction or real history (merging truth and fiction) Easy to read but historical inaccuracies and events that seemed unlikely to have happened seemed to distract from the horrors of the situation.

20. Thailand The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi 3.5 Stars

Science Fiction dystopia set in Thailand after some climactic / genetic manipulation disaster. It was slow to get going. Reminded me a little of Orynx and Crake which I preferred

You're doing well Rachel. 20% there.
I picked the same books for Solomon Islands and Greece as you have and thoroughly enjoyed them both. :)
Happy travelling.

Kate wrote: "You're doing well Rachel. 20% there.
I picked the same books for Solomon Islands and Greece as you have and thoroughly enjoyed them both. :)
Happy travelling."

Thanks for the encouragement. Unfortunately I keep getting distracted by wanting to read science fiction which generally don't count for a country or read a book from I country I already picked. However I'm definitely enjoying the challenge and it's expanding my reading repertoire.

21. France Adèleby Leïla Slimani
1-2 stars
The only 2 things I liked about this was it was short and I got another country.

22. Brazil The Lost City of Z by David Grann 4 stars
Non Fiction. Easy to read writing style. Learnt a lot about the Amazon about how it was perceived in Victorian times. Very interesting to learn about how Colonel Fawcett inspired The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle and King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard both of which enjoyed so much.

Lots of blank spaces still...

Still, step by step and you'll get there. The map is looking good :)

You did well this year. I only managed 7 books for the challenge.

Just managed to squeeze one in before the end of the year.

23. Switzerland Doctor Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party by Graham Greene

A quick easy read. Set in Switzerland. Story focusses on a very wealthy individual who holds parties for a group of toadies. I would recommend.

Also read The Last by Hanna Jameson Dystopian post nuclear war murder mystery set in Switzerland with a semi hopeful ending. Quite enjoyable read 3.5-4 stars

Tania wrote: "You did well this year. I only managed 7 books for the challenge."

I admire your dedication- think I'll be stopping when I get to 80!

Liz wrote: "Still, step by step and you'll get there. The map is looking good :)"

Thanks - I like how it lights up where to concentrate :)

24. Paraguay Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene 3.5 stars for me.
The action takes place various locations - Brighton Boulogne Paris to Istanbul (aboard the Orient express) and eventually ending up in Paraguay via a boat trip from Argentina along the Parana river.
A good read though I found the references to Catholicism annoyingly shoehorned in. I found the characters interesting although ultimately I felt frustrated by their actions.

I read that one a looong time ago. My memory is hazy, but I did like it. Graham Greene can be excellent: 'Brighton Rock', 'Our Man in Havana' and 'The Human Factor' are my favourites. He sometimes uses his characters to work through his belief and I agree it can feel overdone. I found 'The End of the Affair' was completely overburdened with it, although it works in 'The Power and the Glory', (it's about a lapsed priest, so it was completely relevant) .

Liz wrote: "I read that one a looong time ago. My memory is hazy, but I did like it. Graham Greene can be excellent: 'Brighton Rock', 'Our Man in Havana' and 'The Human Factor' are my favourites. He sometimes ..."
I really liked Brighton Rock and also The Quiet American . The Human Factor, read at school, was my first Graham Greene novel.

25. Afghanistan - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 4 stars page turner and very emotional

26. Iraq - Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi 4 stars

27. Botswana The Colours of all the Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith 3 stars
Comforting easy/light read with familiar characters not a very challenging mystery in this one.

28. Finland The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna 4 almost 5 stars This actually cheered me up.

29.. Zimbabwe Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga 3.5 -4 stars Coming of age novel of a young African girl negotiating her way in a patriarchal home society as well as dealing with the colonialism. I enjoyed the 5 different female characters whose personalities and circumstances meant they dealt with things differently with different outcomes none completely satisfactorily.