English books from Europe
Recommended English books (1864)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you speak English here are some English books from Europe for the next part of the "Read Around The World Challenge".
Austria1412.
The mauve umbrella by Alki Zei EN
GreeceDescription:
The Mauve Umbrella is a story of two worlds – the adult world of approaching war and the children’s world of close friendships, rivalry and games of the imagination. Eleftheria lives somewhere in Marousi, Athens, with her parents and younger, identical twin, brothers. It is shortly before the war in 1940 and she is nine, going on ten. The children’s best friend is the daughter of a rich family in the neighbourhood. Later, a young French boy arrives, escaping from Nazi occupied France, to live with his French uncle, who lives in the apartment above Eleftheria’s family.
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1413.
The Mechanic : The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane by Marc 'Elvis' Priestley EN
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
In the high-octane atmosphere of the Formula One pit lane, the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers. And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outright obsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on the podium. These are the guys who make every World Champion, and any mistakes can have critical consequences. That's not to say the F1 crew is just a group of highly skilled technical engineers, tweaking machinery in wind tunnels and crunching data through high-spec computers. These boys can seriously let their hai... continue
1414.
The Melancholy of Resistance by László Krasznahorkai EN
HungaryDescription:
Winner of the 2015 Man Booker International PrizeThe Melancholy of Resistance, László Krasznahorkai's magisterial, surreal novel, depicts a chain of mysterious events in a small Hungarian town.A circus, promising to display the stuffed body of the largest whale in the world, arrives in the dead of winter, prompting bizarre rumours. Word spreads that the circus folk have a sinister purpose in mind, and the frightened citizens cling to any manifestation of order they can find - music, cosmology, fascism.The novel's characters are unforgettable: the evil Mrs. Eszter, plotting her takeover of the ... continue
1415.
BelgiumDescription:
Revenge is a dish best eaten cold. This phenomenal Flemish international bestseller tells of a young woman's return to the small town where she suffered as a child and the payback she demands there.
1416.
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Freetown, Sierra Leone, 1969. On a hot January evening that he will remember for decades, Elias Cole first catches sight of Saffia Kamara, the wife of a charismatic colleague. He is transfixed. Thirty years later, lying in the capital's hospital, he recalls the desire that drove him to acts of betrayal he has tried to justify ever since. Elsewhere in the hospital, Kai, a gifted young surgeon, is desperately trying to forget the pain of a lost love that torments him as much as the mental scars he still bears from the civil war that has left an entire people with terrible secrets to keep. It fal... continue
1417.
The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck EN
SwedenDescription:
From the award-winning author of Amatka and Jagannath—a fantastical tour de force about friendship, interdimensional theater, and a magical place where no one ages, except the young In a world just parallel to ours exists a mystical realm known only as the Gardens. It’s a place where feasts never end, games of croquet have devastating consequences, and teenagers are punished for growing up. For a select group of masters, it’s a decadent paradise where time stands still. But for those who serve them, it’s a slow torture where their lives can be ended in a blink. In a bid to escape before their ... continue
1418.
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
In The Merchant of Venice, the path to marriage is hazardous. To win Portia, Bassanio must pass a test prescribed by her father’s will, choosing correctly among three caskets or chests. If he fails, he may never marry at all. Bassanio and Portia also face a magnificent villain, the moneylender Shylock. In creating Shylock, Shakespeare seems to have shared in a widespread prejudice against Jews. Shylock would have been regarded as a villain because he was a Jew. Yet he gives such powerful expression to his alienation due to the hatred around him that, in many productions, he emerges as the hero... continue
1419.
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
A gripping novel inspired by a real-life witch hunt . . . Beautiful and chilling' Madeline Miller, author of CirceOn Christmas Eve, 1617, the sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a reckless storm. As Maren Magnusdatter watches, forty fishermen, including her father and brother, are lost to the waves, the menfolk of Vardø wiped out in an instant. Now the women must fend for themselves. Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Summoned from Scotland to take control of a place at the edge of the civilized world, Absalom Cornet knows what he needs to do to bring ... continue
1420.
The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi EN
Description:
When the battered body of a young woman is discovered on a remote Greek island, the local police are quick to dismiss her death as an accident. Then a stranger arrives, uninvited, from Athens, announcing his intention to investigate further. His methods are unorthodox, and he brings his own mystery into the web of dark secrets and lies. Who has sent him, on whose authority is he acting, and how does he know of dramas played out decades ago?