Popular European Contemporary Fiction Books
Find contemporary fiction books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (169)
1.
A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier EN
GermanyDescription:
Witty and charming, New York Times bestselling author Kerstin Gier's contemporary young adult novel A Castle in the Clouds follows a girl as she navigates secrets, romance, and danger in an aging grand hotel. Way up in the Swiss mountains, there's an old grand hotel steeped in tradition and faded splendor. Once a year, when the famous New Year's Eve Ball takes place and guests from all over the world arrive, excitement returns to the vast hallways. Sophie, who works at the hotel as an intern, is busy making sure that everything goes according to plan. But unexpected problems keep arising, and ... continue
Portugal3.
A gorda : romance by Isabela Figueiredo PT
Description:
Maria Luísa, a heroína deste romance, é uma bela rapariga, inteligente, boa aluna, voluntariosa e com uma forte personalidade. E é gorda. E isto, esta característica física, incomoda-a de tal modo que coloca tudo o resto em causa. Na adolescência, sofre e aguenta, em silêncio, as piadas e os insultos dos colegas. Fica esquecida, ao lado da mais feia das suas colegas, no baile dos finalistas do colégio. Mas não desiste, não se verga, e vai em frente, gorda, à procura de uma vida que valha a pena viver.
4.
A Novel to Read on the Train by Dumitru Tsepeneag EN
RomaniaDescription:
A director is trying to adapt a short story he once wrote for the screen. The story is about an isolated train station under threat by a giant eagle in a small town where rumors of war are rumbling. But the film shoot is plagued by accidents. The actors and crew don't understand the script. They argue over its meaning and perhaps come to identify with its subject matter a little too closely. Soon enough reality, such as it is, begins to crumble. Roman de Gare is a dreamlike and ominous novel by a great European writer--and the first novel he composed in French.
5.
NorwayDescription:
A man starts driving without knowing where he is going. He alternates between turning right and left, and ultimately finds himself stuck at the end of a forest road. It soon grows dark and begins to snow. But instead of searching for help, he ventures, foolishly, into the dark forest. Inevitably, the man gets lost, and as he grows cold and tired, he encounters a glowing being amid the obscurity. Strange, haunting and dreamlike, A Shining is the latest work of fiction by National Book Award-finalist Jon Fosse, the Beckett of the twenty-first century" ( Le Monde ).
6.
A Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux EN
FranceDescription:
WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE A New York Times Notable Book In her spare, stark style, Annie Ernaux documents the desires and indignities of a human heart ensnared in an all-consuming passion. Blurring the line between fact and fiction, an unnamed narrator attempts to plot the emotional and physical course of her 2 year relationship with a married foreigner where every word, event, and person either provides a connection with her beloved or is subject to her cold indifference. With courage and exactitude, she seeks the truth behind an existence lived entirely for someone else, a... continue
7.
A Simple Story by Samuel Joseph Agnon EN
UkraineDescription:
"A small town in southern Poland is the scene of this bittersweet romance set at the turn of the century. Celebrated Israeli novelist S.Y. Agnon draws on techniques perfected by Gustave Flaubert and Thomas Mann to contrast the hero's romantic longings with the interest of bourgeois society."--Back cover.
Belgium9.
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan EN
IrelandDescription:
The female narrator falls completely into the power of a male writer. When he suddenly rejects her, she resolves to hang on to him and his love at all costs...even if it destroys her.
10.
Älä koskaan pyyhi kyyneleitä paljain käsin. 3. Kuolema by Jonas Gardell FI
SwedenDescription:
Katkerienkin kyynelten läpi voi hetkisen hymyillä. Ensin oli rakkaus, sitten tuli sairaus, lopuksi on vain kuolema. Jonas Gardellin ylistetyn romaanitrilogian päätösosa 1980-luvun aids-epidemiasta Tukholmassa. He olivat niin nuoria, heillä oli elämä edessään ja yhtäkkiä kaikki oli ohi. He istuivat kerta toisensa jälkeen hautajaisissa, ja aina heitä oli yksi vähemmän paikalla. Mutta kävi onneksi myös niin, että Paulin hautajaisissa kaikilla oli murheen keskellä kerrankin hauskaa. Paulin itse käsikirjoittamistaan hautajaisista sukeutuu karnevaali, joka saa lukijankin nauramaan kyyneleet silmissä... continue