Popular European Memoir Books
Find memoir books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (135)
121.
Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot EN
BelgiumDescription:
Documents the lives of missionaries who sought to convert the Huao Indians of Ecuador.
122.
Time Pieces : A Dublin Memoir by John Banville, Paul Joyce EN
IrelandDescription:
'If you're interested in Dublin, or if you're interested in the novelist John Banville, or if you're interested in radiantly superb sentences about whatever - I'm all three - then Time Pieces: A Dublin Memoir is a book you'll not be able to put down' The Guardian 'A trove of arresting imagery, from the lushly poetic to the luridly absurd ... utterly delightful' Irish Times 'Delicious ... Banville's soarings, like a hawk's, are both wild and comprehensive, taking in everything and imagining more' New York Times For the young John Banville, Dublin was a place of enchantment and yearning. Each ye... continue
Romania124.
Under a Red Sky : Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania by Haya Leah Molnar EN
Description:
The author shares her early memories of being a Jewish child living in postwar Bucharest, Romania, and the eccentric and opinionated adults who surrounded her and who would do anything to keep her safe while living in this communist country.
125.
Up: My Life's Journey to the Top of Everest by Ben Fogle, Marina Fogle EN
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
My eyes lifted to the horizon and the unmistakable snowy outline of Everest. Everest, the mountain of my childhood dreams. A mountain that has haunted me my whole life. A mountain I have seen hundreds of times in photographs and films but never in real life. She looked angry.
126.
Walk Through Walls : A Memoir by Marina Abramovic EN
SerbiaDescription:
“I had experienced absolute freedom—I had felt that my body was without boundaries, limitless; that pain didn’t matter, that nothing mattered at all—and it intoxicated me.” In 2010, more than 750,000 people stood in line at Marina Abramović’s MoMA retrospective for the chance to sit across from her and communicate with her nonverbally in an unprecedented durational performance that lasted more than 700 hours. This celebration of nearly fifty years of groundbreaking performance art demonstrated once again that Marina Abramović is truly a force of nature. The child of Communist war-hero parents ... continue
127.
Walking : One Step at a Time by Erling Kagge EN
NorwayDescription:
A lyrical account of an activity that is essential for our sanity, equilibrium, and well-being, from the author of Silence ("A book to be handled and savored." --The Wall Street Journal) Placing one foot in front of the other, embarking on the journey of discovery, and experiencing the joy of exploration--these activities are intrinsic to our nature. Our ancestors traveled long distances on foot, gaining new experiences and learning from them. But as universal as walking is, each of us will experience it differently. For Erling Kagge, it is the gateway to the questions that fascinate him--Why ... continue
128.
War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans EN
Description:
Shortly before his death in 1981, Stefan Hertmans' grandfather gave him a couple of filled exercise books. Stories he'd heard as a child had led Hertmans to suspect that their contents might be disturbing, and for years he didn’t dare to open them. When he finally did, he discovered unexpected secrets. His grandfather’s life was marked by years of childhood poverty in late-nineteenth-century Belgium, by horrific experiences on the frontlines during the First World War and by the loss of the young love of his life. He sublimated his grief in the silence of painting. Drawing on these diary entri... continue
Germany130.
Where You Come From by Saša Stanišić EN
Country: Europe / 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Description:
In August, 1992, a boy and his mother flee the war in Yugoslavia and arrive in Germany. Six months later, the boy’s father joins them, bringing a brown suitcase, insomnia, and a scar on his thigh. Saša Stanišic’s Where You Come From is a novel about this family, whose world is uprooted and remade by war: their history, their life before the conflict, and the years that followed their escape as they created a new life in a new country. Blending autofiction, fable, and choose-your-own-adventure, Where You Come From is set in a village where only thirteen people remain, in lost and made-up memori... continue