Read Around Europe Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.
Best books from Europe (2675)
1001.
Hungary
1003.
One Station Away by Olaf Olafsson EN
IcelandDescription:
From the critically acclaimed Olaf Olafsson, an intimate yet sweeping story of a New York neurologist and the three women who change his life An overlooked pianist who finally receives fraught success after decades of disappointment. An elusive dancer whose untimely death her fiancé is desperate to untangle. A mysterious patient who is comatose after a violent accident. These are the three women who animate Olaf Olafsson’s brilliantly rendered One Station Away. Magnus, a New York neurologist—son to one, lover to another, and doctor to a third—is the thread that binds these women’s stories toge... continue
1004.
Butterflies in November by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir EN
Description:
After being dumped and then winning the lottery, a woman in her thirties, along with her best friend's four-year-old deaf-mute son, takes a transformative road trip through Iceland, encountering eccentrics and finding herself.
1005.
And the Wind Sees All (Valeyrarvalsinn) by Gudmundur Andri Thorsson EN
Description:
"Relaxing in Nordic Hygge in a novel; the entire story takes place in two minutes. In this story we hear the voices of an Icelandic fishing village. On a summer's day a young woman in a polka-dot dress cycles down the main street. Her name is Kata and she is the conductor of the village choir. As she passes, we get a glimpse of the villagers: a priest with a gambling habit, an old brother and sister who have not talked for years, and a sea captain who has lost his son. But perhaps the most interesting story of all belongs to the young woman on the bicycle. Why is she reticent to talk about her... continue
1006.
The Mist by Ragnor Jonasson EN
Description:
A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Is this the best crime writer in the world today?' The Times 'Triumphant. Chilling, creepy, perceptive, almost unbearably tense' Ian Rankin 'A world-class crime writer' Sunday Times _______ 1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland. The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn't. The couple should never have let him in. But they did. An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever . . . FROM THE TWO MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR _______ 'This is Icelandic... continue
1007.
The Atom Station by Halldór Laxness EN
Description:
From the Nobel Prize–winning author of Independent People: A biting satire of post-WWII Iceland caught between superpowers at the dawn of the Nuclear Age. When the Americans make an offer to buy Icelandic land to build an atomic war base, a storm of protest is provoked throughout the country, and it is here that Laxness finds the catalyst for his story. Told by a country girl from the north, the novel follows her experiences upon taking up employment as a maid in the house of her Member of Parliament. She finds herself in a world very different to that of her upbringing and, marvelling at the ... continue
1008.
Independent People by Halldór Laxness EN
Description:
The great Icelandic novel by the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Halldór Laxness 'There are good books and there are great books and there may be a book that is something still more: it is the book of your life' New York Review of Books First published in 1946, this is a humane, epic novel set in rural Iceland. Bjartus is a sheep farmer determined to eke a living from a blighted patch of land. Nothing, not merciless weather, nor his family, will come between him and his goal of financial independence. Only Asta Solillja, the child he brings up as his daughter, can pierce his stubborn heart. As sh... continue
1009.
Description:
Celebrated Icelandic writer Gerður Kristný's Drápa is a novel-poem which takes its form from Old Norse shield poetry and its mood from modern Nordic crime. But the poem is no fiction: it is about a real woman's murder in the city of Reykjavík, and, through this lens, about all women's deaths. This is Viking poetry at its most contemporary.
1010.
Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason EN
Description:
An old man is found murdered in his Reykjavik flat. A cryptic note and a photograph of a young girl's grave are left behind. DID THE DEAD MAN'S PAST COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM? Inspector Erlendur discovers that several decades ago the victim was accused, but not convicted, of an unsolved crime. As he follows a fascinating trail of strange forensic evidence, Inspector Erlendur uncovers secrets that are much larger than the murder of one man - dark secrets that have been carefully guarded for many, many years... 'A fascinating window on an unfamiliar world as well as an original and puzzling mystery... continue