Read Around Europe Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.
Best books from Europe (2885)
2031.
But Crime Does Punish by Jan Johanides EN
SlovakiaDescription:
"So, as you see, I am familiar with the case. However, we can’t discuss it unless you learn more about some other court cases, so that you can compare your father’s trial with other, more baffling cases, and see it in the context of the madness that reigned at the time." In Ján Johanides riveting Slovak novel, you the reader are thrust in medias res, assuming the role of a silent partner in a one-sided conversation with someone you know nothing about. As the pages turn, you must grasp onto significant details to piece together who you are, who the narrator is, and why you have sought him out. ... continue
2032.
Manual de despedidas by Jana Beňová ES
Description:
Cuatro jóvenes amigos -dos parejas-, van a la deriva por la vida, con imprecisas aspiraciones artísticas e intelectuales que comparten en el Café Viena (que denominan "Café Hiena"). Elza, quien tiene el mayor protagonismo, se ha ido a vivir con Ian a Petrzalka, una barrio suburbano fuera de Bratislava; un mundo totalmente nuevo.
La novela está narrada en su mayor parte, a través de párrafos cortos, a veces fragmentarios sin seguir necesariamente un hilo conductor, lo cual refuerza esta sensación de vidas fuera del tiempo.
Enti... continue
2033.
The Nazis Knew My Name : A Remarkable Story of Survival and Courage in Auschwitz by Magda Hellinger, Maya Lee EN
Description:
The extraordinarily moving memoir by Australian Slovakian Holocaust survivor Magda Hellinger, who saved an untold number of lives at Auschwitz through everyday acts of courage, kindness and ingenuity. In March 1942, twenty-five-year-old kindergarten teacher Magda Hellinger and nearly a thousand other young Slovakian women were deported to Poland on the second transportation of Jewish people sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The women were told they'd be working at a shoe factory. At Auschwitz the SS soon discovered that by putting Jewish prisoners in charge of the day-to-day running of... continue
2034.
2035.
Samko Tále's Cemetery Book by Daniela Kapitáňová EN
Description:
Short satirical novel translated from Slovak about an autistic waste-paper collector who conforms to every authority or prejudice, regardless of the effect on those around him
2036.
Description:
Jaded Ondro never would have guessed he could fall in love during a brief layover-until now. In Basel, Switzerland, he meets Jamie, an American living in Scotland who is as brilliant as he is beautiful. Put in a position to offer Jamie comfort without hope of recompense, Ondro catches a glimpse of the home he longs for.
2037.
Gloed / druk 36 by Sándor Márai NL
Description:
Als twee jeugdvrienden elkaar na veertig jaar weer ontmoeten, blijkt dat zich destijds een tragedie tussen hen heeft afgespeeld met betrekking tot de vrouw van een van hen.
2038.
The Equestrienne by URSULA. KOVALYK EN
Description:
The Equestrienne is a poetic, caustic coming-of-age novel about the desire of one young girl to realise her dreams before and after Velvet Revolution; it is a celebration of friendship between women and also a bitter acknowledgement that greed and the desire for power candestroy any relationship.
2039.
Three Chestnut Horses by Margita Figuli EN
Description:
This gem of Slovak naturalism was written in 1940. The story takes the reader to a mountain village. The protagonist narrates the vicissitudes, suffering, and success he experiences as he pursues a love affair, resulting in the triumph of pure love. Peter has been in love with a girl?Magdalena?since childhood and asks her to marry him. But he is too late, because a rich man, Jano Zapoto?n?, has already proposed to Magdalena, a proposal that her greedy mother promptly accepted on her behalf. Magdalena, out of respect for her mother's wishes, accepts the engagement. However, Magdalena promises P... continue
2040.
Seeing People Off by Jana Beňová EN
Description:
*Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature. There is a liveliness and effervescence to Jana Benová’s prose that is magnetic. Whether addressing the loneliness of relationships or the effectiveness of rat poison, her voice and observations call to mind the verve and sophistication of Renata Adler or Jenny Offill, while remaining utterly singular. Seeing People Off follows Elza and Ian, a young couple living in a humongous apartment complex outside Bratislava where the walls play music and talk, and time is immaterial. Drawing on her memories, everyday interactions, observations of post-... continue