Read Around Europe Challenge

Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.

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Best books from Europe (2605)
2101.

Der Besuch der alten Dame : eine tragische Komödie by Friedrich Dürrenmatt DE

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
A rich woman agrees to share her wealth the people in her poor village in return for the life of the man who ruined her reputation when she was young.

2102.

The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau EN

Rating: 3.5 (16 votes)
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
"Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains" These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate since its first publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or 'social contract', that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power. From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for t... continue

2103.

A Discourse on Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
The searing indictment of man-made inequality in all its many forms that Rousseau offers in Discourse on Inequality is a must-read for philosophy buffs and supporters of social justice. This artfully composed argument sets forth the core elements of Rousseau's philosophical views, including his unique take on Hobbes' concept of nature and natural law.

2104.

The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker EN

Rating: 4 (5 votes)
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
"Spectacular . . . drops the reader through one trapdoor into another" A.J. FINN It all starts with an innocuous curiosity: at the Hotel de Verbier, a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps, there is no Room 622. This anomaly piques the interest of Joël Dicker, Switzerland's most famous literary star, who flees to the Verbier to recover from a bad breakup, mourn the death of his publisher, and begin his next novel. Before he knows it, he's coaxed out of his slump by a fellow guest, who quickly uncovers the reason behind Room 622's erasure: an unsolved murder. The attendant circumstances: a love triang... continue

2105.

The Red Book : Liber Novus by Carl G. Jung EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
The most influential unpublished work in the history of psychology. “The years, of which I have spoken to you, when I pursued the inner images, were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to be derived from this. It began at that time, and the later details hardly matter anymore. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. That was the stuff and material for more than only one life. Everything later was merely the outer classification, the scientific elaboration, and the in... continue

2106.

The Consolations of Philosphy by Alain de Botton EN

Rating: 4.5 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER One of the most influential voices in modern philosophy - the author of The Course of Love, Religion for Atheists, The Art of Travel and The School of Life Alain de Botton presents a one-stop shop for solving the problems of everyday life through the wisdom of history's great philosophers 'Singlehandedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us live our lives' Independent 'Few discussions on the great philosophers can have been so entertaining . . . An ingenious, imaginative book' The Sunday Times 'Witty,... continue

2107.

The Inspector Barlach Mysteries : The Judge and His Hangman and Suspicion by Friedrich Dürrenmatt EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
This volume offers bracing new translations of two precursors to the modern detective novel by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, whose genre-bending mysteries recall the work of Alain Robbe-Grillet and anticipate the postmodern fictions of Paul Auster and other contemporary neo-noir novelists. Both mysteries follow Inspector Barlach as he moves through worlds in which the distinction between crime and justice seems to have vanished. In The Judge and His Hangman, Barlach forgoes the arrest of a murderer in order to manipulate him into killing another, more elusive criminal. And in Suspicion, Barlach pursue... continue

2108.

The Physicists by Friedrich Dürrenmatt EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
Theatre program.

2109.

Agnes by Peter Stamm EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
Peter Stamm's best-selling debut novel, Agnes, now available for the first time in the United States. "Write a story about me," Agnes said to her lover, "so I know what you think of me." So he started to write the story of everything that had happened to them from the moment they met. At first, he works with Agnes to create a narrative that is most true to life, but as time passes and he grows more enamored with the narrative he has begun, he continues writing on his own, imagining a future for them after he reaches the present. Happy couples do not necessarily make for compelling reading, and... continue

2110.

The Dead by Christian Kracht EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Switzerland flag Switzerland
Description:
"Christian Kracht mines the feverish film culture of pre-World War II Germany and Japan for a Gothic tale of global conspiracy, personal loss, and historical entanglements large and small." --