Read Around Europe Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.
Best books from Europe (2936)
2751.
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
In The Merchant of Venice, the path to marriage is hazardous. To win Portia, Bassanio must pass a test prescribed by her father’s will, choosing correctly among three caskets or chests. If he fails, he may never marry at all. Bassanio and Portia also face a magnificent villain, the moneylender Shylock. In creating Shylock, Shakespeare seems to have shared in a widespread prejudice against Jews. Shylock would have been regarded as a villain because he was a Jew. Yet he gives such powerful expression to his alienation due to the hatred around him that, in many productions, he emerges as the hero... continue
2752.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
During one of his several adventurous voyages in the 1600s, an Englishman becomes the sole survivor of a shipwreck and lives on a deserted island for more than twenty-eight years.
2753.
Schtum by Jem Lester EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
'Will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you think' Graeme Simsion Inspired by the author's experiences with his own son, SHTUM is a novel about three generations of a family learning how to get along. Ten-year-old Jonah lives in a world of his own. He likes colours and feathers and the feel of fresh air on his skin. He dislikes sudden loud noises and any change to his daily routine. Jonah has never spoken, yet somehow he communicates better than all of the adults in his life. 'Fiercely funny ... an unforgettable first novel' The Times 'A book with true heart and soul' Joanna Cannon, autho... continue
2754.
Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Henry IV, Part 2 is the only Shakespeare play that is a “sequel,” in the modern sense, to an earlier play of his. Like most sequels, it repeats many elements from the previous work, Henry IV, Part 1. This play again puts on stage Henry IV’s son, Prince Hal, who continues to conceal his potential greatness by consorting with tavern dwellers, including the witty Sir John Falstaff. As in Part 1, Prince Hal and Falstaff seek to best each other in conversation, while Falstaff tries to ingratiate himself with Hal and Hal disdains him. Part 2 adds some fresh characters, the rural justices Shallow and... continue
2755.
The Birth of Venus : A Novel by Sarah Dunant EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Turning fifteen in Renaissance Florence, Alessandra Cecchi becomes intoxicated with the works of a young painter whom her father has brought to the city to decorate the family's Florentine palazzo.
2756.
The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
The Winter’s Tale, one of Shakespeare’s very late plays, is filled with improbabilities. Before the conclusion, one character comments that what we are about to see, “Were it but told you, should be hooted at / Like an old tale.” It includes murderous passions, man-eating bears, princes and princesses in disguise, death by drowning and by grief, oracles, betrayal, and unexpected joy. Yet the play, which draws much of its power from Greek myth, is grounded in the everyday. A “winter’s tale” is one told or read on a long winter’s night. Paradoxically, this winter’s tale is ideally seen rather th... continue
2757.
Leningrad : The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944 by Anna Reid EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
On September 8, 1941, eleven weeks after Hitler's brutal surprise attack on the Soviet Union, Leningrad was surrounded. The German siege was not lifted for two and a half years, by which time some three quarters of a million Leningraders had died of starvation. Stripping away decades of Soviet propaganda, and drawing on newly available diaries and government records, Anna Reid chronicles the Nazis' deliberate decision to starve Leningrad into surrender, the incompetence and cruelty of the Soviet war leadership, the horrors experienced by soldiers on the front lines, and, above all, the ordeal ... continue
2758.
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
**THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER (The Times), SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023** 'Like Sally Rooney mixed with a political thriller' RUSSELL KANE 'Intense, unflinchingly honest, it broke my heart a million times' MARIAN KEYES 'Absolutely loved it' MAX PORTER 'A beautiful, devastating novel' NICK HORNBY ------------------------- One by one, she undid each event, each decision, each choice. If Davy had remembered to put on a coat. If Seamie McGeown had not found himself alone on a dark street. If Michael Agnew had not walked through the door of the pub on a quiet night in February in his... continue
2759.
Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
From the internationally bestselling author twice recognized by the Booker Prize, William Boyd's most exhilarating novel yet travels from the vibrant streets of sixties London to the sun-soaked cobbles of Cadiz and the frosty squares of Warsaw, as a reluctant spy is drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a fire that took his mother's life. Every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing the changing landscapes of Europe in... continue
2760.
Sisters : A Novel by Daisy Johnson EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR “[A] skillfully crafted gothic mystery . . . Johnson pulls off a great feat in this book.” —Financial Times “It reminded me, in its general refusal to play nice, of early Ian McEwan.” —The New York Times Book Review “Johnson crafts an aching thriller about the dangers of loving too intensely.” —Time From a Booker Prize finalist and international literary star: a blazing portrait of one darkly riveting sibling relationship, from the inside out. “One of her generation’s most intriguing authors” (Entertainment Weekly), Daisy Johnson is the youngest writer... continue