"Unknown Soldiers" - Vaino Linna. Trans from Finnish by Liesl Yamaguchi. I don’t know how to start describing this book nor the gradual, building effect it compressed into a few hundred, unpoetic, pages. It is like every war film I have seen yet far more human, wordly and affecting. It tells the moribund story of … Continue reading 10. Finland
9. Germany I
"Rosa Luxemburg" - Karl Frohlich . “Social Reform or Revolution”, “Organisational Questions of Russian Social Democracy” Rosa Luxemburg from “The Rosa Luxemburg Reader” eds. Peter Hudis and Kevin B. Anderson. Putting together this reading list I was quite intimidated by Germany, a country I have both studied and feel like I barely know. At the … Continue reading 9. Germany I
8. Denmark
"LUCKY PER (LYKKE PER)" - Henrik Pontippidan. Translator Naomi Lebowitz. I awarded this 4 stars on my Goodreads review. 4 stars grudgingly given, drawn out of me as Per’s long, frustrating quest for self-knowledge was dragged out of him. This is a coming-of-age tale scandi-noir style; the antithesis of every Hollywood movie, laced with Northern … Continue reading 8. Denmark
7. Ireland
"The Green Road" - Anne Enright. What do you expect from an Irish story? Family, guilt, so many words spoken but so much left unsaid, a grim, hope-crushing ending. Maybe this is just my inherited Celtic Catholic sensibilities. But this is what you got with the Green Road. The novel is about a family in … Continue reading 7. Ireland
6. Portugal
"Perreira Maintains" - Antonio Tabucchi. Translated from the Italian by Patrick Creagh. I had intended to only pick authors who were from the country I was reading, however, not only is the author something of an expert on Portugal, this was recommended to me by a Portuguese friend whose taste I trust. It felt like … Continue reading 6. Portugal
5. Spain
"Books Burn Badly" - Manuel Rivas. Translated from Galician by Jonathan Dunne. I found this book by chance after browsing in Daunt's bookshop in Marylebone, London; the only place I know where books are divided by country and those with a geographic reading list can search for gems with little previous knowledge. It was a … Continue reading 5. Spain
4. Czech Republic
"The Good Soldier Svejk" - Jaroslav Hasek. Translated by Cecil Parrott. Most compare the Good Soldier Svejk to Catch 22 (Joseph Heller) and they are not wrong: it is a riotous and ridiculous send up of war and military pretensions. Starting with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, we follow ordinary Private Svejk through various … Continue reading 4. Czech Republic
3. Belgium
"War and Turpentine" - Stefan Hertmans. Translated from Flemish: David McKay This was a sweet, nicely written account of one man's life, Hertmans' Grandfather - Urbain - based on, inspired by and transcribed from Urbain's memoirs, feverishly written at the end of his life and entrusted to Hertmans for publication. Hertmans' narrative goes further than … Continue reading 3. Belgium
The European Reader 