The history of nations is reflected altogether through their books. Along their lines we can discover the thought process and the conception of the world a society possesses.
Universal literature is much more than words, because it tells us the origin of ideologies and beliefs a nation holds, their philosophy, and the political issues a community experiences.
From North to South, East to West, every nation and every country has distinctive ways of expressing their views via stunning literary creations. Lovecraft imagined the monster as a giant octopus, while Rulfo, the Mexican author who wrote Pedro Páramo, said it was only reflected in phantasmagorical apparitions. The bizarre surrealistic love in Murakami’s books differs from the magical love we can find in Gabriel García Márquez’s works, or the philosophical one found in Fernando Pessoa novels.
Every author holds a bit of their nation in their work. This way, through universal literature, we take off to destinations we’ve never seen.
2666, Roberto Bolaño
Chile
This oeuvre published posthumously is considered a masterpiece of our times. The book includes five segments tied together by the loss and forgetfulness of the characters, insignificance of life, and excess. Susan Sontag affirmed that Bolaño is the most influential and admired novelist in Spanish language of his generation.
Robe de Marié, Pierre Lemaitre
France
Pierre Lemaitre, winner of the Gouncourt Prize 2013, succeeds in writing thriller novels like no other. This well-rounded book with superb narration tells the story of Sophie Duguet, a woman who suffers from mental blackouts unexpectedly and can’t remember what she did some hours before. In English you can read Lemaitre’s novel Alex, which won the CWA International Dagger prize for best crime novel of 2013.
In My Brother’s Shadow, Uwe Timm
Germany
What happened during Nazism persists in the collective memory of the Germans. In this novel, Uwe Timm examines the guilt and recollection of a whole nation. Half a century after the bellicose conflict, the author investigates the figure of his brother Karl Heinz Timm, who enlisted in the SS in 1942 when he was eighteen years old. The writer tries to uncover the reasons why his brother joined and if he was aware that he was signing for the extermination of thousands.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz
Dominican Republic
The Guardian and the BBC praised Díaz’s book as “the best that happened to the literary world during the twenty first century.” A Dominican adolescent called Oscar dreams of becoming the best novelist and be the next J.R.R. Tolkien, while facing the hardships of life in a New Jersey suburb. Magical realism, social criticism, and science fiction merge in this tale to form one of the greatest and funniest books you’ll ever read.
Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigeria
From Nigeria comes this astonishing novel, written by one of the latest african talents. Chimamanda Ngozi started off by writing about worlds she didn’t know about, where snow blanketed the landscape and beer was a daily beverage; later she decided to focus on Nigeria. Two adolescents fall in love in the midst of a dictatorship regime and a devastated Nigeria. Like all the other youngsters, they plan to flee the country and move to the US. Before they escape, they will have to confront the frustrating bureaucracy of a country determined to not ease things for them.
Death with Interruptions, José Saramago
Portugal
What would happen if everyone ceased to die in a little village? Death decides to take a break, and at first the town celebrates, but then reality hits home. Families are left to care for the sickly, and money begins to run out. The town’s outlook is devastating. But this Dark Angel on a holiday has a heart that dreams and
wonders, what would happen if no one died ever again? What would happen if death fell in love?
The Terrorists, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
Sweden
These writers are regarded as pioneers of the crime novel in their country, inspiring future talents as Henning Mankell and Åsa Larsson. The Terrorists constitutes a classic for mixing political events with suspense. In the novel, a policeman is tasked with the mission to protect an American senator visiting Stockholm, while fears of a terrorist attack lurk in the background.
The Broken Shore, Peter Temple
Australia
A detective returns to his native town in the Australian shore to investigate the death of one of the wealthiest men in the area. Suddenly, the whole community gets involved in the murder, and we uncover terrible secrets of the victim, who apparently wasn’t such a respected philanthropist.
1Q84, Haruki Murakami
Japan
Haruki Murakami has stated, “All my books are weird love stories. I love weird love stories. And this book will be a long and weird love story.” A gym instructor hides a dark secret, and a math teacher seeks to publish his first literary work; they find each other and share their stories and longings. Simultaneously we get to know them in depth, discovering the little details of their lives through love.
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Afghanistan
A book and a movie, The Kite Runner is one of the most poignant stories of the Afghan people. In it we meet the beautiful traditions of a nation that lives in peace, during the winter of 1975, and the intensity and glow of a city that ignores its fate, loaded with cruelty and fear. Two fathers and two sons must face this future, yet always with a friendly attitude where destiny shines with hope.
The Master and Margarita, Mijaíl Bulgákov
Russia
This is a complex read to decipher, but once accomplished, our outlook of the world is enriched with a new light. On the surface, The Master and Margarita is an anti-totalitarian teaching, but it goes deeper. This classic novel becomes a metaphor of the human complexities and the never-ending combat between good and evil.
Elizabeth Costello, J.M. Coetzee
South Africa
The main character of this novel travels around the globe giving talks about the animal kingdom and literary censorship. When she was young, she wrote her version of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Coetzee’s novel, somehow, makes her question the prize of fame and what it has demanded from her. As a bonus point, lots of the talks Elizabeth Costello exposes are actually Coetzee’s articles, in which he reveals his thoughts and ideas that are supported with philosophical references.
Translation by Laura Calçada
