The Bahamas - Thine is the Kingdom

Book #11: Thine is the Kingdom - Garth Buckner 

"This novel of adventure and conflict explores the nature of class and identity in the post-colonial world of the Bahamas. The narrative, rich in imagery, reveals the inner lives of the characters and implicates us all in one man's struggle to do the right thing."

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The title is somewhat misleading, the cover art even more so. This novel has absolutely nothing to do with religion. The kingdom in question is a man's birthright. In the Bahamas, citizenship travels along the paternal line, and Gavin Blake's father is from Florida. So despite the fact that he was born in the Bahamas and his mother's family has lived there for generations, he lacks papers. Gavin has gone away to college, traveled the world, and returned to his native Bahamas, only to find that his opportunities are extremely limited and his standing in society is that of an outsider. Gavin ends finding work caretaking a yacht for Jacob Thesinger, who comes from a wealthy land-owning family. While it appears that Jacob has it all - an estate with the right address, money, boats, and a respected family name, it quickly becomes apparent that even Jacob struggles with what the Bahamas is becoming. Ultimately, both men have to figure out what they're willing to do to claim their piece of the kingdom. 

This was an interesting book to read in light of conversations happening in the US today. What happens when birthright citizenship isn't a thing? What's the fallout from that? And in this case, the undocumented person was a white man with a college degree...and American citizenship (that he didn't really want, because he felt that he belonged in the Bahamas, not the US). Thought-provoking on many levels.

Azerbaijan - Ali & Nino

Book #10: Ali & Nino: A Novel - Kurban Said 

"It is the eve of World War I in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city on the edge of the Caspian Sea, poised precariously between east and west. Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Muslim schoolboy from a proud aristocratic family, has fallen in love with the beautiful and enigmatic Nino Kipiani, a Christian girl with distinctly European sensibilities. To be together they must overcome blood feud and scandal, attempting a daring horseback rescue, and travel from the bustling street of oil-boom Baku, through starkly beautiful deserts and remote mountain villages, to the opulent palace of Ali's uncle in neighboring Persia. Ultimately the lovers are drawn back to Baku, but when war threatens their future, Ali is forced to choose between his loyalty to the beliefs of his Asian ancestors and his profound devotion to Nino."

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I think I would have liked this book more if it hadn't been billed as some grand love story. It was ultimately, I suppose, but mostly in the second half of the book. Otherwise, it felt more like a plot device to show the struggle between east and west than the primary storyline. But what this book did very well was show that struggle - Muslim vs. Christian, Asia vs. Europe, Russia/Armenia vs. Persia, history vs. the future. I'm now interested to learn more about the Azerbaijan of the present, because it seems likely that, given geography, many of the issues brought to the fore by World War I have never been fully settled. 

Austria - Extinction

Book #9: Extinction - Thomas Bernhard 

"Thomas Bernhard is one of the greatest twentieth-century writers in the German language. Extinction, his last novel, takes the form of the autobiographical testimony of Franz-Josef Murau. The intellectual black sheep of a powerful Austrian land-owning family, Murau lives in Rome in self-exile. Obsessed and angry with his identify as an Austrian, he resolves never to return to the family estate of Wolfsegg. But when news comes of his parents' deaths, he finds himself master of Wolfsegg and must decide its fate."

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I tried. I really tried. I failed. I've been reading this book for a month and I fought my way to page 100. And I give up. I was excited for this book. The storyline sounded really interesting. Guy hates his family because his family is a bunch of ignorant, backwoods Nazi-sympathizers. Many of us can relate, right? But 100 pages in, Murau had received news that his parents and brother died in a car accident. That's it. It was 100 pages of unending holier-than-thou, intelligentcia drivel. For example, speaking of his newly dead brother, "Right from the beginning, in fact, he resembled Father more than Mother, at least when it came to quickness, restlessness, curiosity, and percipience. Naturally my essays were better than his, even at primary school, but this did not mean that I got better marks. On the contrary, my marks were always worse than his, even though my essays were undoubtedly better; this is not surprising, however, as our teachers thought the form of an essay more important than the content. I always chose interesting subjects - what I called exotic subjects - when essays were assigned. Johannes always chose the simplest subjects, which he developed and presented in a simple manner, a manner that was not just simple but tedious and pedestrian, while my essays were always composed in a complicated and interesting manner, as is attested by the exercise books lying around in cardboard boxes in our attics." This, of course, turns into a rant about how stupid his teachers are, because they never understood his *genius.* 

Murau was such an arrogant, mansplaining prick that I found myself sympathizing with his MAGA hat wearing family. Ahem. I mean, his Nazi-sympathizing family. Who allegedly actually sheltered Nazis on their property. Maybe if I'd ever gotten to that part of the story, my allegiances would have switched. But I couldn't take another 100 pages of Bernhard's ceaseless, petulant whining. And by "ceaseless," I'm being literal. There are no paragraph breaks. It's an endless block of text. I just could not. Moving on.

Australia - Rabbit-Proof Fence

Book #8: Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time - Doris Pilkington

"The remarkable true story of three young girls who cross the harsh Australian desert on foot to return to their home.

Following an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages were gathered up by whites and taken to settlements to be assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-winning author Doris Pilkington traces the captivating story of her mother, Molly, one of the three young girls uprooted from her community in Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. At the settlement, Molly and her relatives Gracie and Daisy were forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their aboriginal heritage, and taught to be culturally white. After regular stays in solitary confinement, the three girls, scared and homesick, planned and executed a daring escape from the grim camp, with its harsh life of padlocks, barred windows, and hard cold beds. 

The girls headed for the nearby rabbit-proof fence that stretched over 1,000 miles through the desert toward their home. Their journey lasted over a month, and they survived on everything from emus to feral cats, while narrowly avoiding the police, professional trackers, and hostile white settlers. Their story is a truly moving tale of defiance and resilience."

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I chose this book because I was interested to read about the similarities between the treatment of aboriginal Australians and Native Americans. Both Australia and the United States have a history that includes kidnapping indigenous children and sending them to "schools" to be assimilated into white culture. 

I also found myself comparing this book to the last book I read - The Hundred-Year Walk. Both tell the true stories of people who were forced from their homelands, and their struggle to return. But this one, unfortunately, was a much harder read - in that it jumped around from one topic to the next, the flow just wasn't there. It was difficult to get into this book. The first section is an odd history of the aboriginal people that's disjointed and doesn't seem to connect to the story of the three girls. Once you get to their story, the book picks up. But even at 135 pages, I had to force myself to keep returning to this book and get through it.  

Armenia - The Hundred-Year Walk

Book #7: The Hundred-Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey - Dawn Anahid MacKeen

"An epic tale of one man's courage in the face of genocide and his granddaughter's quest to tell his story. 

In the heart of the Ottoman Empire as World War I rages, Stepan Miskjian's world becomes undone. He is separated from his family as they are swept up in the government's mass deportation of Armenians into internment camps. Gradually realizing the unthinkable - that they are all being driven to their deaths - he fights, through starvation and thirst, not to lose hope. Just before killing squads slaughter his caravan during a forced desert march, Stepan manages to escape, making a perilous 6-day trek to the Euphrates River carrying nothing more than 2 cups of water and 1 gold coin. In his desperate bid for survival, Stepan dons disguises, outmaneuvers gendarmes, and, when he least expects it, encounters the miraculous kindness of strangers. 

The Hundred-Year Walk alternates between Stepan's saga and another journey that takes place a century later, after his family discovers his long-lost journals. Reading this rare firsthand account, his granddaughter Dawn MacKeen finds herself first drawn into the colorful bazaars before the war and then into the horrors Stepan later endured. Inspired to retrace his steps, she sets out alone to Turkey and Syria, shadowing her resourceful, resilient grandfather across a landscape still rife with tension. With his journals guiding her, she grows ever closer to the man she barely knew as a child. Their shared story is a testament to family, to home, and to the power of the human spirit to transcend the barriers of religion, ethnicity, and even time itself."

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As I read this book, I was repeatedly struck by how important it is. Important, because the Armenian genocide is not well-known. It's not taught in American schools, at least not commonly. It's not even officially recognized by the US government. I consider myself to be more informed than the average American. I'm certainly more educated. And yet, I am ashamed to say that I didn't even know Armenia was a country until I moved to Los Angeles and met an Armenian named Suzie. I remember very clearly the day she took me over to an atlas and showed me Armenia on a map (right after I'd asked her what country Armenia was in). I was 26 years old, and I don't think I'd ever felt quite so ignorant. There I was, an adult with two graduate degrees, looking at a map as if for the first time. I certainly wasn't aware there was such a thing as an "Armenian genocide." 

In Los Angeles, there's a large and vibrant Armenian community. They hold a huge march down Hollywood Boulevard every year on April 24th, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. It's difficult to miss if you live there, but very easy to miss if you don't. Which brings me back to the importance of this book. If we believe that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it (and I do), then it is essential that the stories of those who survived are told. And that we hear them. Particularly since the Turkish government still actively insists that the genocide never happened. Their version of the truth must be met with the truths told by the Armenians who were there - who witnessed it, who experienced it, who suffered, who saw what happened, and who lived to tell about it. 

This book is hard. Genocide is not a pleasant topic. But it's also a story of hope and family and triumph over pure evil. And, most importantly, it's a true story about the Armenian genocide. 

Argentina - The Secret in Their Eyes

Book #6: The Secret in Their Eyes - Eduardo Sacheri

"Benjamín Chaparro is a retired detective still obsessed by the brutal, decades-old rape and murder of a young married woman in her own bedroom. While attempting to write a book about the case, he revisits the details of the investigation. As he reaches into the past, Chaparro also recalls the beginning of his long, unrequited love for Irene Hornos, then just an intern, now a respected judge."

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That's a terrible summary. Absolutely terrible. Not inaccurate, I suppose, but had I not done further research into what the book is actually about, I certainly would never have selected it based on that information. More than the above, it's about the political realities of Argentina in the 1970s and early 80s. Chaparro is not really a detective. He's an administrative clerk in the federal judiciary, who coordinates with local detectives and oversees criminal cases in Buenos Aires. One of his cases becomes personal, and it weaves through his entire career - causing great upheaval, both emotional and physical - to many people in Chaparro's life. It's an entertaining read, though it does lag a bit in places. And while the main storyline - the rape and murder of a young woman and the resulting police investigation - unfortunately could be moved to any location, the storyline takes twists and turns that are decidedly unique to the political climate of Argentina at the time.

Antigua & Barbuda - Mr. Potter

Book #5: Mr. Potter - Jamaica Kincaid

"In this luminous, bewitching new novel, Jamaica Kincaid tells the story of an ordinary man, his century, and his home. The island of Antigua comes vibrantly to life under the gaze of Mr. Potter, an illiterate taxi chauffeur who makes his living driving a navy blue Hillman along the wide open roads that pass the only towns he's ever seen and the graveyard where he will be buried. The sun shines squarely overhead, the ocean lies on every side, and suppressed passion fills the air. 

Kincaid conjures up a moving picture of Mr. Potter's youth - beginning with memories of his father, a poor fisherman, and his mother, who committed suicide - and the outside world, that presses in on his life. Within these confines, Mr. Potter struggles to live at ease: to buy his own car, to have girlfriends, to shake off the encumbrance of his many daughters, one of whom will return to Antigua after he dies, to tell his story with equal measures distance and sympathy." 

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It took me a while to get into this book. I had trouble with the ebb and flow of the writing. Kincaid's writing is almost more poetry than prose, and the sentence structure definitely takes some time and focused attention at first. But this is one of the reasons I wanted to take this literary journey - I wanted to challenge myself to read beyond the bounds of books I would normally select. And when I encounter writing styles that give me pause, I want to stop and ask myself why. Is that me? My expectations? My white American ideas of writing norms? This book made me take that step back. And once I did, and I got over myself a bit, I enjoyed the journey.

Algeria- What the Day Owes The Night

Book #4: What the Day Owes the Night - Yasmina Khadra

"Younes is still an impressionable young boy when his family loses everything an dis forced to move to the Algerian slum of Jenane Jato. His father is an overly proud man who refuses help from his wealthy brother, Mahi. But life in the city is difficult, and he grudgingly agrees to let Younes live with Mahi to give him a chance at life. 

Mahi, a pharmacist, is married to a Christian woman, Germaine, and they have no children. Both long for a child of their own. Younes is the answer to their prayers, and they welcome him into their home with open arms. Germaine renames him Jonas, and so life begins in the affluent European town of Rio Salado. 

Despite the overwhelming love of Germaine and Mahi, and a unique friendship between him and three other boys in Rio Salado, Younes never really fits in. But life is good, and the four friends form an enduring bond that nothing will shake - not even the Algerian war. 

But when Emilie arrives, an epic love story is set in motion that will challenge the boys' friendship. Suddenly Younes is forced to confront the burden of choosing between two worlds - Algerian or European; loyal or selfish; surrendering to fate or taking control of his destiny. 

Set against the Algerian war of independence, this story is more than just a love story. It examines with powerful compassion and empathy the rifts between lovers, family and friends who love one country, but in so many different ways." 

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Originally, I picked this book because I thought it had a female author. My list up to this point has been male-dominated, and I wanted to even it out a bit. It turns out that Yasmina Khadra is the pseudonym of Algerian author Mohammed Moulessehoul, who adopted a female name in order to avoid military censorship. I was a little disappointed when I discovered this, but once I began reading, my misgivings faded away quickly.

This book is, quite simply, excellent. As with many other countries, I knew nothing about Algeria going in. The Algerian war of independence was fought between France and the Algerian Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) from 1954-1962. In 1962, 900,000 European-Algerians fled to France within just a few months. Prior to that, they made up the aristocracy of Algeria. The Muslims, who were a majority (Algeria is 99% Arab-Berber today), were "othered" by the French-Algerians. 

This book is about Younes, a Muslim boy whose immediate family lost their farm and moved into a city slum. After being taken in by a rich uncle and his Catholic wife, Younes (then Jonas) lived among the European aristocracy, but was always pulled back towards his Muslim roots. Add in an epic love story, and, well...what's not to love? 

Angola - Another Day of Life

Book #3: Another Day of Life - Ryszard Kapuściński

"In 1975, Angola was tumbling into pandemonium; everyone who could was packing crates, desperate to abandon the beleaguered colony. With his trademark bravura, Ryszard Kapuściński went the other way, begging his way from Lisbon and comfort to Luanda - once famed as Africa's Rio de Janeiro - and chaos. Angola, a slave colony later given over to mining and plantations, was a promised land for generations of poor Portuguese. It had belonged to Portugal since before there were English-speakers in North America. Angola was brusquely cut loose, spurring the catastrophe of a still-ongoing civil war. Kapuściński plunged right into the middle of the drama, driving past thousands of haphazardly placed check-points, where using the wrong shibboleth was a matter of life and death; recording his impressions of the young soldiers - from Cuba, Angola, South Africa, Portugal - fighting a nebulous war with global repercussions; and examining the peculiar brutality of a country surprised and divided by its newfound freedom."

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When I started this challenge, one of my friends suggested that I start a corresponding blog. I was unsure - mostly because I'm not a literary critic, but also because I didn't know how I would handle discussing a book that I didn't really like. After all, who am I to judge an author who is writing about his or her own experiences in a country that I've likely never even visited? 

Well, three books in and here we are. I really didn't like this book. I didn't hate it either. I just didn't connect with it the way I did the first two. On further reflection, I think it's because Kapuściński is a reporter - and a foreign-born one, at that. His writing style reflects this. The book reads a bit like a news report. I just didn't feel like I was *there*. (And if you're asking yourself why I selected a book from a non-native author, it turns out there's very little alternative. There are simply not many English-language books from Angola.) 

That said, I did learn a lot about what was happening in Angola in the mid-1970s - a subject I knew nothing about before starting the book. Which, ultimately, was my main goal going into this project. Learn something! Check. 

Albania - Chronicle in Stone

Book #2: Chronicle in Stone: A Novel - Ismail Kadare (Albania)

"Masterful in its simplicity, Chronicle in Stone is a touching coming-of-age story and a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit. Surrounded by the magic of beautiful women and literature, a boy must endure the depravations of war as he suffers the hardships of growing up. His sleepy country has just thrown off centuries of tyranny, but new waves of domination inundate his city. Through the boy's eyes, we see the terrors of World War II as he witnesses fascist invasions, allied bombings, partisan infighting, and the many faces of human cruelty - as well as the simple pleasures of life..."

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I enjoyed this book for two reasons - 1) Going in, I knew basically nothing about Albania - its history or its people. Even though the setting is WWII, Kadare takes the time to really show what life was like in a small Albanian town. At various points throughout the book, the war is secondary to the happenings in the town and the characters that live there. 2) The story is told from a child's perspective. At first I wasn't sure I would like this, but it was done very well. The child was both perceptive and humorous in ways that an adult possibly couldn't have been. 

Afghanistan - A Fort of Nine Towers

Book #1: A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story - Qais Akbar Omar (Afghanistan)

"Twenty-three years ago - after the Soviets left and before the Taliban came to power - Kabul was a garden where seven-year-old Qais Akbar Omar flew kites from the roof of his grandfather's house. Then came the hollow sounds of rocket fire as the Mujahedin, self-proclaimed holy warriors, took over Afghanistan, and the country erupted in civil war. Omar's family fled, leaving everything behind to take shelter in an old fort. But after a narrow escape from death, his father decided that the family must leave the country. 

Yet the journey proved more difficult than anticipated, and in this stunning coming-of-age memoir, Omar offers a moving recollection of these events - a story of daily hardships, relieved by moments of joy and immense beauty. Inflected with folktales and steeped in poetry, A Fort of Nine Towers is a life-affirming triumph." 

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I loved this book. It's a brilliant way to start a daunting round-the-world journey. If you've read Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner, Omar's Afghanistan will be a familiar place. I think it's especially important for Americans to see Afghanistan through the eyes of its people, rather than just as it's portrayed on the news. This book offers such a rich tapestry of people and places - you'll be drawn in.  

Let's do this!

Almost two months ago, I decided to try a Read Around the World Challenge. That is - one book from every country. When I started out, my requirements when selecting a book were: 

1) The author is a native of the country. 
2) The book itself will teach me something about the country - it can't just be set in that country. (That is, reading a random mystery novel set in another country doesn't count). 
3) Where possible, select an author of note in the country. 
4) Prose, not poetry. This is personal preference, really. 
5) Read everything in print. No audiobooks, no Kindle. 

I added that last requirement because I'm a librarian and I realized that it's been a shockingly long time since I've read a physical book. Like...years. So I'm setting down the Kindle and my iPhone and I'm reading actual books. 

As for the other requirements, for most countries, they're fairly easy to meet. For some, not so much. It's easy to forget that not every country will have literature translated into English. Books from countries that have really small populations (Andorra) and those with particularly violent histories (Chad) seem to be the most difficult to locate. 

To define "country," I began with the Member States of the United Nations, and where I deemed appropriate, I added them (Palestine). 

I don't have a defined time frame. I expect this project will take years. But come along with me, if you wish. Let's do this!