Best Books by Setting
Best Books Set in Prague
Find the Best Books Set in Prague – Prague has inspired Czech and international writers for generations. For this page, I selected novels in which the city is more than an incidental backdrop and which portray it during different periods of its history. They range...
The Czech Republic in Books
The Czech Republic (also known as Czechia) is a Central European country located at the crossroads of Slavic and Germanic cultures. Over the centuries, this cultural position has shaped a rich and distinctive literary tradition, marked by linguistic revival, political...
Best Books Set in the South of France
Looking for novels set in the South of France? This personal selection of books takes you from Cannes and Grasse on the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur) to the villages and hills of Provence. These books can help you prepare for a trip, keep you company by the pool or...
Books to discover
Ulysses by James Joyce
Ulysses follows Leopold Bloom, an advertising canvasser, through Dublin on 16 June 1904. The novel begins at 8 a.m. and continues into the early hours of the following morning. Its eighteen episodes are written in different styles and loosely correspond to episodes in Homer’s ancient Greek epic The Odyssey. Bloom is the modern counterpart of Odysseus, while his wife Molly corresponds to Penelope and Stephen Dedalus, a young schoolteacher and aspiring writer, to Telemachus. Through Bloom’s and Stephen’s movements, conversations and inner thoughts, the novel offers a detailed portrait of everyday life in Dublin in 1904.
The Brass Age by Slobodan Šnajder
“The Brass Age” is an epic family novel that recounts the lives of Kempf and Vera, who meet after the Second World War and fall in love. Kempf is a Croat with German roots (a so called ‘Volksdeutscher’), who was forced to ‘volunteer’ in the SS during the war. He deserted when sent to fight in Poland and later joined the Russian Red Army. Vera, meanwhile, was a Croatian communist Partisan during the war. Despite their love, the weight of their past looms heavily over them.
Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum
Grand Hotel follows the lives of several guests and staff members at a luxury hotel in Berlin during the 1920s. Among them is the Russian ballerina Grusinskaya, who struggles with her fading success and loneliness. Dr Otternschlag, a war veteran, also longs for companionship and some excitement in his life. The handsome Baron von Gaigern leads a double life as a thief. Meanwhile, Otto Kringelein, a terminally ill bookkeeper, spends his savings on a room he can barely afford, determined to live his remaining days in luxury. Shortly afterwards, his employer, Mr Preysing, checks into the hotel to negotiate a business deal and hires Flämmchen, an aspiring actress, as his typist. Over the course of a few days, the lives of these characters intersect in a series of events involving romance, nightlife, crime, fraud and murder.
Latest News Articles
New Homer Awards celebrate fiction set in Greece
A new literary prize will place books set in Greece in the spotlight. The inaugural Homer Awards will recognise both contemporary thrillers and English-language fiction in which Greece plays a central role.
Books about the Spanish Civil War
Books on the Spanish Civil War - The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) has inspired some of the most powerful novels and autobiographical works of modern literature. Written by Spanish and international authors alike, these books explore not only the violence and...
Guide to the Premio Strega
Looking for the best Italian novels or a guide to the Premio Strega winners? This page introduces Italy’s most important literary prize and highlights some of the finest works of modern Italian literature available in English translation. The Premio Strega or Strega...