Best Books by Setting
Best Books set in Madrid
Looking for the best books set in Madrid? - Madrid has inspired some of the finest fiction in Spanish and international literature. From political thrillers to literary classics and historical epics, these novels set in Madrid offer readers a fascinating way to...
Best Books Set in Lisbon
Looking for the best books set in Lisbon? The Portuguese capital has long inspired writers with its hills, neighbourhoods, and unique atmosphere shaped by centuries of trade, hospitality, and cultural exchange. From wartime stories to philosophical novels and literary...
Best Books Set in Portugal Beyond Lisbon
If you’re searching for books set in Portugal beyond Lisbon, you’ll find a rich variety of stories waiting to be explored. From the Algarve’s coastal towns to historic inland villages and cities like Porto, Mafra, and Beja, these novels highlight the diversity of...
Recently added books
Fear of Barbarians by Petar Andonovski
“Fear of Barbarians” is a novella centred around two women, Oksana and Penelope, in a village on Gavdos, an island south of Crete. Oksana, who came to Gavdos from Ukraine to recover from an illness following the Chernobyl meltdown, finds the remote Greek Island like a dream. For Penelope, who grew up on the island, it feels more like a prison.
Milkman by Anna Burns
“Milkman” tells the story of an 18-year-old girl from a working-class neighbourhood in a city in Northern Ireland. Set during the height of the Troubles in the 1970s, she finds herself being stalked by a Republican paramilitary officer. As rumours circulate that she is having an affair with this man, tensions rise within her community, and particularly with her mother.
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Tony Webster, a retired man, looks back on his school days in the 1960s, in particular his friendship with Adrian Finn, an exceptionally intelligent boy. Tony reflects on the choices he and his friends later made, and on how those decisions shaped their lives. In the second part of the novel, Tony is drawn back into the past when he reconnects with his former girlfriend, Veronica Ford, who later became Adrian’s lover. He is forced to confront a bitter letter he once sent to Adrian and discovers that Veronica possesses Adrian’s diary. As fragments of memory resurface, Tony begins to question the reliability of his own recollections.
Latest News Articles
Nobel Prize in Literature Statistics: Female versus Male Laureates
Nobel Prize in Literature gender statistics - As the end of the year approaches, literary prizes are in the spotlight. This is a fitting moment to take a closer look at the figures behind the Nobel Prize in Literature. This article provides an overview of how many...
The Nobel Prize in Literature (2000–2025): Recent Laureates and their Major Works
Each year in October, the Nobel Prize in Literature invites readers to look beyond borders, languages, and familiar shelves by honouring an author who, in the words of Alfred Nobel’s will, has “in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an...
Nobel Prize in Literature (1975–1999): An Overview
In the overview below, I provide a brief introduction to the Nobel Prize in Literature laureates between 1975 and 1999. Separate articles on this blog cover the winners of the Nobel Prize for Liuterature during the periods 1901-1924, 1925-1949, 1950-1974,...